{"product_id":"explore-scientific-sidara-plus-150-newtonian-reflector-telescope","title":"Explore Scientific Sidara Plus 150mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope and Alt-Azimuth Mount with Sky Assist","description":"\u003ch2\u003eProduct Overview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Sidara Plus 150 is the light bucket of Explore Scientific's Sidara range: a 150 mm Newtonian reflector of 750 mm focal length, which works out to f\/5, supplied on the Sidara Plus alt-azimuth mount with dual-axis slow-motion controls, a tripod, and eyepieces and accessories per the package configuration. Explore Scientific describes it as a telescope that \"captures a significant amount of light, making faint deep sky objects more visible and detailed,\" and notes that \"the fast focal ratio enhances brightness and provides a wider field of view.\" It carries vendor item number ES-N150750-MAZ01 and is the largest aperture in the manual side of the Sidara line.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWho It's For\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuy this one if faint fuzzies are what you actually care about. A 150 mm mirror gathers about forty per cent more light than the 127 mm refractor alongside it in this range, and roughly two and a half times what a 90 mm Sidara Nano collects. That is the difference between an object being detectable and an object being interesting. Globular clusters like M13 begin to resolve into individual stars around the edges instead of looking like a fuzzy ball. The Orion Nebula shows wings and structure. The dust lane in the Andromeda Galaxy becomes findable from a reasonably dark site. Set expectations honestly, though: even at 150 mm, galaxies are grey smudges with shape, not colour photographs, and light-polluted suburban skies will cost you more deep sky detail than any aperture upgrade will win back. Driving forty minutes out of town does more for this telescope than any accessory you can buy for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reflector-against-refractor question comes down to what you give up for that aperture. A Newtonian uses mirrors rather than lenses, so it has no chromatic aberration at all: no violet fringe on the Moon or on Jupiter, which the achromatic refractors in this range do show. You also get far more aperture per dollar, which is why this 150 mm package sits below the 127 mm refractor on price. In exchange you take on three things. The secondary mirror sits in the light path, which very slightly softens planetary contrast compared with a refractor of the same size. The optics need collimation, meaning occasional alignment of the mirrors, which is a five-minute job once you have done it twice but is genuinely a job. And at f\/5 the tube is fast enough that stars towards the edge of a wide field show a little coma, a small comet-shaped flare, which is a property of the design rather than a fault. If none of that bothers you, this is the most telescope in the group.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eKey Features \u0026amp; Design\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e150 mm Newtonian reflector with a 750 mm focal length, giving a fast f\/5 system with a wide, bright field.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLargest aperture in the manual Sidara range and the strongest performer here on faint deep sky objects.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSidara Plus alt-azimuth mount with slow-motion controls on both axes, described by Explore Scientific as allowing \"precise tracking.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSky Assist integration, which Explore Scientific says \"simplifies navigation, allowing users to quickly locate targets and spend more time observing.\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMirror optics with no chromatic aberration, so bright objects show no colour fringing at any magnification.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComplete package: 150 mm Newtonian tube, mount, tripod, and eyepieces and accessories per the package configuration.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShort tube for its aperture, which keeps the whole assembly manageable to carry outside in one or two trips.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOptical Design\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Newtonian is the simplest useful reflecting telescope there is. Light travels down an open tube to a concave parabolic primary mirror at the bottom, bounces back up, and is intercepted by a small flat secondary mirror set at forty-five degrees near the top, which throws the focused image sideways out to the focuser and your eyepiece. Because the image is formed by reflection rather than refraction, every wavelength of light is bent by exactly the same amount, which is why a mirror telescope is inherently free of the colour error that limits an achromatic refractor. The f\/5 focal ratio here is the consequence of pairing a 150 mm mirror with only 750 mm of focal length: the light cone is steep, the image is bright and the field of view at any given eyepiece is wide, which makes finding objects by sweeping much easier for a beginner. The cost of that steep cone is tighter tolerances. A fast mirror needs its collimation to be closer to correct than a slow one does, and it asks a little more of the eyepiece at the edge of the field. In magnification terms the 750 mm focal length gives roughly 30x with a 25 mm eyepiece and about 75x with a 10 mm, with a practical ceiling near 200x on nights when the atmosphere cooperates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eRecommended Uses\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeep sky observing from dark or semi-dark sites: globular clusters, open clusters, nebulae and the brighter galaxies.