Orion ShortTube 80mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope

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Orion ShortTube 80mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope

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Explore the Moon, the Milky Way, and deep-sky gems with this compact but capable backyard telescope.
Multi-coated 80mm (3.1") f/5.0 rich-field refractor telescope delivers sharp and bright wide-field views
The included EQ-1 equatorial mount lets you track the stars manually with slow-motion cables, or automatically with optional EQ-1M electronic drive
Includes 90-degree star diagonal, 25mm and 10mm Sirius Plossl eyepieces, big 8x40 finder scope, plus Orion DeepMap 600 and MoonMap 260!
Great family telescope that will provide years of enjoyable stargazing

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Item # 52707b

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You do not need a big, bulky telescope to enjoy backyard astronomy. But a telescope with quality optics that ensure sharp images and a sturdy mount for steady images and easy navigation are two must-haves. And our compact but capable ShortTube 80 Equatorial Refractor Telescope fits the bill. And it's one giant step up in quality from those plastic-laden telescopes you see at big box stores that promise Hubble Telescope performance with their cheaply made optics and spindly tripods.

The ShortTube 80 EQ boasts a multi-coated 80mm (3.1") achromatic doublet lens with a short focal length of 400mm (f/5), which provides bright, crisp, wide-field views of star fields and deep-space objects. Aim it at the Moon and you'll simply be floored at the surface detail that floods the field of view. The 15.5" enameled aluminum tube is equipped with an aluminum rack-and-pinion focuser. T-threads on the focuser's drawtube collar allow direct attachment of a DSLR camera (with proper T-ring, sold separately) for prime-focus astrophotography.

Tracking celestial objects while viewing them in the ShortTube 80 telescope is a cinch with the smooth, stable EQ-1 equatorial mount and tripod. The mount is equipped with dual slow motion controls for easy manual tracking of objects as they move across the night sky. Or, you can add an optional DC electronic drive for convenient motorized tracking. The tripod has extendable channel-style legs and a large accessory tray to keep your extra eyepieces or your cup of coffee at the ready.

The ShortTube 80 EQ comes with a big 8x40 finder scope, 90� mirror star diagonal (1.25"), and 10mm (40x) and 25mm (16x) Sirius Plossl eyepieces. Also included are two great observing references created by Orion: the DeepMap 600 folding star chart and our MoonMap 260.

So if you're ready to get started exploring the night sky with a telescope that easily outperforms all others in its class, get the Orion ShortTube 80 EQ today.

Warranty

Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for one year from date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. For complete warranty details contact us at 800-447-1001.

Warning

Please note this product was not designed or intended by the manufacturer for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.

Product Support

Visit our product support section for instruction manuals and more

Specs

Best for viewing

Brighter deep sky
Best for imaging

Deep sky
User level

User level

Beginner Level - Suited for a wide range of uses, these products are simple to operate and set up. Some initial assembly may be required depending on the type of product. Optical instruments with this rating will have very good optical and mechanical quality. Great for families, young people, and folks who don't want to mess with equipment and complexity. Beginning level telescopes will show you countless lunar craters, Saturn's rings and a myriad of star clusters and nebulae! Referring to the manual is recommended.

Intermediate Level - These products offer higher performance and more advanced features than Level 1: Beginner models. They typically take a bit longer to learn and need some set-up or adjustments. But anyone with the slightest technical bent will have no problem getting familiar with these models. Referring to the manual is recommended.

Advanced Level - These products provide the best performance but may require more skill to master and appreciate. Optical instruments with this rating have exceptionally fine optics and mechanics. Some are easy to use but might be on the large or heavy side. Some are intended for specialized uses. These products will appeal to the more technically inclined. Referring to the manual is highly recommended.

Beginner
Optical design

Optical design

Reflector telescopes use a pair of large and small mirrors to direct incoming light to the eyepiece. Refractor telescopes refract, or "bend" incoming light to a focus by means of an objective lens. Cassegrain telescopes, such as Maksutov-Cassegrains, "fold" incoming light using two mirrors and a front "corrector" lens.

