OTA Review: Orion StarSeeker II 130mm f/5

I figure I owe you guys this review so I had better pen something now, and then update my notes as I go along. I intend for my blog to be fluid, not static, like a biological entity, always evolving and getting better as time progresses. I have had this OTA for over a month now and have only had it out three times under light polluted skies, once mounted on a Vixen Porta Mount and the other two times on a Celestron/Costco NexStar GOTO mount, which by the way is essentially the same mount provided by Orion on their StarSeeker GOTO models. The only difference I can see are the legs of the mount. Orion uses the standard stamped aluminium legs, as on all their other smaller mounts. The Celestron version  (this mount is virtually the same mount as their SLT mounts as well) comes with tubular steel legs that are about 1 inch in diameter. This mount is great for lightweight OTA's and is a perfect match for the lightweight 130mm f/5 newtonian OTA (Celestron lists the payload limits of this mount at 8lb's). By contrast, I could not mount my Celestron/Vixen C6 on this mount as it would totally overwhelm the mount. Mount's GOTO works well with this OTA with perfect tracking. Since this is a review of the OTA, I am not going to further review the mount.

First Impressions

"Orion StarSeeker II OTA on a Celestron NexStar Alt Az GOTO mount"

The OTA is surprisingly light (Orion list the OTA as 7.5lb's) for a scope of this size. It is about 3 inches shorter than my Vixen/ Celestron C6 f/5 (750mm) and heaps lighter (The C6 OTA weight's in at a hefty 12lb's, the same as my C8 SCT OTA). Since there is a short V class dovetail bolted to the OTA, you do not need tube rings for this OTA, further reducing the weight of the OTA. Balance does not seem to be an issue with the placement of the dovetail. The dovetail is mounted to the side, and since it is designed to be used on a alt-az GOTO mount, the finderscope (mine did not come with the Orion EzFinder II or the dovetail shoe as I got this OTA for cheap (I paid a grand total of $50 not inclusive of tax)) and the rack and pinon focuser are at just the right height for viewing. If you were to mount this OTA on say an equatorial mount, you would probably need tube rings so you can rotate the focuser to the right position. The focuser is a nice 2" rack and pinion focuser with plastic focuser knobs and focuses very smoothly. It comes with a too tall 1.25" adapter so you can use both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. the tube is a nice metallic burgundy color (same color as my Orion SkyScanner's tube, so now baby Scanner has a big brother!). I bought this scope to possibly use it for wide field CCD camming with my Meade DSI C, but the CCD cam does not come to focus unless I use a barlow, defeating the purpose. Oh well I can use this scope on the GOTO mount for brighter wide field views than if I were to use the 102mm f/10 OTA. This scope will also work very well on my Vixen PortaMount, since my Porta has a load capacity of 20lb's and holds my C6 N and C8 SCT OTA's with ease (see below)! It will be more grab and go than my C6 for sure since it weighs so little. Mirror comes center spotted and the primary mirror cells have big knurled knobs for easy collimation adjustment. You will need a phillip's screwdriver for the secondary mirror.

Under the stars

"Orion StarSeeker II OTA on Vixen Porta Mount"

Collimation was spot on. I slipped in the cheshire to be sure. Since I have experience with scopes of this size (I also have a Powerseeker 127mm Bird Jones OTA by Celestron), I knew what to expect from this scope. Views are only slighly dimmer than in my C6, and for globulars, this is the aperture where things start to get interesting. Most of the brighter globulars are resolved pretty well, if not to the core in a 6" scope. How does 5" fare you say? Pretty well. Most of the same globulars show some form of resolution, with the brighter ones taking on characters of their own. This OTA definately shows more resolution than my 102mm f/10 refractor, even with its central obstruction. I have yet to observe any planets with this scope, but from experience looking through Terry's  Bushnell Ares, and my Powerseeker 127mm, planets such as Saturn show abundant detail like the subtle band on the planets disk and Cassini's division at high power.

Over the course of two different nights I observed M31 and its companions, M2, M15, M27, M57, NGC 7662, NGC6826, as well as luna from my light polluted playground observatory. Here are my notes.

• M31 and companions (24.5mm Meade SWA-26x; 13T6 Nagler-50x): Awesome widefield views of M31's core and M32, all in the same FOV. I actually prefer the galaxies at 50x even though the views were more restrictive. As with all my newt's from light polluted skies, and with those damn insecurity lights at the edges of the playground, contrast suffered. Views are more contrasty in my refractors and SCT.
• M15: Appeared grainy at both magnification's. Best views at 108x with the 6mm Radian.
• M2: Same as above but with more resolution. Best views of the globs came in my 6mm Radian (108x) where the periphery stars were resolved. Some sprinkling of stars across the globs face at this magnification. As always M2 shows more resolution as M15 in Pegasus.
• M27: Nice applecore shape visible. Best views at medium magnification in the 13T6 Nagler at 50x, and with the DGM NPB filter.
• M57: My fave planetary. Looks good in any scope, even one as small as a Celestron Cometron CO40!!!!! Ring shape easily visible. Best views as above with the DGM NPB filter. I find that the views are not as nice in the OIII, probably due to too dark a background.
• NGC 7662: Clearly discernible as a disc rather than as a starlike object. No additional details visible, even at higher magnifications. I preferred the views without the narrowband filters.
• NGC 6826: Same as above. What I like about planetaries is that their colors are readily apparent even in small scopes.
• Moon: Wow is all I can say. Using the better ep's, views were sharp all the way out to the edges. Contrast was very nice. Black was black and whites were white. No smearing at the terminator regions which is a good thing.

I might be bringing this scope to an orange zone observing site when we head out to our time share at The Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month, so I will be able to test it out more. Hope to catch some of the better winter fare and some galaxies (i.e. NGC253, M74, M77, as well as M33. Will update my notes when I do.

Conclusions

Overall this is a fantastic wide field performer, and no slouch when it comes to higher powered planetary and lunar views. This is the direct result of its fast parabolic optics.  As with all newtonian's, this one requires the occasional collimation to align its mirrors, which is critical for scopes with this fast a focal length.
This is made easy as there are big hand knobs for primary mirror collimation. The secondary, however, requires the use of screwdrivers. Also with fast scopes, coma is a problem so the trade off I guess is to get better high end "edge corrected" eyepieces. This is a worthwhile investment as I find I usually hold on to my ep's longer than my scopes (especially the premium ones like my Meade SWA's and TV Nagler's and Radian's). To increase contrast, I usually flock the upper tube with black felt. It does help with stray light and increase contrast when viewing from bright locales. The best part of it all is that the OTA, coupled with either a GOTO or alt-az mount is incredibly light and easy to manage. The scope just screams at you to bring it outdoors, either for a leisurely stroll through the cosmos, or a more planned observing nightout of town. Highly recommended.