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWide-field sweeping along the Milky Way, where the f\/5 focal ratio and low-power eyepiece show large swathes of sky at once.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLunar observing, where the aperture reveals fine detail without any colour fringing along the limb.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlanetary viewing at moderate to high power, once the mirror has cooled and the collimation is good.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA first telescope for someone who has already decided that deep sky is what draws them, and who is willing to learn collimation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eCompatibility and Accessory Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo accessories matter more for this telescope than for the refractors in the range. The first is a collimation tool, either a simple sight tube or a laser collimator, which turns mirror alignment from guesswork into a quick routine. The second is a decent low-power wide-field eyepiece, because at f\/5 the cheapest eyepieces show their weaknesses at the edge of the field and a better one repays itself immediately. A Moon filter is worth having as well, since 150 mm of aperture on a gibbous Moon is uncomfortably bright. Explore Scientific does not publish the focuser barrel size, the eyepiece specifications or the finder type for this package on its product page, so before you order a collimator or eyepieces to match, contact our team in Bolton and we will confirm the fitting for you. Whether the tube rings or dovetail will transfer to another mount later is model-dependent, and we are happy to check it rather than have you assume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eGood to Know Before You Order\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExplore Scientific publishes no shipping weight for this item, so we are confirming it on our own scales before the listing goes live. That is why it is currently unpublished. Contact us and we will give you a shipping figure for your address. Two other things are worth saying plainly. First, this is a reflector, so it will need collimation, and a Newtonian that has travelled in a car boot will sometimes need a check before you observe. That is normal ownership rather than a defect, but if the idea of ever adjusting your own optics puts you off, the 127 mm refractor in the same range is the calmer choice. Second, Explore Scientific's product page for this package is light on detail. It states the aperture, the focal length and the mount type, and says eyepieces and accessories are included, but does not itemise which eyepieces or which finder ships in the box, and publishes no specification table. We will not guess at that, so ask us and we will confirm against the carton. This is a manual alt-azimuth mount with no motors and no GoTo, and it is not intended for astrophotography beyond casual lunar phone shots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat does Sky Assist do on this mount?\u003c\/strong\u003e Explore Scientific describes it on this package as navigation help, saying that Sky Assist \"simplifies navigation, allowing users to quickly locate targets and spend more time observing.\" On their motorised Sidara Pro mounts they describe it as letting users \"select targets and allow the mount to move the telescope into position,\" but the Sidara Plus mount is manual, so on this telescope it guides you to the target and you do the moving with the slow-motion controls. Explore Scientific has not published the full setup detail, and we would rather tell you that than invent it. Contact us and we will confirm the current specifics with the distributor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow often will I actually have to collimate it?\u003c\/strong\u003e In practice, a check every few sessions and a real adjustment a few times a year, more often if the telescope regularly travels in a vehicle. The first time takes half an hour and some reading; after that it is a few minutes before you observe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs this better than the 130 mm Sidara Essential reflector?\u003c\/strong\u003e It gathers about a third more light, which is a visible step on faint objects, and it sits on the sturdier Plus mount. If your budget stretches and you have somewhere reasonably dark to observe from, the 150 mm is the better long-term buy. If portability and price matter more, the 130 mm gives up less than the numbers suggest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan I use it for planets, or is it deep sky only?\u003c\/strong\u003e It is a capable planetary telescope. A well collimated 150 mm Newtonian will show Jupiter's belts, the Great Red Spot and Saturn's Cassini division on a steady night. A refractor of similar size has slightly cleaner contrast, but the difference is smaller than most beginners expect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eBottom Line\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Sidara Plus 150 is the aperture answer in this range, and on deep sky objects it simply shows you more than anything else in the Sidara line. Ask yourself honestly whether you will keep the mirrors collimated and get the telescope to darker skies, because those two habits matter more than the specification does. If you want help deciding between this and the 127 mm refractor, contact our team in Bolton and we will work through it with you.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Explore Scientific","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53958645710959,"sku":"ES-N150750-MAZ01","price":969.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0686\/0049\/6239\/files\/sidara_plus_150_v2.jpg?v=1785960726","url":"https:\/\/ontariotelescope.com\/products\/explore-scientific-sidara-plus-150-newtonian-reflector-telescope","provider":"Ontario Telescope and Accessories","version":"1.0","type":"link"}