Sure, like Unk, a lot of amateurs were suspicious of a fast Chinese scope, but at the price, about $250.00 for an OTA, quite a few boys and girls were willing to take a chance.Īnd soon the word began to spread. In 1996, Orion’s multi-page color extravaganza catalogs began to feature full page spreads on the 80 f/5 that shouted its virtues to high, high heaven. Orion and Giesler correctly divined that the time was ripe in amateur astronomy for a wide field and inexpensive refractor. How was I gonna count craterlets on the floor of Plato with a thing like that? Like me, lots of observers back then were still scratching their heads at the idea of an RFT (richest field telescope). Maybe it took a few more years of the big Dob revolution to make Joe and Jane Amateur aware that f/5 could be a sweet thing compared to f/10. As with more expensive instruments during the comet’s reign, their quality varied. Why didn’t these little scopes become more a fixture of amateur astronomy? Perhaps they were just swept out with the detritus in the wake of Halley. I have little doubt more cash-strapped novices actually saw the comet through their Cometrons than their more well-heeled brothers and sisters did with brand spanking new f/10 SCTs. Quite a few seasoned amateurs liked these li’l scopes (made by Mizar and at least one other Japanese manufacturer), and they were point-and-shoot heaven for the tyros out to hunt down Halley. There was a reasonably popular forerunner to the ST80 on sale as far back as the mid-80s, a 60-mm f/5 imported during the Comet Halley craze by Tasco, Celestron, Meade and others and sold under names as varied as “Comet Seeker,” “Cometron,” and “9VR.” Not that amateurs hadn’t been offered telescopes of this sort before. In retrospect, a product like the ST80 looks like an obvious winner, but that wasn’t so obvious just then. He was no doubt searching for a new product to keep him ahead of the pack in the go-go days of amateur astronomy marketing of the 1990s, and hit upon a Chinese company, Synta, who were pushing this fast achromat. Orion, "Telescope and Binocular Center"), Tim Giesler. With an optical tube that measures only 15-1/2" this versatile setup is delightfully portable for those spur-of-the-moment observing expeditions.I suspect a lot of the credit for the Short Tube’s success should go to the founder and former owner of Orion (the U.S. And unlike similar mounts you may have seen, the VersaGo's offset mounting arm perfectly balances the telescope over the center of the mount for maximum stability and smoother operation. In addition to super-smooth operation, you have a full range of motion from horizon to zenith with telescopes up to 15 lbs and 6" in diameter. And with the uncomplicated VersaGo mount, you can be set up in less than a minute! A breakthrough in quality, ease of use and grab-and-go convenience, the VersaGo lets you guide your telescope with unprecedented single-control ease. With its 90° mirror star diagonal, two wide-field Expanse eyepieces (20mm and 9mm) and 8x40 finder scope, this ST80 edition makes for rewarding deep-sky treasure hunting and Moon gazing. Sporting fully multi-coated 80mm objective and short 400mm focal length (f/5.0) this scope delivers gorgeously bright and sharp images. The Orion VersaGo 80ST Altazimuth Refractor Telescope with VersaGo mount's one-arm, machined aluminum head has Teflon bearings that glide the scope to your target effortlessly.
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