Orion Skyscanner an indepth review

Orion telescopes have been around for a long time, and I have been a fan for as long as I have been looking up. They have also been synonymous with dobsonian telescopes and pushing the design envelope. From their current giant 16 inch go to truss scope, to their tiny 76mm tabletop Funscope, they have a scope for everyone. Dobsonian newtonians has truly revolutionized observing. If sir Isaac Newton made an affordable alternative to refractors, it was Franciscan monk John Dobson that brought large aperture light buckets to the masses. That said, the dobsonian revolution also made well manufactured small and medium sized scopes readily accessible to beginners, and advanced astronomers looking for a quick grab and go. And this brings me to the topic of this review, Orion telescopes burgundy colored Skyscanner tabletop scope.

Firstly a disclaimer. I don't work for Orion, nor do I own stocks in the company. This is a totally unbiased review of a scope I have owned and used for about 7 years. I will start the review with how Orion packs and ships the scope. The scope comes fully assembled right out of the box. Speaking of packaging, the scope comes double boxed in very sturdy corrugated cardboard carton. The optical tube and furniture quality wooden dobsonian mount are separated and held in place by moulded Styrofoam. The accessories that come with the scope are all neatly wrapped in plastic bags and housed in their own white boxes which was further protected in a long rectangular box. This box was wedged in cutouts in the top and bottom Styrofoam holding it very securely. Nothing was rattling when I picked up and shook the box. The scope came with a well written illustrated instruction manual, a laminated color moon guide, two Orion E Series eyepieces, a 20mm and 10mm and a Orion EzFinder I with plastic mounting shoe.

Accessories

As mentioned in the previous paragraph the scope comes completely furnished with a nice and detailed Orion moon map, an EzFinder II red dot finder, with plastic stalk, a CD with a beginners version of the night sky, and two Orion E Series fully coated (nice blueish reflection) 20mm and 10mm 3 element Kellner eyepieces. The great thing about this is that the beginner has everything you need need to start observing. You don't really need anything else, well other than a Barlow lens for a more magnified view of solar system objects. The red dot finders are the best invention for astronomers since sliced bread. They are so intuitive to align and use. I have had friends use it first time out with no issues. Definitely a big step up from those 5x24 of yore. The two eyepieces also perform exceptionally well in such a fast scope. At 400mm focal length, you get 20x with the 20mm and 40x with the 10mm. And these 3 element eyepieces definitely throw up brighter images than my multi element eyepieces. The only minor issues I have are aberrations in the edges of the FOV and that Orion chose 10 mm for their second eyepiece. A Barlowed 20mm could give us a 10mm.

Under the stars

I am not going to reiterate everything I have blogged in the past as I have logged countless of enjoyable hours under perfect and not so perfect skies with this brilliant little scope. I will put links to those blogs below. I am instead going to summarize my favorite setup and object's in the scope.

I usually have the scope mounted on my heavy-duty Orion Paragon HD F2 photo tripod and my eyepiece of choice for this scope is my 13T6 Nagler. I know the eyepiece cost more than double the scope, but this eyepiece brings out the best in this fast parabolic scope. I also use my 6mm TV Radian quite a bit for smaller objects such as planetary nebulae, globular clusters and planet's. Bear in mind that for the best views, it's best to keep the magnification under 100x.

Here is a summary of my favorite objects

• M42. The best Northern hemispheres premiere emission nebula looks great in any scope. Best views in the 10mm. At 40x the nebula is framed perfectly. Under dark skies M42 appears vivid green with heaps of extended nebulosity. 
• M45 Pleiades. Due to its size, this one appears best in wide angle scopes such as this. Framed best with the 20mm.
• M27. Dumbbell nebula. My second most favorite planetary. Bright apple core even under red zone skies. 
• M57. Ring nebula. My favorite planetary, it's ring visage is best seen at 40x. As its such a compact object, it takes magnification very well. 
• M31. Andromeda galaxy. This huge galaxy  goes on and on under dark skies. The core appear bright and both satellite galaxies are visible under dark skies. The brighter of the two, M32 is seen as a nebulous knot of light. NGC205 is more diffused and best seen under darker skies. 
• M6 and M7. The butterfly and ptolomy cluster. Although lower in the sky, these two brilliant clusters fills up the FOVof of the 20mm. Must sees. 
• M8. Lagoon nebula. Best seen from dark skies where the full extent of its nebulosity is visible. M8 and M20 can fit into the 20mm FOV. M8 easily shows its dark lanes that gives it the lagoon moniker. It's embedded star cluster looks best at 20x.
• M20. Trifid nebula. It's tri lobed structure bisected by dark lanes are best framed in the 10mm under dark skies. 
• M22. Best globular in the northern sky. Resolution evident even at 20x, the globular looks grainy at this magnification. Stars resolved across its face at 40x. 
• M17. Swan nebula. The second best emission nebula in the northern sky, this one shows its shape well at 40x with subtle mottling in its body under dark skies. 
• M11. Wild duck cluster. Best seen at 40x as a triangular wedge of light with one standout bright star. this cluster is sprinkled with stars. Cluster still appears nebulous due to unresolved cluster members. 
• M13. Hercules globular. Touted as the best northern globular it shows less resolution than M22. At 40x it appears partially resolved with a sprinkling of stars at its periphery. Resolution is possible at higher magnification. 
• M104 Sombrero Galaxy. Best views in the 10mm as a short stubby sliver of light with a fat center. The dust lane is doable with more magnification. 
• M81 and M82. Bodes and Starburst galaxy. Both visible together in the same FOV as a bright elongated oval and a spindle of light. To see mottling in M82s spindle requires more power. 
• M51. Whirlpool galaxy. Shows both its components at 40x as a large and small nebulous haze. 
• Perseus double cluster. The finest open cluster pair in the northern sky. Fills the 20 x FOV with sparkling suns. 

Summary

This scope checks all the boxes as the ultimate beginner scope, and as a great grab and go travel scope. There's nothing you really need to buy other than what's already provided. And it is cheap enough that if you bang it around, you can buy another. My initial gripe about the primary mirror not having collimation screws were unfounded. The scope has fallen on concrete and grass numerous times and I am pleased to say that collimation is still spot on.