Refractor
Optical diameter

Optical diameter

For telescopes, the optical diameter (also known as aperture) is the size of a telescope's main light-collecting lens or primary mirror, measured in millimeters or inches. Telescopes with larger optical diameters collect more light, which leads to an increase in brightness and image resolution compared to smaller instruments.

For binoculars, the optical diameter (also known as objective lens diameter) is the size of each of the front-facing objective lenses of a binocular measured in millimeters. Binoculars with larger objective lenses collect more light, which increases image resolution and brightness. Binoculars with larger objective lenses are recommended for low light situations, and binoculars with at least 50mm or larger objective lenses are recommended for pleasing astronomical observations at night.

80mm
Focal length

Focal length

The distance from the center of a curved mirror or lens at which parallel light rays converge to a single point. The focal length is an inherent specification of a mirror or lens and is one of the factors in determining resultant magnification for a telescope (along with the focal length of the eyepiece being used).

400mm
Focal ratio

Focal ratio

The focal ratio of an optical system is the ratio of a telescope's focal length to its aperture. Short focal ratios (f/5, f/4.5) produce wide fields of view and small image scales, while long focal lengths produce narrower fields of views and larger image scales.

f/5.0
Coatings

Coatings

Binocular lenses and prisms are often coated with anti-reflective material to minimize light loss as light travels through the multiple optical surfaces of a typical binocular. Coatings help maximize the amount of light transmitted through each glass surface of a binocular, so as much light as possible reaches the observer's eyes to provide a bright and sharp image.
Good lenses are at least "fully coated," with a single layer of magnesium fluoride coating applied to each air-to-glass lens surface. Multiple layers of coatings are even more effective; the term "multi-coated" means one or more air-to-glass lens surface has multiple coatings. "Fully multi-coated" optics are even better, meaning all lens surfaces have multiple layers of anti-reflective coatings applied for maximum light transmission and optimal image quality.

Multi-coated
Optics type

Optics type

Newtonian reflectors will have either a spherical shaped mirror, which is less expensive to produce, or a higher quality parabola, which does not result in spherical aberration. Cassegrain telescopes routinely use spheres in addition to other lenses in the optical path to correct for residual spherical aberration. Refractors use a series of lenses to provide a clear image. Designs range from a standard air-spaced doublet (two lenses in a row) to exotic designs such as oil-spaced triplets and 4-element multi group lenses.

Air-spaced doublet
Glass material

Glass material

Refractors use glass lenses to focus the light, and the glass material plays an important role in the quality of the resulting image. Standard achromatic refractors routinely use Crown and Flint for the two elements, but more expensive apochromatic refractors can use ED (extra low dispersion) glass for one or more of the lenses. Reflector mirrors are made from glass with different levels of thermal expansion. Standard mirrors are made from material such as Soda-Lime Plate glass and BK-7 glass. Glass with Pyrex or other low thermal expansion material will not change shape as dramatically during the cool-down period, resulting in more stable images during this period.

Crown/Flint
Eyepieces

Sirius Plossl 25.0mm,10.0mm (1.25")
Magnification with included eyepieces

16x, 40x
Resolving power

Resolving power

The theoretical resolving power of a telescope can be calculated with the following formula: Resolving power (in arc seconds) = 4.56 divided by aperture of telescope (in inches). In metric units, this is: Resolving power (in arc seconds) = 116 divided by aperture of telescope (in millimeters). Note that the formula is independent of the telescope type or model, and is based only upon the aperture of the telescope. So the larger the telescope's aperture, the more it is capable of resolving. This is important to keep in mind when observing astronomical objects which require high resolution for best viewing, such as planets and double stars. However, it is usually atmospheric seeing conditions (not the telescope) which limits the actual resolving power on a given night; rarely is resolution less than one arc-second possible from even the best viewing locations on Earth.

1.45arc*sec
Lowest useful magnification

Lowest useful magnification

Lowest useful magnification is the power at which the exit pupil becomes 7mm in diameter. Powers below this can still be reached with the telescope to give wider fields of view, but the image no longer becomes brighter at a lower power. This is due to the fact that the exit pupil of the telescope (the beam of light exiting the eyepiece) is now larger than the average person's dark adapted pupil, and no more light can fit into the eye.

