staquest Sky-watcher P 130/650 Starquest review

[Nikolai De Silva]

Hi, I have this Telescope and thought of giving a complete review with my experiences. Hope this will will be helpful!

 

Sky-watcher  P 130/650 Starquest review                      

"As a pencil is a friend of a writer, a telescope is a friend of an astronomer". A One who finds a telescope with better optics for a reasonable price, which is easy to use, may have stopped in the right place! This fresh and solid Starquest telescope offers you greater experiences which will last forever.  

The Sky-watcher P 130/650 Starquest, has an aperture of 5.1 inches (130 mm) which is a great and ideal size for an amateur to start. The parabolic mirror is the best about this which will resolve greater views with maximum clarity. The 130mm Parabolic mirror gives contrasting images which will be useful. 

 

The instrument is shorter and fast with a f5 focal Ratio. It weighs a little compared to others which makes it easier to use. The secondary mirror is already collimated in the factory, so you have no need to spare time before use! 

 

This comes with a metal mount with two Capstan style locks, and two slow motion cables, which are smooth. The Equatorial mount offers star tracking with precession. The tripod is made out of aluminium where an accessory tray sits for more stability. 

 

Extra accessories include two powerful eyepieces (10mm and 20mm), and a Red dot finder, which is great!

 

Sky-watcher P 130/650 Starquest basic Specs

 

Aperture	130mm
Focal length	650mm
Focal Ratio	5
Max useful magnification	260x

 

Telescope in use…

 

Every part is fixable by hand effortlessly, so putting the Telescope together is very easy. After assembling it, ready to go on a clear night! 

The first target, our neighbour, Moon. Moon's views are really great and impressive. Thousands of lunar features are prominent, craters, seas and old volcanoes are clear (don't expect Apollo landing patches!).

 

Jupiter and Saturn look clear and their features are clearly seen. Jupiter's Great Red spot and its bands are visible. Saturn's ring is visible clear.

 

Out of the solar system into the Deep sky. All messier objects are visible. M27 and M57 especially offer great views! M31 (Andromeda galaxy) and M33 are visible with low magnification on clear nights. The Great Orion Nebula also offers you a good view. The Pleiades star cluster is like diamond dust in the sky! You can really expect deep sky targets clearly and impressively. 

 

The only bad thing is the tripod is not very stable, a little wobbly. But, the vibration settles down very quickly.

 

Sky-watcher P 130/650 Starquest vs Celestron Astromaster 130eq (specs)

 

Specifications	Starquest	Astromaster
Aperture	130mm	130mm
Focal length	650mm	650mm
Focal Ratio	5	5
Max useful magnification	260x	260x
Primary mirror	Parabolic	Spherical
Mount	Almost metal	Almost plastic
Mount type	Starquest Eq	Eq2
Supplied eyepieces	10mm, 20mm	10mm, 20mm + 2x Barlow lens
Finder	Red dot finder	Red dot finder
Motor drive	Sold separately	Sold separately
PRICE (Astroshop EU)	US$ 337.00	US$ 339.00

Summary

 

Pros	Cons
Easy to use	Wobbly tripod
Clear views	Not for astrophotography
Inexpensive for the aperture

 

Overall, the Sky-watcher P 130/650 Starquest Telescope is a durable, and a good beginner Telescope which you can enjoy the views to stay in mind forever.

 

Hope you enjoyed!

Nikolai.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Nikolai De Silva

[Nightspore]

Nice write-up. I thought the Celestron also had a parabolic primary.

 

 

I've still got my f/6.9 130mm Synta.

 

 

It's got a spherical mirror, which isn't so bad at about f/7. I wasn't so impressed by the mount/tripod however and swapped for a EQ5.

 

 

Eventually I swapped the OTA for a GSO f/6 150mm with a parabolic mirror. .

[Nikolai De Silva]

1 hour ago, Nightspore said:

OTA for a GSO f/6 150mm with a parabolic mirror

Nice scope! Looks solid! 

Thanks.

Nikolai

 

[Nightspore]

58 minutes ago, Nikolai De Silva said:

Nice scope! Looks solid! 

Thanks.

Nikolai

 

 

Its pretty well made, although the tube rings are a tad tight. It hasn't been out for a couple of years.

 

 

I only really use it for plane of the ecliptic observing.

[GazAstro]

@Nikolai De Silva did you take the images of Saturn etc in review ?

[Nightspore]

Nikolai, Just out of interest, what's the cool-down time generally on your Newtonian? I can still sometimes see (with a defocused eyepiece) thermal vortices in the OTA of my 150mm even after an hour of cooling. Depending on conditions, external ambient temperature etc.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Nightspore

[Nikolai De Silva]

12 hours ago, GazAstro said:

did you take the images of Saturn etc in review ?

Both moon pictures are mine, from the phone cam (5 pixel). But, the Saturn's and Jupiter's pics are from the internet. Because, we had and still having a terrible weather here and only saw both of them once. No pics! So I took these pics, as this is the way I saw them.

[Nikolai De Silva]

12 hours ago, Nightspore said:

Nikolai, Just out of interest, what's the cool-down time generally on your Newtonian? I can still sometimes see (with a defocused eyepiece) thermal vortices in the OTA of my 150mm even after an hour of cooling. Depending on conditions, external ambient temperature etc.

Really this doesn't need a cool-down time. Because, our inside and outside temperature is almost the same (our windows are full opened!). And even our night is warmer (feels like, 27-8°). 

I didn't still notice an issue with that.

[Nightspore]

10 hours ago, Nikolai De Silva said:

Really this doesn't need a cool-down time. Because, our inside and outside temperature is almost the same (our windows are full opened!). And even our night is warmer (feels like, 27-8°). 

I didn't still notice an issue with that.

 

OK, that would help. But in my experience, even here during hot summers, most Newtonian OTA's will take some time to attain thermal equilibrium. Mak's are particularly problematic as they are an enclosed environment. You probably don't notice it on a fast, shorter 5" tube. If you're interested just how long thermal vortices last in the OTA, focus on a star or planet, then defocus. You can actually see the warmer air swirling in the tube. I was amazed, and a bit shocked, at the duration thermal interference/disruption actually lasts. I was particularly astounded at seeing the warm air thermals inside the tube. If I were you I'd still give the OTA 30-40 minutes before use after you've set-up. I understand now why large fans are used in big (200-250mm) Dobsonian mounted Newt's. Cool down is another reason I've switched predominantly to doublets.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Nightspore