Meade Instruments – Polaris 130mm Aperture, Portable Backyard Reflecting Stargazing Astronomy Telescope for Beginners –Stable German Equatorial (GEM) Manual Mount – Observe Space & the Universe

Developed for beginner and amateur astronomers, the Meade Polaris Series delivers an experience that will have you looking to the skies for many nights to come. Combining an equatorial mount and quality optics with superb value, the Meade Polaris refracting and reflecting telescopes are your gateway to the cosmos. The Polaris 130 reflecting telescope is the best telescope for beginners and amateurs who want to discover more. With a 130mm (5. 1") aperture size, the Polaris 130 will deliver bright, clear images for the aspiring astronomer to enjoy. Whether you're viewing the Moon, planets, or deep-sky objects such as nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters, the view through the Polaris 130 will keep you looking up for a long time. Pros: A larger aperture to get a better view of deep-sky objects Once polar aligned, the equatorial mount allows you to locate and track celestial objects because it rotates with the Earth, instead of the up-down left-right directions of an altazimuth mount Cons: Reflecting telescopes won't produce right-side up images, so terrestrial viewing is limited Q: How is this telescope different than other Polaris models (114, 90, 80, etc)? A: Aperture size and telescope type. The bigger the aperture, the more light-gathering power the telescope will have, resulting in brighter, detailed images. The Polaris 114, 127, and 130 are reflecting telescopes, meaning they use mirrors to produce an image. The Polaris 70, 80, and 90 are refracting telescopes, which use lenses to produce an image. The Polaris 130 has a 130mm aperture, the largest aperture of all the Polaris telescopes. Q: What is the difference between the Polaris 127 and the Polaris 130? A: The Polaris 130 has a 650mm focal length. The Polaris 127 has a 1000mm focal length. The focal length of the Polaris 130 gives a wide field of view, ideal for large deep-sky objects like nebulae and big galaxies. The focal length of the 127 gives a narrow field of view, ideal for small objects like planets.