Product Review

Our most advanced 12-inch Dobsonian is geared up for extensive exploration of the night sky, with fully motorized GoTo and tracking drives providing automated pointing to any of the over 42,000 celestial objects in the hand controller's database. Orion designed the XX12g's optical tube and base with portability in mind. The truss tube can be divided into a small front tube section including the secondary mirror and focuser, rear tube section housing the primary mirror cell, and the four truss-pole pairs. We've increased portability by making the base collapsible for easy disassembly into four separate, smaller pieces for easier transport. The separated component pieces of the XX12g tube and base can be transported in virtually any standard-sized car to your favorite dark-sky observing site. Heavy-duty clutches allow independent adjustment of motion to desired level of resistance in both axes. WARNING! When using a truss tube Dobsonian for solar observing, always use a Light Shroud and a properly sized solar filter. Make sure there are no gaps between the Shroud and the telescope where direct sunlight can reach the mirror, otherwise eye injury or damage to the telescope can occur. Before using any telescope for solar observing, install protective covers on all optical components. Glancing through an uncovered optical system can cause permanent eye damage. Always install protective caps on all optical instruments if left out during daylight hours.