Bresser ISA Space Exploration NASA 70/700 AZ telescope

This beginners' package has everything you need to see the Sun, Moon and planets

- STEVE RICHARDS

The ISA Space Exploration NASA 70/700 AZ telescope is very much a beginners' telescope package, comprising a 70mm achromatic refractor, manual altazimuth mount, red dot finder, star diagonal, 20mm and 9mm Kellner eyepieces, front-mounted solar filter and smartphone camera adaptor. This comprehensive outfit allows observations of a wide range of celestial objects, from the Moon, Sun and planets through to deep-sky objects. The construction uses lightweight materials throughout, making this telescope suitable as a 'grab and go' instrument with quick deployment at home as well.

The telescope is supplied in a full-colour retail box that enhances the presentation of the outfit as a gift for a budding new astronomer, but there is a glaring error in the printed text in several places. The box erroneously describes the telescope as a 'reflector telescope', which it isn't: it has a two-element lens design, known as an achromatic refractor.

The optical tube has a high-gloss white finish with a red pinstripe around the base of the dew shield. The optical tube and dew shield are made from seamless aluminium with a very matt black internal finish to reduce reflections. To further reduce reflections, a single knife-edge baffle is employed within the tube. In use, the dew shield did a commendable job of keeping dew from forming on the front element of the primary lens.