Tasco 40060578 Luminova 578 x 60mm Telescope

Tasco 40060578 Luminova 578 x 60mm Telescope Reviews

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Tasco 40060578 Luminova 578 x 60mm Telescope Feature

• Value-priced for advanced beginners and amateur astronomers
• Includes 6 x 24 finderscope
• 578x zoom magnification
• Features Tasco SkyWatch CD-ROM with 10,000 object database, diagonal, moon filter, and solar projection screen
• Weighs 11 pounds

The Tasco Luminova 578x is a good 60mm beginner telescope, complete with all the accessories you'll need to study Lunar craters, Jupiter's moons, and even the rings of Saturn. The package includes a lightweight tripod, three 1.25-inch eyepieces (H25, H12.5, and SR4), two barlow lenses, a Moon filter, a Solar projection screen, and even a program disk that turns your computer into a desktop planetarium.

The Alt-Azimuth tripod included with the Tasco Luminova package is light and easy to use, but it doesn't track stars and planets as the Earth rotates. It's best to use the low power 25mm eyepiece to find your target, then use a high power lens to zoom in for a closer look.

While "more power" is a good advertising slogan, I have more fun with this little telescope by keeping the power down. In fact, the best upgrade for this telescope is a low power Celestron 25mm E-Lux eyepiece (about 28x). The Celestron E-lux eyepiece has a much wider field of view than the standard equipment H25 eyepiece. A wider view means the Moon remains visible nearly twice as long, I see more than twice as many Milky Way stars at one time, and it's easier to find deep space objects like the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy! As a general rule, 60mm telescopes perform best at magnifications of 120x or less. With a 6mm E-Lux eyepiece (117x) for example, I can actually see Saturn's rings or the pine needles on a distant tree branch more clearly than I can using Tasco's economy grade high power eyepieces and barlows. The high-power 350x and 578x images are basically useless because they are dim, fuzzy and hard to focus.

Overall the Tasco Luminova 578x is a good beginner telescope with a generous accessory package. One of its virtues is that it can be easily upgraded with better eyepieces. For a little more money, the Nexstar 60 GT is a 60mm telescope complete with a computerized tracking system. In this price range, also take a look at Celestron's Firstscope 60AZ and Orion's Spaceprobe 3 Altaz, which come with better eyepieces right out of the box.--Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Low cost
• Lots of accessories
• Easy to add better 1.25-inch eyepieces

Cons:

• Does not track stars and planets
• Narrow field eyepieces

Perfect for the amateur astronomer, for an amazing look at our closet celestial neighbors.

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Sep 11, 2011 20:27:06