Product Description

Perfect for the amateur astronomer, for an amazing look at our closet celestial neighbors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10848 in Camera & Photo
• Color: gold
• Brand: Bushnell
• Model: 40060578
• Dimensions: 8.00" h x 10.25" w x 30.00" l, 10.55 pounds

Features

• Value-priced for advanced beginners and amateur astronomers
• Includes 6 x 24 finderscope
• 578x zoom magnification
• Features Tasco SkyWatch CD-ROM with 10,000 object database, diagonal, moon filter, and solar projection screen
• Weighs 11 pounds

Amazon.com Review
The Tasco Luminova 578x is a good 60mm beginner telescope, complete with all the accessories you'll need to study Lunar craters, Jupiter's moons, and even the rings of Saturn. The package includes a lightweight tripod, three 1.25-inch eyepieces (H25, H12.5, and SR4), two barlow lenses, a Moon filter, a Solar projection screen, and even a program disk that turns your computer into a desktop planetarium.

The Alt-Azimuth tripod included with the Tasco Luminova package is light and easy to use, but it doesn't track stars and planets as the Earth rotates. It's best to use the low power 25mm eyepiece to find your target, then use a high power lens to zoom in for a closer look.

While "more power" is a good advertising slogan, I have more fun with this little telescope by keeping the power down. In fact, the best upgrade for this telescope is a low power Celestron 25mm E-Lux eyepiece (about 28x). The Celestron E-lux eyepiece has a much wider field of view than the standard equipment H25 eyepiece. A wider view means the Moon remains visible nearly twice as long, I see more than twice as many Milky Way stars at one time, and it's easier to find deep space objects like the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy! As a general rule, 60mm telescopes perform best at magnifications of 120x or less. With a 6mm E-Lux eyepiece (117x) for example, I can actually see Saturn's rings or the pine needles on a distant tree branch more clearly than I can using Tasco's economy grade high power eyepieces and barlows. The high-power 350x and 578x images are basically useless because they are dim, fuzzy and hard to focus.

Overall the Tasco Luminova 578x is a good beginner telescope with a generous accessory package. One of its virtues is that it can be easily upgraded with better eyepieces. For a little more money, the Nexstar 60 GT is a 60mm telescope complete with a computerized tracking system. In this price range, also take a look at Celestron's Firstscope 60AZ and Orion's Spaceprobe 3 Altaz, which come with better eyepieces right out of the box.--Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Low cost
• Lots of accessories
• Easy to add better 1.25-inch eyepieces

• Does not track stars and planets
• Narrow field eyepieces

From The Manufacturer
Notably lightweight and extremely portable, this powerful Luminova refractor telescope offers many advanced features that make lunar details crystal clear. Easy-to-use, slow-motion controls work with either an alt-azimuth or an equatorial mount. The 1.25" eyepiece delivers sharp images and a wide field-of-view along with excellent eye relief.

Value-priced for a 700mm focal length refractor, this telescope is a great choice for beginning amateur astronomers. It features:

• 578x magnification
• 76mm objective lens
• Included accessories: Tasco SkyWatch CD-ROM with 10,000 Object Database, Diagonal, Moon filter, Solar Projection Screen

Tech Talk
When selecting a telescope, consider which target objects you plan to explore as well as your level of experience. For viewing most night sky objects, you'll want a telescope with as much aperture as possible. Keep in mind that as the size of the objective lens or mirror increases, so does the size of the telescope. So be sure to select a telescope that isn't too heavy to manage or too complicated for you tot set up - especially if portability is a necessity.

• Refractor Telescope: A refractor telescope collects light though a large objective lens and directs it through the telescope to the eyepiece for magnification. Invented by the famous astronomer Galileo, refractor telescopes are noted for bright, high-quality images with excellent resolution.
• Reflector Telescope: Reflectors use a large concave mirror to collect and focus light back to a diagonal mirror which redirects the light to the eyepiece for magnification. Reflectors deliver the most magnification in a compact design because they achieve a longer focal length through the use of mirrors.
• Eyepieces: Lower power eyepieces provide a wider field-of-view and a brighter image making them ideal for viewing the full Moon and planets, star clusters, nebulae and the constellations. To focus in on the finer details of the Moon and planets such as mountains, ridges and craters, use an eyepiece with higher magnification.
• Mounts: There are two basic types of telescope mounts, the altitude-azimuth (also referred to as alt-azimuth or altaz) and the equatorial. Altaz mounts are the easiest to maneuver and are ideal for first-time astronomers. Equipped with a manual control or motor drive that allows you to follow the movement of objects across the night sky, equatorial mounts are ideal for more experienced astronomers.