Orion SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope Telescope

by Orion

Product Details

Product Manual [1.35mb PDF]

• ASIN: B0000XMSO8
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,026 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 1, 2003

Product Description

Building on the XT8's legacy of award-winning design and performance, we've now enhanced the world's best-selling 8" Dobsonian with new technology that will literally change the way you view the heavens. The SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope gives amateur stargazers speedy access to more than 14,000 celestial objects with the push of a button on the optionally available IntelliScope Computerized Object Locator. Want to view the Whirlpool Galaxy? Press the button labeled Messier ... select M51 ... whoosh! Wow! In seconds, there it is, dead center in the eyepiece. Never been able to find that edge-on galaxy, NGC 891? Tap the "NGC" button, select 891 ... whoosh! You're there. It's that easy to locate and view object after object ; so many more in an evening than you could ever find before.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent telescope, November 28, 2004

By 

Guillermo Castaño Acevedo "Sirio" (Bogotá, Colombia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Orion SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope Telescope (Office Product)

Hi, i received my telescope a few weeks ago.
The Orion package is very solid and protect the Telescope really well. I live outside USA (South America) so the Telescope traveled from California to Miami and the to Colombia without a scratch.
Orion's customer service isn't the best (i posted a couple of mails and the answers were short and in one case, i had no answer at all) but is fine.
The telescope itself is really wonderful, the optics are great and even now with full moon and cloudy nights i've been seeing objects i've never saw before. The contrstuction of the Optical Tube and the Dobsonian base is strong and really well ended.
Instructions to assemble the Dobsonian base are not dumb-proof and have a couple of minor mistakes, but it's pretty easy to do; nothing to be afraid of.
In conclusion it's a very good telescope, easy to transport, collimate, point at, calibrate and with great optics and it's also very beautiful ;)
As a side note, i think it's the biggest telescope I would buy if I have to move and travel with frequently. It's heavy and big (almost doesn't fit in my car, a Toyota Land Cruiser) so if you will travel a lot with your telescope, maybe it's the bigger one you'll want to move.
Excellent purchase!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Takes alot of practice, August 22, 2005

By 

C. B. "Stargazer" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orion SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope Telescope (Office Product)

While I think that eventually it will be easier to manage, this telescope takes some getting used to. It has such a light touch that it is easy to lose the object you are looking at and you have to refind it. But like I said, with more practice this may not be a problem.
What was a problem for me was the base. It is not that easy to put together (unless you're a carpenter) and it is heavy. So when you get the tube attached to it, between the two of them, it is bulky and heavy to move around. And the instruction manual could use alot of work for assembling the base and tube. Parts should have a number or letter printed on them to make assembly much easier.
Other than that, I am looking forward to years of star-gazing.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Value/Great Delivery, April 28, 2004

By 

Mark Epperson "Mark Epperson" (Panora, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orion SkyQuest XT8 IntelliScope Telescope (Office Product)

The SkyQuestXT8 InteliScope is everything I expected. First, a Dobsonian Reflector is a compromise telescope. You get great light gathering capabilities at a low price but in a large form factor that is somewhat bulky and without support of the more elegant EQ tripods. But if you're looking for a great entry-level telescope with the ability to pull in the rings of Saturn,the Newtonian moons of Jupiter, and large faint objects then the XT8 is great buy.

Orion also gives great service. When I placed my order the Computerise Object Locator was on backorder. I emailed Orion, and they replied the same day saying they expected to ship on the 29th. Well, they emailed me much earlier than that to let me know they had shipped the item and it arrived BEFORE the 29th. For a tutorial of Astronomy terms, checkout there website.