12x
Highest useful magnification

Highest useful magnification

The highest practical limit is different from the often used "highest theoretical magnification" specification. The "theoretical" limit generally is 50x the aperture of the scope in inches (2x the aperture in mm). So for example, an 80mm refractor is capable of 160x, and a 10" telescope is theoretically capable of 500x magnification. But after approximately 300x, theory breaks down and real world problems take over. The atmosphere above us is constantly in motion, and it will distort the image seen through the telescope. This effect may not be noticeable at lower powers, but at higher powers the atmosphere will dramatically blur the object, reducing the quality of the image. On a good night (a night where the air above is steady and the stars aren't twinkling), the practical upper limit of a large telescope is 300x, even thought the theoretical limit may be much higher. This doesn't mean the scope will never be able to reach those higher "theoretical" powers - there will be that rare night where the atmosphere is perfectly still and the scope can be pushed past it's practical limit, but those nights will be few and far between.

160x
Highest theoretical magnification

160x
Limiting stellar magnitude

Limiting stellar magnitude

The limiting stellar magnitude is a measure of the faintest star you can see through the telescope.

12.2
Optical quality

Optical quality

"Diffraction Limited" means that the limits of image detail are determined by the physical properties of light, and not by optical defects in the telescope.

Diffraction limited
Finder scope

8x40
Focuser

1.25" Rack-and-pinion
Diagonal degrees

1.25" 90° Mirror Star
Mount type

Equatorial
Astro-imaging capability

Astro-imaging capability

The astro-photographic capability of the telescope is based on the style, stability, and accuracy of the mount and tripod. Telescopes on either very lightweight mounts or non tracking mounts (such as Dobsonians) are capable of only very short exposures such as lunar photographs. If a motor drive is attached to an equatorial mount, even a small lightweight mount is capable of capturing some planetary detail. Larger EQ mounts that utilize very precise tracking and excellent stability are capable of longer exposure deep-sky photography.

Lunar & planetary
Motor drive compatibility

Motor drive compatibility

A motor drive automatically moves the telescope in right ascension at the same rate as the east-west drift of the stars so stars can be continuously tracked in the eyepiece without manual adjustment. Motor drives are usually equipped with a hand control that allows the telescope's tracking speed to be slightly increased or decreased, which is particularly critical when taking long-exposure astro-images.

Clock drive sold separately
Setting circles

Yes
Polar-axis scope

Not available
Counterweights

One 4 lb.
Tube material

Aluminum
Tripod material

Aluminum
Counterweight bar length

8 in.
Diameter of counterweight shaft

12mm
Length of optical tube

15.0 in.
Weight, optical tube

3.8 lbs.
Weight, mount/tripod

12.0 lbs.
Weight, fully assembled

15.8 lbs.
Additional included accessories

MoonMap 260, DeepMap 600 Folding Star Map
Other features

Slow-motion manual control cables on both axes
Warranty

Warranty

This warranty gives you specific legal rights. It is not intended to remove or restrict your other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state or national statutory consumer rights governing the sale of consumer goods remain fully applicable.

One year

In The Box

ShortTube 80 OTA
25mm Sirius Plossl
10mm Sirius Plossl
8x40 finder scope and bracket
90-degree mirror star diagonal
EQ-1 mount and aluminum tripod
Accessory tray
Counterweight, 2.2 kg
Counterweight shaft
Tube rings, pair
MoonMap 260
DeepMap 600

Shipping Info

Orders received by 1pm Eastern Standard Time for in-stock items ship the same business day. Order received after noon will ship the next business day. When an item is not in-stock we will ship it as soon as it becomes available. Typically in-stock items will ship first and backordered items will follow as soon as they are available. You have the option in check out to request that your order ship complete, if you'd prefer.

A per-item shipping charge (in addition to the standard shipping and handling charge) applies to this product due to its size and weight. This charge varies based on the shipping method.

Standard Delivery: $0.00
3 Day Delivery: $25.00
2 Day Delivery: $25.00
Next Day Delivery: $25.00

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