GREEN WITCH TOP TELESCOPES

• SKY WATCHER

The Infinity 76P is one of our favourite telescopes - our pet name for it is Pingu for fairly obvious reasons. It is more than a toy and gives much better images than you might expect from the price. It's the ideal first telescope for any budding astronomer.

It is simple to use, just place it on a table or wall, point it at your object and twist the eyepiece to focus. The Moon will look stunning, showing craters, mountains, valleys and rills in detail. Jupiter's Galilean moons will be seen to move from night to night. You can see Saturn's rings and its largest moon, Titan. It will show all the Messier objects, the amateur astronomer's favourite target list containing galaxies, nebulae and star clusters.

Unlike more conventional starter telescopes, it won't take up much space in a child's bedroom, but will give hours of fun.

New stock has arrived so this telescope is available once more

• SKY WATCHER

114mm (4.5") f/1000 Catadioptric Newtonian Reflector

A 4.5" reflecting telescope is perhaps the most popular choice for a beginner wanting a telescope to observe the Moon and bright planets as well as explore the brighter deep-space objects. It will show the rings around Saturn, the Galilean moons of Jupiter and lots of details on our Moon.

It is also powerful enough to show the amateur's favourite target list, the Messier Objects. This list of over 100 objects includes examples of all the main deep sky categories such as galaxies, nebulae and star clusters.

This telescope has an internal lens that allows the tube to be shorter than usual making the telescope more compact and easier to handle. The equatorial mount makes tracking objects easy.

An ideal first telescope

• SKYWATCHER

The Heritage-130P has been specially designed to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 and the 400th Anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope. This is not only a highly functional precision optical instrument but also a beautiful collector’s piece and ideal gift.

The telescope tube is adorned with the names of many famous figures that have made significant contributions to the advancement of astronomy over this 400yr period, including Galileo Galilei himself.

• MEADE

The Meade ETX 60 Beginners Telescope Package has been designed to give the budding astronomer everything he or she needs to start exploring the night sky. It's also designed for easy portability so it can be used at home or taken to a dark site for even better views.

The 60mm lens is large enough to show Saturn's rings, Jupiter's Galilean moons and cloud belts, hundreds of craters on our own moon and many deep-sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae.

Its built-in Autostar controller knows where 1400 of the most interesting objects are located and will find and track them for you. Just add batteries, follow a simple alignment procedure and let the ETX 60 take you on a voyage of exploration. To get you started just select the tour option and Autostar will show you the best objects for that night.

Our ETX 60 package includes a host of useful accessories such as three quality eyepieces and a built-in Barlow lens. These have been chosen to give magnifications that cover the telescope's useful range. You will select the magnification that best suits the object you are observing and the sky conditions.

A light-weight but stable tripod supports the telescope at a comfortable height and gives a nice steady view. It all packs into the supplied backpack to keep it safe when not in use and to make it easy to travel to a dark site or star party.

The ETX 60 is also suitable for terrestrial viewing making it a versatile and excellent starter package for anyone interested in astronomy.

• SKY Watcher

• Magnifications (with eyepieces supplied): x30, x60, x75, x150
• Highest Practical Power (Potential): x300
• Diameter of Primary Mirror: 150mm
• Telescope Focal Length: 750mm (f/5)
• Eyepieces Supplied (1.25"): 10mm & 25mm
• X2 Deluxe Barlow Lens 1.25" (with Camera Adaptor)
• Parabolic Primary Mirror
• 0.5mm Ultra-Thin Secondary Mirror Supports
• 6x30 Finderscope
• Direct SLR Camera Connection
• EQ3-2 Deluxe Equatorial Mount
• Built-in Polar Alignment Scope Holder
• Aluminium Tripod with Accessory Tray
• 33% more Light Gathering than 130mm

• SKY WATCHER

The SkyHawk 1145P is a 4.5-inch Newtonian reflector with a parabolic primary mirror and a short, 500mm focal length. This makes it compact for easy handling and provides bright, high-quality images with no colour aberration.

It is a very cost-effective way of getting a bigger aperture which makes deep-sky objects appear brighter, and its built-in computer control will ensure you find all the best objectts with ease.

• SKY WATCHER

5" Motorised Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope

The Skymax 127 Supatrak Auto combines several features to make it ideal for the planetary enthusiast who also wants an aperture large enough for deep-sky viewing. Superior Maksutov-Cassegrain optics offer high contrast images and have the longer focal length that makes the high magnification needed for planets easier to obtain.

The compact optical tube on a light but sturdy altazimuth mount is easy to carry and set up. Supatrak means it will track objects automatically without the complexity and added weight of a german equatorial mount.

And if you want to use the telescope for bird watching or other terrestrial interests just add an optional image erector. Its electronic controller even has a 'cruise mode' that allows it to switch between several terrestrial targets.

