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• Newtonian reflector optical system: 130mm (5.1”) aperture 650mm focal length f/5 reflector with all-glass mirrors. Each mirror is coated with highly reflective aluminum and overcoated with quartz for long life. No plastic mirrors. The optical tube is made of aluminum, for fast cooldown in the field. The tube’s lower end is sealed to reduce image-degrading thermal currents in the optics. The optical tube is connected to the mount by a no-tool quick-release dovetail system for fast set-up and take-down. You can collimate (align) the mirrors for the sharpest images, although this will rarely have to be done, thanks to the push-pull collimation system that locks in the optical alignment for minimal maintenance. The f/5 focal ratio can provide both low power wide-angle views and high power close-ups. The reflector design of the scope is free of the purple haze of spurious color visible around the Moon and planets in lesser refractor scopes. Images are sharp and clear.

• Finderscope: Star Pointer non-magnifying variable brightness red dot finder on a quick-release dovetail mounting bracket. The Star Pointer is a quick and easy way to point your telescope exactly to the desired object in the sky. There’s no need to worry about the inverted images you see through traditional finders. Just align the red dot seen in the Star Pointer with the desired star in the sky and you’re done.

• Focuser: 1.25” rack and pinion.

• Two eyepieces: The first is a 1.25” 25mm fully coated Kellner (26x). The eyepiece field of view is 1.73° across, more than three times as wide as the full Moon for expansive views of nebulas, galaxies, and open star clusters. The second is a 1.25” 9mm fully coated Kellner (72x) with a 0.63° field for more close-up views of the Moon, planets, and globular star clusters.

This Telescope’s Mount . . .

• Fork mount/drive system: Single fork arm altazimuth design with pre-installed dual DC servo motor drives. A compartment in the drive base accepts eight user-supplied AA batteries for powering the telescope. Selectable lunar, solar, or sidereal (star) tracking rates, with nine different slewing and centering speeds for locating objects (4°/sec, 2°/sec, 1°/sec, 0.5°/sec, and 32x/16x/8x/4x/2x the sidereal rates). For more details, click on the “mount” icon above.

• NexStar computer control: The supplied computer hand control has an illuminated numeric keypad and a two-line 16-character LCD display. It has a database of 4,033 stars and objects, including the complete Messier and Caldwell catalogs of famous deep space objects; a selection of the brightest and best deep space objects from the Revised New General Catalog (NGC); selected SAO stars, including the best variable stars and multiple star systems; the planets; the Moon; and more.
      A few keystrokes on the NexStar hand control automatically slews the NexStar 130 SLT to any of those 4,033 objects, including over 600 galaxies, 300 star clusters, and dozens of beautiful binary stars. The computer’s software can be flash upgraded via the internet so you will always have the most up-to-date software version available. For more details, click on the “computer” icon above.

• SkyAlign Technology: With new patent-pending Celestron SkyAlign technology, you don’t have to know Altair from Zubenelgenubi or know how to read a star chart to line up your telescope on the sky. Simply input the date, time, and your location into the computer hand control. The computer will normally default to your last observing site automatically, but can remember up to ten different favorite observing locations for you to choose from.
      Once you’ve entered the date, time, and location, use the Star Pointer red dot finder to align the telescope on any three bright stars, or to two stars and a bright planet or the Moon. The NexStar computer system will automatically determine which objects were chosen and then generate an internal map of the sky that lets it move automatically to any star or object you select for the rest of the night.
      After the scope has aligned itself with the sky, it takes only a few keystrokes on the computer hand control to have the scope move automatically to your night’s first observing target and start tracking it so you can observe at your leisure. You can find hundreds of fascinating deep space objects your first night out, even if you have never used a telescope before. No matter what level of experience you start from, your NexStar SLT scope will unfold all the wonders of the Universe for you, your family, and your friends. For more details, click on the “computer” icon above.

• Supplied software: The scope comes with a CD-ROM of TheSky Level 1 planetarium and star charting software. This Windows-based program will let explore the Universe on your PC and print out custom star charts of the sky to help you find faint objects that are not in the scope computer’s database. In addition, you also get the NexStar Observer’s List (NSOL) control software. This program lets you connect your SLT scope to your Windows-based laptop or PC (with an optional RS-232 cable). It brings up on your computer screen a list of all the objects it the scope’s database. Simply click on any of the objects in the list and the scope will slew to that object (if it’s above the horizon) and start tracking it for you to observe. For more details, click on the “software” icon above.

• Adjustable height tripod: The preassembled tripod has stainless steel legs to damp vibrations quickly. The center leg brace holds a convenient no-tool quick-release accessory tray to keep your eyepieces and accessories up and out of the dew-soaked grass.

• Two-year warranty: All Celestron telescopes have a two-year warranty, double that of competitive scopes.