SVX102T-RA Raptor™

Everything about this just oozes quality. The finish is great, the plaque showing the model is a nice fancy touch. Not a single trace of chromatic aberration and collimation is spot on. This is definitely a lifetime piece of equipment. The customer service is also great, when I first ordered, I forgot to switch the color after I restarted the order, emailed them, and they got back to me within the hour saying they switched it.

I am a twenty-plus year owner of a series of Stellarvue (SV) telescopes, ranging in aperture, focal ratio, and possessing ever-improving optical/mechanical designs, execution and quality control. I only sold certain previously owned SV scopes, in order to exploit advancing capabilities of their emerging telescope designs. I am mostly a visual observer with some astrophotography thrown in. My skill sets grew along with my evolving family of SV scopes, mounts, and eyepieces.

I recently took possession of a Stardust Blue SVX102-RA. As some owners report, these Stardust Blue scopes are quite impressive to look at with your own eyes, more so than is usually conveyed in online renderings. I find its finish is almost as pleasing to look at in my home office, as the scope is to look through… into the heavens above.

Weather, of course, conspired with the usual winter combinatorial curse of snow, sleet, wind and clouds here in northern Virginia for the first month of possession. But my new scope finally saw first light yesterday on a SV MC-2 mount. Quite the ideal combination.

I performed a selection of new telescope check-outs. This included star tests inside, outside and at focus for Sirius and Rigel - spot on, concentric rings and no color & Rigel’s companion star was an easy mark even at modest magnifications; definition of nebula filaments/structures and trapezium detail in M-42 (with fleeting views of the E star); separation and detection of multiple stars (including solid view of the dim star in the triple) in the Sigma Orionis region; and some good high power (200x) examination of Jupiter, its Galilean moons, and Mars - even with mediocre seeing. Great results in all cases for first time out. Even tiny Mars offered up a subtle white polar region and dark planetary surface detail. The installed 3” FeatherTouch focuser and its fine focuser performed very well in getting to just the right focus with the provided small-length threaded extension.

Another great new SV telescope. Can’t wait for the new journey to begin in earnest!