Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope Review

Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector telescope is a ready-to-use, affordable amateur telescope. Quite large in diameter, this Carson telescope piece will allow a sharp space observation. With this scope, you can study the Moon, the rings of Saturn and many other celestial bodies. Carson Red Planet is the perfect passage from binocular sky gazing to a more professional observation.

This popular Carson telescope model is also a great scope for children, and it makes for a great gift. The telescope colors and components are visually appealing. As far as value for price, the Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector telescope is more than worth it. You can find this telescope for sale easily and it is usually available in stock.

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What is the Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope?

Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector telescope is a classical Newtonian Reflector telescope. The scope comes with a large 76mm diameter reflecting mirror. Therefore, you can get some high-quality, bright images of the Moon, planets, and stars.

The scope has as a default accessory, a high-quality aluminum tripod. Thus, you can keep your telescope in place during your observation. The U-Mount with slow motion controls allows tracking and observing the stars, planets and constellations at their best. With this rather simple beginner’s telescope, you can view the Jupiter’s moons, the Rings of Saturn, nebulas, and many other celestial bodies.

Carson has designed a 10x30mm finder scope, to align your scope. This will be really useful to start your observation. Be very careful with this piece, as it is entirely made out of plastic and it can easily break. In the telescope’s pack, you will also find two high quality eyepieces of 20mm (35x magnification) and 8mm (87.5x magnification). They will allow you to view some amazing details of the different celestial bodies you would like to observe. These two eyepieces are perfect, both for terrestrial and astronomical viewing, and you will really feel the difference while using them.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, the Carson’s Red Planet features are just amazing. These telescopes come with a sophisticated and impressive look. You will want to keep it in your living room, and to use it, all day and all night. Do your observation with style and grace, anywhere and anytime.

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Pros and Cons to Using the Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope

PROS:

• Portability – Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector telescope weighs only 8lbs. It is extremely light and easy to transport, suitable for indoor and outdoor observation. You can either take it with you during your trips or holidays, or you can keep it indoor, and do the observation from the comfort of your house.
• Price – a great value reflector telescope, this piece can be found somewhere under $150. For this quality, the price is more than reasonable.

CONS:

• Eyepieces – somehow, the eyepieces are quite difficult to mount. It takes quite a lot of time to understand how to mount them and then to make them stay in place.
• Tripod – the tripod can be a bit unstable. The stability generally depends on the terrain where you’re doing your observation. If you are planning to keep the scope indoor, this tripod is incredible. However, for going outside, you may want to carry an extra-weight and to attach it to the tripod, as this will make the whole system more stable.

Where to Find the Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope?

Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector telescope is a rather cheap telescope, suitable for all beginners and amateurs astronomers. The price varies around $150, including all the pieces mentioned below in the accessories section.

You can find this telescope even in Walmart’s offer, but Amazon is probably the best place to purchase it from. Amazon best price starts somewhere around $100 – $120 with free shipping included. The price will vary, but Amazon generally offers a lot of discounts and special prices, so you can find this scope at a fair price. Your telescope will arrive safely in a matter of days, and for all problems, their return policy is quite amazing.

Telescope Performance

This Carson telescope can capture bright images and amazing details, due to its 76mm aperture. The two high-quality, H20mm and an H8mm eyepieces ensure the best viewing experience. The erecting eyepieces make the Carson Red Planet telescope suitable for both terrestrial and space viewing. You can use this telescope to view the Rings of Saturn, the Moons of Jupiter, and much more. The quality of images makes it suitable for both beginner and intermediate users.

Extra Info:

Maintenance Advice

Try to keep your telescope far from humidity, in a dry and clean environment. Keep all the lens caps on, whenever you are not using the scope. This will save a lot of cleaning work. Anyhow, you should not try to clean the lenses and the mirror very often. If cleaning is really necessary, firstly try to use a specialized soft brush and some pressurized air. You can also use a clean lint-free cloth and lens cleaning solution. As a side note, do no use paper towels or normal cleaning cloth. Remember not to rub too hard, as you will scratch the lens and ruin your telescope.

A scratched mirror is the synonym for a useless scope. To prevent any problems with the mirror, try to cover the scope with the dust caps, whenever you are not using it. When you’re taking the scope outside, remember not to leave it there overnight. After you finish your observation, take the scope inside, and leave it uncovered for a while, just enough to let all the moist evaporate.

Being a Newtonian piece, this telescope will need to be collimated, once in a while. Collimating your telescope is not so difficult. However, the first time is always the toughest one. You will find useful information about how to collimate a Newtonian telescope in the user’s manual. If all that information is not helping you, try to go online and look for some tutorials on how to do it.

Telescope Accessories

Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope comes in an amazing 11 lbs pack. Besides the tube, this scope will have two eyepieces of 20 mm and 8 mm, providing an up to 87.5 magnification. You will also have a 10x30mm finder scope, to help you aligning your telescope, as well as a nice and sturdy aluminum tripod, useful for both outdoor and indoor observation.

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Warranty and Guarantee Information

For a one-year period, Carson covers all repairs and may even proceed to the replacement of the Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope. Read carefully the producer’s warranty rules and regulations, as these may change from product to product. If you notice any problems related to this scope, you should not try to repair it by yourself, as this will automatically lead to the loss of the warranty. Instead, you should address the problem to the manufacturer and hopefully you will get your piece fixed or your scope replaced.

Our Recommendation

If you are a beginner astronomer, the Carson Red Planet 35-88x76mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope may be the scope for you. Really affordable and portable, this scope would be great for any person interested in astronomy. The optics are great, the design is amazing, the lens are remarkable. Above all, it is not expensive, so what more can you ask for?