• Sky Watcher

A massive 8-inch aperture on a sturdy equatorial mount makes this an excellent choice for the enthusiastic beginner or advanced intermediate astronomer. The advantage of an equatorial mount is that it makes it easy to track an object and keep it in the field of view. Slow-motion controls allow the object to be centred, then as it drifts out of the field due to the Earth's rotation you just tweak the RA slow motion control to follow it.

Aligning the mount is quite straightforward. A scale on the side allows you to set it for your latitude then just point the main axis north and it's ready for use. Accurate alignment isn't necessary for visual use as minor corrections can be applied with the slow-motion controls.

This is a serious size of aperture that will show a wide range of objects in great detail. The equatorial mount makes it easy to keep an object in view and motors can be added to do this automatically if you wish.

The EQ5 mount and tripod is quite stable so high magnifications are possible when atmospheric conditions allow.

• CELESTRON

Featuring high-quality Maksutov-Cassegrain optics, the NexStar 4 SE is an ideal telescope for observing and photographing the wonders of space. With a total weight of 21 lbs including the tripod, the ultra portable 4 SE features a precision optical system with 1,325 mm focal length (f/13) and is the first Maksutov system ever to feature Celestron's premium StarBright XLT coatings.

The 4 SE includes a camera control feature that allows you to remotely take a series of timed exposures using your digital SLR camera. Plus the Flip Mirror Control, Straight Through Photographic Port and Tripod featuring a built-in wedge help make short-exposure astrophotography a heavenly experience.

• MEADE

Following the success of the ETX90 Meade introduced the ETX125 for those customers wanting a larger aperture. Using the same Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design as the ETX90 it produces stunning images of all types of objects from planets, through clusters to distant galaxies.

Choose the ETX125 to get brighter images and higher definition. Complete with sturdy field tripod, built-in Autostar computer control system and 26mm Super Plossl eyepiece.

Supplied with Autostar Suite Astronomer's Edition Software.

• CELESTRON

Portability and serious performance come together in the NexStar 6 SE. Celestron's first new Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system in over a decade is now available in a high performance altazimuth computerized telescope. With a total weight of 30 lbs including the tripod, the ultra portable 6 SE features a precision optical system with 1500mm focal length (f/10) and offers 44% more light gathering than a 5-inch telescope.

The NexStar 6 SE has all the same features as Celestron's most advanced computerized GoTo telescopes, including the revolutionary SkyAlign alignment technology, a sky tour feature, a database of over 40,000 celestial objects and easy to use hand control.

The NexStar 6 SE is one of our favourite telescopes and has been very popular with customers since its launch in April 2007. It was awarded Sky and Telescope magazines 'Hot Product 2008' accolade and is still one of the best telescopes on the market.

• SKY WATCHER

• Magnifications (with Eyepieces supplied): x40, x80, x100, x200
• Highest Practical Power (Potential): x400
• Diameter of Primary Mirror: 200mm
• Telescope Focal Length: 1000mm (f/5)
• Eyepieces Supplied (1.25"): 10mm & 26mm
• X2 Deluxe Barlow Lens 1.25" (with camera adaptor)
• Dual-Fit 1.25"/2" Focuser
• Parabolic Primary Mirror
• 0.5mm Ultra-Thin Secondary Mirror Supports
• 9x50 Finderscope
• Direct SLR Camera Connection
• HEQ5 PRO SkyScanTM Super Heavy-Duty Computerised GOTO Equatorial Mount (Requires 12 Volt DC Power-Supply)
• Built-in Dual-Axis Stepper Motors
• Built-in Polar Alignment Scope Holder
• 1.75" Stainless Steel Pipe Tripod with Accessory Tray
• 77% more Light Gathering than 150mm

• VIXEN

We've matched the A105M achromatic refractor with Vixen's GP2 mount to provide a complete observing package for the discerning user. The combination of high-quality 4-inch telescope and solid Vixen mount on the HAL 130 aluminium tripod provide you with all you need to enjoy excellent views of the night sky.

Two Vixen NLV eyepieces are included as standard. The 25mm gives a magnification of 40x and the 10mm gives a magnification of 100x. These have been chosen to give a good balance between magnification and field of view but if you are upgrading and already have some eyepieces you may select different eyepieces from the same range at no extra cost.

Dual-axis motor drives are available as an option. The image shows these installed on the mount. Alternatively, the mount can be upgraded to fully automated operation based on Vixen's Starbook S controller and motor set. If you would like to include the Starbook option with your initial purchase you can save money.

Price: £1,498.99 (Including VAT at 17.5%)

• CELESTRON CPC GPS (XLT )

The CPC 800 is the most portable telescope in the CPC series and the easiest for an individual to handle and set up alone. Its 8-inch aperture offers excellent performance on all types of objects from solar system to deep sky. The CPC800 won the Sky at Night group test award, confirming its pre-eminent position.

It is compatible with all the Celestron SCT accessories and can be fitted with the Hyperstar 8 for wide-field imaging at f/2.

Massive Saving - was £ 2,249 - now only £1,570 - the best value 8-inch fork-mounted SCT on the market

Supplied with free Scope Cover worth £25