Aluminium storage case

A sturdy, well-padded and lockable aluminium storage case is provided with the telescope, making it easy to safely transport and store. Measuring just 775mm x 245mm x 230mm, it is easy to handle and in total – with the Starwave stowed safely inside – weighs just 9.6kg.

turned the view to the 101km-wide crater Plato and were pleased to catch glimpses of the four craterlets within.

With a doublet telescope like the Starwave, sometimes called a ‘semi-apo’, we were expecting to see some colour fringing, especially on a bright object like the Moon. Indeed, there was an indigo fringe around its bright limb, which was especially noticeable with the 4.5mm eyepiece, but considerably less so with our 10mm and almost inconsequential to the view. Unfortunately, Jupiter and Saturn were not ideally positioned during the review period, but we still managed to see some nice colour banding on both planets and (considering the elevation) good variation within Saturn’s rings. Mars on the other hand presented an altogether more satisfying spectacle and the bright, multicoated optics of the Starwave presented a remarkable view of the Red Planet at a magnification of 170x, with its distinct polar regions and darker albedo regions clearly visible.

Altair has a dedicated reducer-flattener lens that can be used for astrophotography with the Starwave 110ED-R, but we opted to use the telescope at its normal focal length with both monochrome and colour cameras for comparison. The colour images we obtained, such as of the Dumbbell Nebula, M27, showed a good transmission of colour – including those of hydrogen emission – with some expected blue fringes around brighter stars and a little coma.

KIT TO ADD 1.

Altair Starwave 8x reducer

Altair 60mm Guide Scope package

2.

Altair 180mm telescope carry handle

3.

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Although our imaging time was limited by adverse weather, the Starwave demonstrated its potential appeal to more discerning imagers when we used it with a monochrome camera and narrowband or colour filters. Our image of the Pacman Nebula, NGC 281, revealed features with good definition and contrast, and a favourable imaging scale.

Overall, we found the Starwave 100ED-R was most enjoyable to use, offering a healthy balance between aperture and portability.

Þ Top: M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, taken with an Atik 460 OSC camera connected to the Altair Starwave 110ED-R Þ Middle: a narrowband Ha (hydrogen-alpha) image of the Pacman Nebula, captured after changing the setup to an Atik 460 mono camera Þ Bottom: The Eastern Veil Nebula, taken with an Atik 460 OSC camera