Sky-Watcher SK 10" Dobson PYREX Telescope

Sky-Watcher is a world leader in the field of telescope manufacturing, especially Dobson-mounted Newtons. For years, the company has paid special attention to the highest quality optics used in its telescopes, which is reflected in the most beautiful images of the Universe and in many positive reviews around the world. With a wealth of experience dating back to 1990, Sky-Watcher brand Dobsons are produced in the most elegant, mature and classic form, which is the most economical and affordable. Although many imitators can be found on the market, no one equals Sky-Watcher in the ability to create not only optically excellent, but also affordable Dobson telescopes.

A large Newtonian system telescope suspended on a Dobson mount with a diameter of 25cm. This is a typical Newtonian light-weight telescope idelanly suitable for observing nebular objects under dark skies. At the same time, it is a telescope that, with a very large aperture, will enable detailed observations of the Solar System planets and the Moon. Despite its powerful capabilities, it is a fairly inexpensive telescope, recommended for beginners, but at the same time for demanding astronomy enthusiasts.

Pyrex mirror All Sky-Watcher Dobson 8" and larger telescopes come standard with a mirror made of PYREX, a glass with low thermal expansion, so the image quality given by a telescope with such a mirror is higher than that of telescopes with a mirror made of ordinary glass.

Optical system The telescope was made using the classical Newtonian system. The parabolic primary mirror has a diameter of 250mm and a focal length of 1250mm. It is a mirror with a large aperture of f/5. Thanks to such parameters, the telescope, despite its large diameter, is a useful length device. The moderate focal length allows for small magnifications that allow for comfortable observations of subtle and faint nebular objects.

Mounting The telescope is suspended on an azimuthal Dobson mount. The Dobson mount is a simple and very stable design that allows the telescope to be easily rotated in azimuth and elevation. The telescope is mounted on two sides in a forked mount, while the entire top of the mount rotates at the base. The telescope's very low center of gravity and construction with fairly rigid materials makes it much more stable hanging than parallactic mounts.

Extractor The telescope is equipped with a 2" eyepiece extractor with a reduction to 1.25". It is a Crayford focuser, operating smoothly and without backlash. It comes with an extension for 2", extension/reduction for 1.25". The extensions should be used interchangeably without combining them into one set. The focuser is compatible with autofocus drives manufactured by Sky-Watcher.

Astronomical Observations

• Solar System: objects on the surface of the moon less than 1 km in size; sunspots and their complex structure, granulation of the photosphere clearly visible; all planets of the Solar System; phases of Mercury and Venus, detail of the atmosphere of Venus visible with gray filter visible fundamental formations on the disk of Mars and clearly visible polar caps clear several zones of Jupiter's belts and Galilean moons, transitions of the moons' shadows across the planetary disk structure of Saturn's rings with Cassini's break, belts in the atmosphere and several smaller moons of the planet Uranus and Neptune visible as discs with a clearly blue tint movement of many asteroids against the background of stars observations of many faint comets, visible structure of comets.
• Stars: about 6.5 million stars across the sky, with brightness up to about 13-14 magnitude double and multiple stars angularly separated by more than 0.6". beautifully visible colors of many stars.
• Nebular objects: all objects of the Messier catalog, hundreds of NGC and IC objects hundreds of globular clusters, in many cases broken into individual stars right to the center thousands of open clusters with many visible differences in structure hundreds of nebulae, many with details, spectacular details of bright nebulae hundreds of galaxies with visible details, clear shapes and angular positions of disks, spiral arms visible structure and structure of many planetary nebulae, large increase in contrast with nebula filters visible subtle details of supernova remnants.
• Due to the increase in the diameter of the telescope's mirror to a diameter of 25cm, the objects are seen much more clearly and the details present themselves in a more obvious way than with telescopes with diameters of 130 or 150mm. For this reason, the image seen in such a large telescope becomes susceptible to the effects of artificial light illumination of the sky, air pollution and atmospheric stability (seeing), as well as the accuracy of the collimation of the optics. Please keep these limitations in mind and take them into account for optimal sky images in telescopes 20cm and larger. The light intensity of the telescope is f/5. For this reason, it is crucial to use good quality astronomical eyepieces.

Ground observations A telescope with this type of optics is not quite suitable for ground observations. To invert the image, it is necessary to use a so-called straightening lens, which will reverse the image to natural (straight). Together with the straightening lens and the mount on which it was placed, it can be used as a simple instrument for ground observations. Since the Dobson mount makes it easy to control the telescope in the vertical and horizontal axes and has high rigidity and reduces all vibrations, it becomes possible to observe aircraft at cruising altitudes.

Technical data

• Product ID 71011
• Brand Sky-Watcher
• Warranty, years 2
• EAN 2400000032496
• Shipping weight, kg 0
• PCN 9005800000
• Optical design reflector
• Type Newtonian telescope
• Objective lens diameter (aperture), mm 254.0
• Secondary mirror diameter, mm 58
• Focal length, mm 1250
• Maximum magnification, x 508.0
• Aperture number, f/4.7
• Resolution threshold in angular seconds 0.45
• Stellar magnitude limit 14.7
• Dobson mounting, elevation-azimuthal
• Mount weight, kg 12.5
• Dimensions of the tube, mm 1130x280
• Mass of tube, kg 12.5
• Beginner level, experienced users
• Objects observed Solar System planets and deep sky objects