#20 in Telescopes
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Reddit mentions of Meade Instruments LightBridge Mini 130 Telescope, White (203003)
Sentiment score: 4
Reddit mentions: 6
We found 6 Reddit mentions of Meade Instruments LightBridge Mini 130 Telescope, White (203003). Here are the top ones.
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- Parabolic Newtonian Reflector with an impressive 130mm (5.1-Inch) aperture for an amazing view of planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies
- Lightweight (13.6 lbs.) with a removable 650mm (f/5) optical tube for portability
- Comes with 26mm (25x) and 9mm (72x) eyepieces for low and high magnifications
- 360-Degree swivel mount and a simple point-and-look design for easy use
Features:
Specs:
| Color | White |
| Height | 26 inches |
| Length | 12.25 inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | November 2018 |
| Size | 130mm Telescope |
| Weight | 13.6 pounds |
| Width | 12.25 inches |
Hello :-)
Telescopes aren't better or worse for observing "distance". In fact, binoculars can see galaxies much further away than anything in the solar system; And even with the naked eye, under truly dark skies, you can see the Andromeda Galaxy.
As a rule of thumb, a larger aperture will show more. It can show fainter structures, and has a higher resolution.
Here are links on what to expect with different telescope aperture sizes.
If you can stretch your budget a little more, you can get a used/refurbished 6" dobsonian:
New and for $200 or less, the Zhumell z130 is the best deal. It's sometimes on sale for $179/$189. There's also the Meade Lightbridge Mini 130 and the AWB Onesky. The closed tube telescopes have contrast benefits and better focusers, but the OneSky is a great compact telescope despite it's quirks.
The 6" dobsonian is high enough to observe seated or standing. The 5" table tops require something to put them on (e.g. the $19 Ikea step-stool Bekväm).
The 6" also has a longer focal length, resulting in an F/8 aperture ratio. The table-top telescope's F/5 aperture ratio result in a lower contrast (larger obstruction, coma, mirror parabolization requirements).
 
Telescopes with tripod are available, but are usually too weak, making focusing and tracking tedious. A good equatorial mount can cost more than the telescope it's supposed to carry.
E.g. there's the Meade Polaris 130eq for $150-$180. The telescope itself is similar to the mentioned 130mm table-top dobsonians. Stability is already an issue. A better mount for it would cost $250 or so (neq3/cg4/skyview).
Avoid all 150/1400, 114/1000 and 127/1000 telescopes (Astromaster 114, Powerseeker 127eq for example). These are flawed "bird-jones" telescopes; Easy to identify as they are much shorter than their focal length, as they have a flawed spherical mirror of short focal length and a corrector lens that often makes things worse. Also the Celestron Astromaster 130eq has a spherical mirror resulting in spherical aberration and thus is not recommended.
Some smaller refractors (3"-4") are available in this price range as well and do not suffer the stability issues. But they show significantly less. The shorter ones (e.g. Infinity 102az) also will show chromatic aberration when observing at higher magnification (planets), thus reducing the contrast.
TL;DR: 6" dobsonian or z130/mini130/Onesky
There aren't a lot of good scopes in that range. Perhaps the Meade lightbridge mini 114, but I'm not sure if that's the best option. If you can stretch your budget a little, the lightbridge mini 130 wouldn't be a bad deal. For planetary views, every bit of aperture helps.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01C5TG53Y
Hi, the only worthwhile scopes that you can get new on such a low budget is the Skywatcher Heritage 130p
The Meade Lightbridge Mini 130 is a similar non-collapsible choice. Though it looks like it's retailing for a bit more than your budget in the UK.
They are both tabletop 5" Newtonian reflectors, so you'll need a table or some other sturdy surface to put it on to get it up to eye height.
You can take snapshots of the moon and brighter planets through it but no other photography will be worthwhile. You need an EQ mount (not even counting the scope) ten times your budget to do any long exposure astrophotography (of nebulae, galaxies etc.), it's a very expensive hobby best left alone until your budget reaches 4 digits.
General rule of thumb as you decide: don't buy anything on a tripod for less than £400, it will be a wobbly toy if you do. Usually for £150, the best bet is either the afformentioned reflectors or a set of decent binoculars. If you're lucky you might be able to find someone selling a used 6" Dobsonian at that price range.
This does look like a nice telescope, I'm considering saving up for it do I need to buy a lens in addition to the telescope?
I was looking at this one on amazon and it looks like it is frequently bought with a short focus. Thanks for the advice! https://www.amazon.com/Meade-Instruments-LightBridge-Telescope-203003/dp/B01C5TG53Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485902688&sr=8-2&keywords=lightbridge+min
It feels like you might have problems with reading comprehension.
$200 is the price to get a decent telescope that you will enjoy. Like the Lightbridge mini 130.
The particular telescope in this video cost $1,000.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
https://smile.amazon.com/Meade-Instruments-LightBridge-Telescope-203003/dp/B01C5TG53Y
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