Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope Review

I've had an Orion StarBlast for over a year now, and even though I have larger, more sophisticated telescopes, it is the one I use most. The setup is instantaneous though, like other reflectors, it takes some time to cool down on cold nights. It's easily portable, and works well as a grab `n go. The short focal length makes it excellent for low power, wide field views of deep sky objects and the moon. Through the StarBlast, I have observed (to name a few) the Ring Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy (along with its two neighboring galaxies), Galaxies M81 and M82, countless open clusters, the Lagoon and Trifid nebulas, The Eagle Nebula, the nebula in Orion, comets NEAT and LINEAR. Jupiter's belts and moons are apparent at higher power, as are Staurn's rings and the phases of Venus and Mercury. During the last opposition, I could see Martian polar ice caps. During the last lunar eclipse, I had no trouble taking digital photographs through this instrument.

This is the same fast optics formula as the Edmund AstroScan and Bushnell Voyager bowling ball. The StarBlast is far and away the best of the three, but as with the others, the high power views are soft. That feature is not a problem for those of us primarily interested in deep sky. Planetary views could be more detailed, and my own StarBlast won't split the double double in suburban skies. (Orion's somewhat longer 4.5" f 8 dobsonian is more suited to these subjects.) In addition, most globular clusters present as unresolved fuzzy balls, as they will in any instrument of this aperture.

For the price, though, you can't really beat the StarBlast. It works well as a family telescope, or as a casual scope for someone interested but not obsessed by astronomy. It is small, inexpensive, and intuitive enough to be handled by children. It also works nicely for crusty old guys like me who have bigger hardware, but just don't feel like moving it every night.




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