Bushnell 5" Dobsonian Telescope OpticsPlanet Edition- Reach for the Stars

The Bushnell 5″ DOB Dobsonian Telescope is a true marvel of construction, and we are proud to be carrying an OpticsPlanet-only edition. Optics Planet has been a real supporter in astronomy since we opened about 10 years ago- in fact one of the first categories we carried on our site were telescopes.

Before we really dive into this fantastic Bushnell Telescope let me explain what a Dobsonian Telescope is. Dobsonian Telescopes were invented in the 1950s/1960s to encourage interest in astronomy by making telescopes more affordable, more powerful, and portable. Dobsonian telescopes are built to maximize the aperture to provide more power, allowing the user to see more of the night sky, and to see it much brighter. It was also designed as a truss tube telescope which means that you can disassemble the optical tube for transport, making a Dobsonian telescope extremely easy to move around and incredibly portable. The design allows for you to take your telescope to any area with minimal night sky pollution (artificial light is the biggest source of night sky pollution and is a real problem for amateur astronomy.) The Bushnell DOB line of telescopes not only features a truss-tube design, it also excels in both design and material usage to extract as much power from as an affordable product as possible. Truss-tubes are typically only found in high-end Dobsonian telescopes- but Bushnell’s engineering excellence allowed them to fit it right into one of the most affordable telescopes on the market.

So what features are in this 5″ telescope? First off, the 130mm reflector and 650mm focal length quickly catapult this telescope from “toy” telescope to one of the best beginner telescopes you can find. This telescope is quite easy to use, and doesn’t require a large amount of technical knowledge. A true parabolic mirror design allows for the telescope’s optics to be collimated with a standard eyepiece, and also allows for the use of a laser collimator. The Bushnell DOB Telescope also comes with two eyepieces: 10mm SPL10 and 25mm SPL25 for expanding the use of your telescope. Be sure to check out our Telescope Accessories for even more tools to improve the usage capabilities of your telescope.

The mount for the Bushnell DOB Newtonian Reflector Telescope also features friction bearings on the altitude and azimuth, which is a bit more user friendly than the traditional ball-bearing setup. When you remove your hand, the telescope will stop dead and will not budge, unlike a ball-bearing setup. A carry handle also helps make this one of the most portable telescopes you can find on the market.

Now you know why the Bushnell DOB 5″ Telescope is one of the top value, top beginner telescopes out there, it’s time to buy before they are all gone! Check out Optics Planet for all your astronomy and telescope needs!