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Norme
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- Review Count1
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- First ReviewJanuary 15, 2011
- Last ReviewJanuary 15, 2011
- Featured Reviews1
- Average Rating5
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- Review Comment Count0
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Norme's Reviews
Orion 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope Optical Tube
Perfect for the advanced viewer, the Orion 150mm Mak-Cass allows for finer detail in lunar and planetary subjects as well as exploration of a wider array of deep-sky objects than the 127mm.
Norme
I recently spent over a week testing this scope and learning about spherical aberration inherent in the Mak design. I have to tell you, this scope is jaw dropping. Correction is well above diffraction limited (Strehl .80) and closer to Strehl .90 or better. Star tests seem to indicate SA correction very near PV .15 wave and RMS of 0.036. This is excellent correction. Star images show a tight airy disc and one diffraction ring. On brighter stars diffraction rings are visible, but they show no obvious SA. I could not detect any other major aberrations. Viewing the moon at 200x with the supplied eyepiece showed no image degradation. I could resolve craters to 1.8 miles in diameter, right at the theoretical Dawes limit for extended objects. Saturn showed Cassini's division clearly and even caught the Crepe ring. Under near perfect seeing, I even caught a brighter ring inside Cassini. On deep sky, under mag 4.5 skies with good seeing, M51 showed some molting. The Eskimo showed a hint of internal structure and M3 was resolved across the face. The Orion nebula was bright and contrast. I'd pit this scope against an 8" and might just win that bet. This is a great scope at a great price. Seriously, this is the best scope I have ever owned. I think of it as my poor man's Questar. It's a keeper, every night using it has been a pleasure.
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