Telescope-Reflecting Telescopes-Celestron Omni XLT 150 Reflector Telescope with Equatorial Mount and Dual-Axis Motor Drive

Celestron Omni XLT 150 Reflector Telescope with Motor Drive

This Celestron Omni XLT 150 Telescope consists of a classic 6” Newtonian reflector, a sturdy CG-4 German equatorial mount, dual-axis motor drives to track the stars, and a metal adjustable leg tripod. Far from newfangled, the telescope and mount design of the Omni XLT have been used for many decades by amateur and professional astronomers alike due to their ease of use and functionality. Put another way, the Celestron 150 Omni XLT can and will get the job done without relying on complicated (and pricy) computerization, and because of this, you will have the thrill of learning the art of astronomy on your own, and at your own pace. Curious to learn how to calculate your telescope’s magnification? Learn how in the comprehensive video below!

Celestron Hand-Figured Optics for Quality Views

Let’s start with the most important part of any telescope, regardless of its size…the optics. A Newtonian telescope (yes, that Newton, Sir Isaac!) uses a primary mirror, located at the bottom of the tube assembly, to gather the light, and a secondary mirror, situated inside the upper portion of the tube, that directs the light into the focuser, and therefore, the eyepiece. The Celestron Omni XLT 150 telescope has a 150 mm, or 5.9” primary made of quality glass, and then the top surface is aluminized for high reflectance. Celestron tops off the aluminum with their proprietary XLT StarBright coatings to protect the surface and give you “stellar” results on objects both in and out of our Solar SystemT

The optical tube assembly of the Celestron Omni XLT 150 telescope is a beautiful celestial blue with white accents. On the outside of the tube you’ll find two important features of any telescope; the focuser and the finder. The 2” Crayford-style focuser accepts a multitude of standard sized eyepieces and optical accessories, and focuses easily by turning the over-sized metal knobs. A 6 X 30 finderscope also rides of the optical tube of the Omni XLT 150. With a low power (6X), wide angle view and 30 mm of aperture, this very important astronomical accessory helps you find and zero in on an object. A five-minute finder/telescope alignment will create a method for finding objects and putting them in the field of view of your eyepiece that is really quite simple and fast.

The Classic Celestron CG-4 German Equatorial Mount

The Celestron Omni XLT Mount comes with time-honored features that will help you find, track, observe, and even photograph celestial objects. An equatorial telescope mount differs from the more basic alt-azimuth mount because of the way it moves. If you have a photographic tripod for your DSLR or video camera, then you are the owner of an alt-azimuth mount. When you want to move the camera to another position, you loosen the knobs or grab the handle and move it up, down, right, or left. This type of mount is perfect for terrestrial use, because on our planet, that is the way objects move….up, down, right, or left. However, when you leave our planet and instead, observe objects in the sky, it becomes a bit more complicated. Celestial objects move in an arc over our heads, and the shape of that arc depends on where we live. An equatorial mount can compensate for this type of movement by allowing the user to set the latitude of his or her location so that when the telescope moves, it follows the arc objects make as they move through the sky. Without motors, the user would make these movements via slow motion control knobs or cables. If you add one motor to the Right Ascension axis of the mount (left to right movements) then the mount would track automatically as objects moved from left to right across the sky. Add a second motor to the Declination (aka DEC) axis, and now you have the ability to make adjustments for up/down, or north/south movements as well. This is called dual-axis drive, and with dual-axis drive, you will can enter into the world of astrophotography with your Celestron Omni XLT 150 telescope! You can read a bit more about the dual-axis drive motor that comes with this telescope by scrolling down a bit.

In the last section I talked briefly about a photographic tripod. If you have ever used one, you will understand the importance of stability. If a tripod, any tripod, is shaky or wobbly, then the views through the instrument mounted on that tripod will be shaky and wobbly as well. The Celestron 150 Omni XLT Telescope comes with a sturdy tripod with stainless steel legs that have a diameter of 1.75”. The thickness and material used on the legs affect how stable the tripod will be. Another thing that helps stability is a spreader bar. This component serves several purposes. It presents a method for attaching the mount securely to the top of the tripod, and when in place, the spreader bar pushes firmly against the tripod legs, holding them securely open (hence the name spreader bar). Finally, the spreader bar also doubles as an accessory tray, providing a place to put your extra eyepieces and other small accessories so they will be safe yet close by when you need them. The tripod legs are height-adjustable, and collapse when not in use to make the tripod a fairly compact package for transport and storage.

Celestron Omni XLT 150 Newtonian Specifications

• Aperture: 150 mm (5.91 in)

• Focal Length: 750 mm (29.53 in)

• Focal Ratio: f/5

• Included Eyepiece: 25 mm

• Magnification through Included Eyepiece: 30 X

• Finderscope: 6×30

• Optical Coatings: StarBright

• XLT Mount: Omni CG-4 Equatorial

• Tripod Legs: 1.75″ Stainless Steel

More About the Dual-Axis Motor Drive

The Celestron Dual-Axis Motor Drive is included with this Omni XLT 150 Telescope package. Two motors are included, one each for the telescope’s right ascension and declination axis. Once these motors have been installed, adjustments to tracking can be made via the included drive hand control unit.

The hand controller offers four different speeds, including 1X sidereal rate, 2X guiding rate, and a choice of 4X or 8X for centering an object. The Celestron Dual-Axis Motor Drive runs off of four D-cell batteries (not included).

Celestron Dual-Axis Motor Drive Included Components:

• Two motors

• Brackets and gears

• Clutch and hardware

• Hand Controller unit

• Connecting cables for the motors

• Battery holder (batteries not included)

• Battery holder – storage pouch