First off, I think the fact that it comes with a motorized equatorial mount, notwithstanding its affordable price, gives it massive bonus points from the onset. The table below summarizes the pros and cons of the Sky-Watcher Explorer 130 telescope. Pros of the Sky-Watcher Explorer 130m The telescope’s 650mm focal length is a good compromise for observing a wide range of objects, including both Solar System and deep-sky targets. You can create a “sky tour” of all the best celestial bodies, based on your exact time and location The motorised function, once you get used to it, is a fantastic addition and once which makes the whole journey even more rewarding

An exceptional instrument that combines sharp 130mm f6.92 optics with an equatorial mount and motor drive The Explorer 130 motorized telescope is fairly easy to set up, although its weight and size may make it more slightly complex than it ought to be. The manual has enough information to guide you. Finderscope – Red dot finder: It also comes with a basic 6 x 24 red dot finder. I’ve heard some astronomers talk about the fit of the finderscope with the barrel.

Product details

It uses a Newtonian reflector design that employs a parabolic primary mirror to collect and focus the light, and a flat secondary mirror to reflect it to the eyepiece. The Sky-Watcher Explorer 130 is a classical Newton Reflector telescope. In its long tube is a spherical mirror, which doesn’t work as well as a parabolic mirror. Regarding build quality, the telescope meets the expected quality for its price point. I mean, for all the good qualities of the equatorial mount, it still suffers from a bit of droop.

We enjoyed some excellent views of M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, and M15 in Pegasus very early in the evening, then the Pleiades and the Hyades star clusters and M42 later during the night. The Sky-Watcher EXPLORER range are standard Newtonian reflectors of excellent quality and versatility, ranging in aperture from a respectable 130mm to an incredible light-gulping 300mm aperture, catering for astronomers of all levels. Whether your interest is Deep-Sky, the Moon and Planets, or a combination of both, the EXPLORER range offers excellent all round Diffraction-Limited performance

Product Specification

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface.