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Customer Reviews
Helpful Positive Review
Used it first time last nite. Two things to warn you about. !)The trusses are oiled and if you touch them do not touch your eyepieces. You will be oily too. 2)Watch closing the scope down. Mine slammed down to the base. you could damage the mirro...
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2/3 found this helpful
Helpful Positive Review
The slide-out design of the truss tube makes this little scope easy to store, easy to transport, easy to use! For the money it is very well-built and the optics are more than acceptable - with a 5mm eyepiece at 130x Saturn was sharp and clear last n...
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5/5 found this helpful
Helpful Positive Review
I'm a total newbie when it comes to astronomy but I have used this telescope and I found it very simple to setup and operate. I could definitely see taking this telescope camping too since its relatively lightweight and is collapsed. Im not sure exac...
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2/2 found this helpful
Helpful Positive Review
When I got this as a gift for my birthday, I scoffed as I have many telescopes which are way more expensive and from other better known manufactueres, but this bushnell telescope blew me away. It was read to rock right out of the box and I took it ou...
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5/5 found this helpful
Helpful Positive Review
As an experienced amateur astronomer who has owned more than 100 telescopes, I've finally found an entry-level scope that won't disappoint. This Bushnell 5in. "flex-tube" design has amazed me with the quality of its optics and elegant mechanical desi...
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13/13 found this helpful
Helpful Positive Review
Awesome value !! by Legacy Reviewer, Verified Owner, October 9, 2011
This recommended to me at Cloudy Nights forums, I'm glad I checked it out. I don't think there's a better value on the market for a first real telescope. The minor issue I have with the focuser doesn't detract from the value what so ever. I can proba...
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2/2 found this helpful
Read All 17 Reviews

Code: BU-TS-785000-OP-DEMO

MPN: 785000-OP-DEMO

Product No Longer Available

Product Info for Bushnell ARES 5 inch Compact Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope OpticsPlanet Edition

Bushnell ARES 5" Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope 785000 is available exclusively from our online store - OpticsPlanet! The Bushnell Compact ARES 5 Dobsonian Telescope is a simple, easy to use, non-technical Telescopes that is still large enough to provide real performance. The 130mm reflector, 650mm focal length is large enough to take this telescope out of the toy category, and is rapidly becoming the standard for a beginner's telescope in terms of size. Bushnell DOB5 Compact Telescope features a true parabolic mirror design that allows the telescope's optics to be collimated with a standard collimating eyepiece. The circle on the center of the mirror also allows the use of a laser collimator.image

The Bushnell ARES Telescope series is named for NASA's Ares rocket. The ARES rocket, itself named for the Greek god associated with the planet Mars, will some day return humans to the moon and eventually take them to Mars and further on into the solar system.

Truss tube design of this Bushnell telescope keeps the overall size super portable and provides features only found on high end, expensive Dobsonian telescope models. The truss-support concept allows the optical tube's front and back cells to collapse together, while aligning on the truss support rods, and can be locked down for an easier and more secure way to transport the telescope. This one piece, low hassle OTA design is mechanically simple and results in a telescope that can be handled with ease and transported by just one individual.

The Bushnell DOB 5 130mm Dobsonian mount features friction bearings on the altitude and the azimuth, that make for a more user friendly telescope mount than the ball bearing setups used on many other Dobsonian telescopes. The telescope stops dead in its tracks when you remove your hand and does not continue moving as happens with ball bearing designs. The carry handle is convenient in keeping with the portable design of this Telescopes.

Bushnell DOB-5 Dobsonian Telescope 130 mm Newtonian Reflector 78-5000 comes with two 1.25" telescope eyepieces: 10mm SPL10 and 25mm SPL25, and includes a red dot finder scope. Please visit our Telescope Accessories section for more accessories for your Telescopes: telescope eye pieces, Barlow lenses, finderscopes, tripods, telescope mounts, and more! For more Telescopes and Telescopes by other brands please visit our Telescopes page.

Available options of Bushnell ARES 5 inch Compact Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope OpticsPlanet Edition:

  • 785000: Bushnell DOB ARES 5in Dobsonian Telescope, Exclusive Edition

Features of Bushnell ARES5 Newtonian Reflector Telescope 785000:

  • Simple, easy to use - perfect telescope for beginners
  • Truss Tube Design - make the telescope compact and portable
  • True parabolic mirror design
  • Conventional mirror mounting allows the telescope's optics to be collimated with a standard collimating eyepiece
  • Dobsonian mount w/ friction bearings - the telescope stops dead in its tracks when you remove your hand

Package Contents:

  • Bushnell ARES DOB5 130mm Newtonian Reflector Telescope w/ Dobsonian Mount - Optics Planet edition
  • 10mm SPL10 1.25" Telescope Eyepiece
  • 25mm SPL25 1.25" Telescope Eyepiece
  • Red Dot Finder Scope

Related Products to Bushnell ARES 5 inch Compact Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope OpticsPlanet Edition

Bushnell ARES 5 inch Compact Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope OpticsPlanet Edition Unavailable & Discontinued Models

List of Unorderable Models

  • Bushnell 5in Compact Dobsonian Telescope w/ 4 Element, Factory Demo 785000-OP , MPN: 785000-OP-DEMO , Code: BU-TS-785000-OP-DEMO
  • Bushnell ARES 5in Compact Truss Tube Dobsonian Exclusive Edition Telescope, Black, New , MPN: 785000 , UPC: 029757785008 , Code: BU-TS-785000-OP-EE
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