Orion SpaceProbe 130 EQ Reflector

Even from the balcony of our apartment in LA (i.e. far from ideal environment) we have been able to see clearly the rings around Saturn and Jupiters Galilean moons. The details of the moon's surface are also clearly visible.

Taking it out of the city lights into the desert we were even able to see Titan, one of Saturn's moons, and the Cassini gap. We could also see the fuzziness of the Orion nebula and the Trapezium.

We have also used it to look at globular clusters and a few other things of interest.

The software, The Sky, that is included with the telescope is particularly useful for figuring out at what time the objects you wish to view will rise. You just have to feed it your position coordinates (most major cities are preprogrammed into it).

I have not used it for astrophotography but you would probably need to get the electronic drive to get good pictures, especially if you intend to photograph faint objects.

The scope is also pretty easy to operate and as it comes with an equitorial mount it's also easy to trace objects as they move across the sky.

Finally, this scope is quite portable, which was important to us in choosing it as we live in the city where conditions are not too great for viewing. It will easily fit in any trunk and is not too heavy to carry around for a few tens or hundreds of meters.

On the whole this is a great telescope for a beginner who is not yet sure whether he/she is willing (or able) to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment. It is good enough to show you most things of interest and light enough to be portable.

For the serious astronomer it would probably be clever to go for larger aperture - although that always comes at the cost of portability and higher price.


We love this scope   March 8, 2006
crazyhayes (USA)
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

My family and I love this scope. We've been able to observe very crisp images of Saturn and Jupiter with 180x using the supplied 10mm eyepiece and a separately purchased 2x barlow. With or without the barlow, viewing of the Orion Nebula is easy. We've also enjoyed looking at the moon and several other objects e.g. Clusters, Andromeda Galaxy.

If you're new to astronomy or if you've only used a 3 inch or less refractor, this scope is an excellent upgrade. It's price is right! You will have to buy some extras, but you'd have to with any scope purchase. I promise it'll peak your interest or the interest of your children. I would think that most pre-teens would need a little help using this scope, but you'll enjoy helping them!

Mobile, AL


Great Starter Telescope!   January 28, 2005
Michael J. Cassady (Pace, FL USA)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

This telescope is easy to use. This is my first scope (I am approaching 60) and I just wanted to be sure that I would enjoy looking at what's up there before I invested more money later as you can spend a lot on some models. With this scope I got the most for my money. Who knows, I may not have to get anything else! This is a great looking, quality telescope!


Great Telescope   April 16, 2004
18 out of 26 found this review helpful

Easy to use and portable. Was able to see the rings of Saturn the first time I had it out. Great starting telescope.


Great Product   May 29, 2008
J. Loud (Morgantown WV)
This is a wonderful telescope that my husband and I enjoy very much. It is fairly easy to operate with a little bit of prep time. I would recomend it to those who have an interest in the stars. It did take over an hour to put together the first time but that may be more to us not knowing what we were doing.