Meade ETX-70 Telescope

This is an outstanding little telescope, considering how little it costs. I've been an amateur astronomer for 30 years, with and without telescopes. I bought my ETX because I wanted a small computerized scope that was cheap. I have many eyepieces from my other telescopes.

I'm no optics expert, and seeing conditions where I've usually used the scope aren't good, but I've noticed nothing wrong with the optics. I've seen the bands on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, the moons of both, and had (in better locations) surprisingly good views of the prominent nebulae such as Andromeda.

The second best thing about the ETX is the computer drive, which really works! Once it's set up, it will point unerringly to one sky-feature after another. This is amazing to an old-timer like me. It takes all the work out of astronomy! You do, however, have to know something about what you're doing to set it up. I find that the alti-azimuth setup is good enough for all the observing I want to do, that I don't need to use the equatorial setup.

First-timers will find the setup to be a complicated series of steps. The ETX and its instructions make it as easy as possible, but astronomy can only be simplified so much. I use a compass and there's a bubble-level on my tripod.

The first best thing about my ETX is that when it's set up in alti-azimuth mode, it's very comfortable to look through. I keep the tripod low and I sit in a comfy folding chair while I'm star-gazing. You can set it up on a table, provided you have some means of making sure the telescope is level. I'm too old to stand and stoop for hours to look in a Newtonian any more.

If you set up the telescope in equatorial mode on the tripod, you want to be very careful, as the scope/tripod will be off-balance and very easy to knock over. A couple of years ago, I smashed a $1200 Meade by brushing against it while it was on a tripod in equatorial mode. I will never forget the sound those optics made on that concrete pavement.

The ETX is so small, I easily take it with me on car-camping trips. Taking the telescope away from campground lights in the darkness often involves chasing away curious deer and coyotes (who don't fear you when it's dark) and adds to the fun. I bring rechargeable AA batteries, a charger, and a power inverter so I can charge batteries when I'm driving. A red LED bicycle tail-light is a cheap handy flashlight that won't spoil your night-vision.

To set up this telescope so that the computer guidance works requires a minimal understanding of astronomy. You need to know your latitude, which direction is true north, and whether certain bright stars are obscured by nearby buildings or trees. Most of us have this much knowledge, but (for example) a sixth-grader might not. That kid will need your help setting up. That is the only setup difficulty I had in mind when I wrote the review. The actual mechanics of setting up the ETX-70AT is as simple as it can possibly be. The telescope is small and light enough to set up inside a lighted room. Then you can carry it outside and set it on level ground (so long as you know where north is). If you make sure it's really pointing north, and that the scope is really level (I use a bubble level) the computer guidance will walk you through calibration using one or two bright guide stars.

The Meade ETX-70AT is NOT unstable on its tripod. The one I smashed was unstable because it was much bigger and heavier than the ETX-70AT, and because I had it set up in its equatorial mode, which made its center of gravity off-center. The ETX-70AT is very stable on its tripod indeed. You won't need to use an equatorial setup.

There may be similar telescopes on the market for less money. I don't know about that. My attitude is this: I'm in my sixties. When I was a beginner, you couldn't even look at an astronomical telescope for so little money. I only regret that, now that my eyesight is failing, and I'm getting too stiff physically to bend over an eyepiece for hours, and light pollution is so much worse, only NOW can I afford a decent telescope!

What do images in a telescope look like? Why be an amateur astronomer at all? Good questions! Non-astronomers see images from Hubble and other super-scopes in magazines, and they may be disappointed when what they see in a telescope doesn't look like what they saw in the magazines. I'm just a casual hobby astronomer. I get my kicks from the the thrill of finding an obscure object in the sky, and from knowing that I'm looking at the object in real-time with my own eyeball and brain. Galaxies and nebulae look like faint fuzzy patches that you have to 'learn how to see.' Once you've learned, you can see their shapes: M31 is elliptical and has another faint galaxy next to it, the Ring Nebula really has a hole in it. I'm describing the view though a 4" reflector, not the ETX-70AT, although a younger person with really good eyesight might see these things through an ETX-70AT.

Even with easy-to-find stuff like the Moon and the planets, there's a thrill. The eye still sees things that the camera cannot. When you're looking at the Moon, a momentary patch of good air conditions will let you glimpse details that are usually invisible, such as rills or small craters, or fine color gradations on the Moon's surface. Same for Mars and Venus. I've seen bats maneuvering against the Moon with the moonlight shining through their wings. An airliner once flew through my telescope field when the lighting conditions were good enough for me to see the faces of the passengers and the Moon shining through the windows on the opposite side of the place. Whenever I look at the night side of the Moon I wonder if I will see a meteor impact... I haven't yet!

Amateur astronomy is like fishing, in that the point of fishing isn't to catch fish. The point is to 'be there' and to obtain pleasure from honing your skills & knowledge. I feel a spiritual pleasure from being close to nature, which is where you are when you're with your telescope in the dark. In rural areas, I've been approached by curious coyotes and deer. I am soothed by the sounds of crickets, owls and frogs. On warms nights in the city, a neighborhood cat will sit with me for an hour. You will get into deep conversations with casual passersby. The night air is fragrant. After several hours, your eyes become sensitive and acute; you enjoy senses that you didn't know you had. You start pondering questions such as, is moonlight green or blue? Or grey? Do you want to spend your evenings like this, or would you rather be watching television?

A small astronomical telescope is interesting in daylight as well. Even pigeons and squirrels have secret lives we don't see on the ground. Any large body of water generates mirages that have to be seen (through a telescope) to be believed.

Your last question was what about batteries? The ETX-70AT uses six AA batteries. I use rechargeable Energizer nickel-metal hydride AA batteries for all my gadgetry, including the telescope. I bought them and their charger in my local hardware store. A single set of charged batteries will run the scope for hours. I always run down before they do.