Telescope review
Highly portable, simple to use and ideal for beginners on a budget, this small telescope is an excellent introduction into astronomy
Is the Omegon MightyMak 90 the right telescope for you? Here's our lowdown
If you’re looking for a telescope that’s easy to carry and set up ready for your very first venture into observing, or perhaps you have children that have been hassling you for a ‘scope, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on a hobby that could end up being a fad, then the Omegon MightyMak 90 is a worthwhile option to consider. Omegon’s affordable product provides two types of mount – a tabletop tripod and a Dobsonian – ideal for quick wildlife watching and night-sky viewing – as well as a Kellner 25mm eyepiece and a handy transport bag.
Unusually, however, there doesn’t seem to be a finderscope or red dot finder to assist with finding objects, something that may hinder a novice astronomer’s observing sessions to a large degree. For the purpose of this review we attached an in-house red dot finder to the telescope in order to test it sufficiently.
Overall the MightyMak 90 is very well built; the tube in particular is of superb quality. The build of the Dobsonian mount is good, but the tabletop tripod doesn’t seem to support the tube as well without severely tightening the tripod pan handle. The MightyMak 90 is sufficiently packaged in bubble wrap to ensure safe transportation. The dust cap, which is fixed to the telescope’s objective lens, is a nice touch, ensuring that you don’t lose this important accessory, although it could become a hindrance while observing, particularly on a windy evening.
We selected the sturdier Dobsonian mount for our observations. Setting up was a breeze, and within moments we got stuck into targeting a selection of objects. With its small aperture the MightyMak 90 is only really suitable for observing Solar System targets and the surface of the Moon – highly recommended targets for those just starting to observe the night sky. Slewing from one region of the sky to the other, we enjoyed the smooth operation, while still giving just the right amount of resistance for stability when observing chosen targets. With Saturn and Mars recently reaching opposition, we quickly located the pair as yellowish and red stars not too far apart from each other in the constellations of Ophiuchus and Libra respectively, while Jupiter proudly shone as a bright star in the constellation of Leo.
We made Jupiter our first target, which appeared as a bright disc. By using averted vision we could make out two of its prominent bands – an impressive feat given the small aperture of this telescope. The MightyMak 90 allows for basic astrophotography, which we took advantage of, and which allowed us to reveal much more subtle detail across the gas giant’s equator. Three of the planet’s four Galilean moons were visible during our observations, appearing as lined-up points of light either side of Jupiter’s limbs.
The MightyMak 90’s clarity is impressive, with no chromatic aberration – or colour fringing – visible on the edges of such a bright object. Mars appeared as a small, salmon-pink disc over the southern horizon, while the ringed giant Saturn stole the show at magnitude +0.8. While the view of the planet was small in the field of view, the planet’s majestic rings blew us away. Although conditions weren’t favourable enough to pick out the Cassini Division without the aid of photography equipment, the MightyMak 90 surpassed expectations. The manual to the Maksutov-Cassegrain states that the ‘scope isn’t very useful in observing deep-sky objects. While on the whole this is true of this desktop ‘scope, it is capable of picking out rich star clusters, as well as brighter nebulae.
The MightyMak 90 is perfect for those wanting to get into astronomy without breaking the bank. Being suitable for terrestrial views, the ‘scope also doubles up for watching wildlife, adding more value for money. While the telescope came without a finderscope and could have been supplied with a few more accessories, the MightyMak is versatile and suits a wide range of eyepieces and filters.
There are cheaper ‘scopes on the market of a more substantial size, but this ‘pint-sized’ model has an advantage thanks to its portability.
“The MightyMak 90 is versatile and suits a wide range of eyepieces and filters”