I've owned a C5 for several years and I've been consistently pleased with its optical quality. When the night air is still and clear I can see the Cassini division in Saturn's rings and pick out cloud bands on Saturn itself. I've been able to watch the shadow of Jupiter's moons glide across the planet's cloud tops and sometimes I can actually see one of the moons passing in front of Jupiter. Deep space objects like galaxies and star clusters are fun to observe as well. When I look at bright globular clusters like M13 in the constellation Hercules, I can pick out a number of individual stars. Bright galaxies also begin to reveal their structure; the Sombrero galaxy M104 looks like a spindle flattened on one side, and the Whirlpool galaxy M51 seems to be interacting with its companion galaxy NGC 5195.

The new CG-4 equatorial mount and tripod form a solid base for the Omni XLT 127. The tripod with its 1.75-inch diameter stainless steel legs comes pre-assembled, and the equatorial head attaches easily without tools. I especially like the new dovetail mounting plate because it allows the optical tube to be quickly removed for transport or when I want to use the Omni XLT 127 as a spotting scope.

A few accessories help bring out the versatility of the Omni 127. Celestron's Nine-Piece Accessory Kit includes two plossl eyepieces and a Barlow lens. The 32mm eyepiece produces a magnification of 40x, ideal for viewing star clusters or when using the Omni 127 as a spotting scope. The 12.5mm eyepiece magnifies the image 100 times, just right for viewing globular clusters or the planet Jupiter and its moons. The 2x Barlow can be combined with the 12.5mm eyepiece to zoom in on Saturn's rings at 200x. The other useful accessory is Celestron's 93522 Dual Axis Motor Drive. With the motors installed I was able to use my Celestron NexImage camera to taken some beautiful pictures of the moon and planets.

The SCT design puts the optical power of a fifty-inch-long telescope in a twelve-inch-long tube, but the design has some minor drawbacks. The corrector plate at the front of the telescope is vulnerable to collecting dew on a cool evening, but this can been overcome by adding a dew shield. The other drawback is the large secondary mirror that causes some loss of contrast compared to refractor designs.

Portable, powerful, and versatile; whether it's a first telescope or a portable second scope Celestron's Omni XLT 127 is a great choice for the backyard astronomer. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Portable, powerful, and versatile
• Excellent optics
• Sharp views up to 300x magnification
• Quick no-tool setup
• Also useful as a spotting scope

• Motor not included
• SCT design causes some loss of contrast

• 93522 Dual Axis Motor Drive
• Celestron Nine-Piece Accessory Kit
• Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager