Sky-Watcher BKP 150/750 OTAW Dual Speed tube (SW-1000)

The 130/650 telescope tube offers an excellent balance of price, portability, and features. It is an ideal model for beginners venturing into amateur astronomy and is often chosen as a first telescope. The BKP 130/650 OTAW is equipped with a parabolic primary mirror, eliminating spherical aberration, one of the common optical flaws. With its optimal focal ratio, this telescope can achieve a wide field of view when paired with suitable eyepieces. The tube also includes a high-quality 2-inch focuser with a microfocuser, allowing for precise focus adjustments.

The BKP 130/650 operates on a Newtonian reflector system, which excels in deep-sky observations, making it ideal for viewing star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. It is also well-suited for planetary and lunar observations. The 130 mm parabolic mirror is the telescope's core component, collecting approximately 240 times more light than the human eye in darkness. This capability allows users to observe celestial objects with magnitudes up to 12. The optical resolution of this telescope enables the separation of stars with angular distances greater than 1.1 arcseconds.

The telescope is sold as a standalone optical tube without a mount. This flexibility allows users to choose a mount that suits their specific requirements.

The Crayford focuser is equipped with a microfocuser for precise adjustments, supporting both 2-inch and 1.25-inch eyepieces. The included 28 mm 2-inch eyepiece offers versatility for various observations.

Astronomical observations include:

• Lunar surface features larger than 2.2 km, solar spots and their structure, and all planets of the Solar System.
• Phases of Mercury and Venus, Mars with visible polar caps and surface details during opposition, Jupiter’s equatorial bands, Great Red Spot, Galilean moons, and moon shadows.
• Saturn's rings, its largest moon Titan, and smaller moons visible in good conditions, along with the Cassini Division.
• Uranus and Neptune as small disks, asteroid movement, and bright comets.

Star observations cover approximately 1.9 million stars with magnitudes up to 12–12.5, including double and multiple stars separated by over 1.1 arcseconds, and the colors of the brightest stars.

Deep-sky observations allow for views of:

• Nearly all objects in the Messier catalog.
• Dozens or even hundreds of globular clusters, with the brightest showing individual stars on the edges.
• Hundreds of open clusters, dozens of nebulae with visible details, and galaxies with subtle structural features.

Terrestrial observations are not ideal with this telescope due to the optical design. A correcting lens can be used to achieve an upright image, enabling basic terrestrial viewing when paired with an appropriate mount.

Included accessories:

• Tube rings with dovetail bar.
• 28 mm 2-inch eyepiece.
• 6x30 straight finder scope.
• Crayford focuser with microfocuser and 2-inch to 1.25-inch adapter.

Specifications

• Catalog Number: SW-1000
• Optical Design: Newtonian Reflector
• Mount Type: None (OTA only)
• Aperture: 130 mm
• Focal Length: 650 mm
• Focal Ratio: f/5.0
• Star Magnitude Limit: 14.0
• Maximum Useful Magnification: 260×
• Rayleigh Resolution: 1.10 arcseconds
• Dawes Resolution: 0.89 arcseconds
• Light-Gathering Power: 345×
• Tube Weight: 3.7 kg
• Tube Length: 620 mm
• Tube Diameter: 140 mm
• Focuser Type: Crayford
• Focuser Diameter: 2 inches
• Secondary Mirror Diameter: 34.5 mm
• Warranty Period: 60 months