The Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 has never been more relevant. With North America on the verge of two solar eclipses Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 (Black) at Best Buy for $129.99
Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 review
Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50: Design
A refractor with a 2-inch/50 mm aperture that also has a fixed solar filter. (Image credit: Jamie Carter)- Shaky tripod and fragile build quality
- Alt-azimuth mount
- Meets safety standard ISO 12312-2
The Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 is aimed at those who want an all-in-one solar telescope only for occasional and casual use. After all, this refractor's optics are permanently covered by a glass solar filter that cannot be removed. That makes it safe, but hugely restricts this product in terms of what it can used for.
The Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 can be set up in minutes. Half the backpack it ships in is taken up by a tripod, a lightweight aluminum affair that weighs just 1.1 lbs/500g. It feels flimsy and fragile. It connects to the telescope using a standard 1/4-inch-20 thread tripod thread, so can be very easily swapped out.
It ships with an 0.8-inch/20 mm eyepiece but we think it could do with something of higher power. (Image credit: Jamie Carter)Specifications
Optical design: Refractor
Aperture: 2-inch/50mm
Focal length: 4-inch/360mm
Focal ratio: f/7.2
Eyepiece focal length: 0.8 inch/20mm (18x)
Total kit weight: 2 lbs/918g
Mount type: Manual alt-azimuth
The star attraction, of course, is the non-removable glass solar filter that fits across the front of the achromatic doublet objective lens at the end of the telescope tube. It meets the ISO 12312-2 standard, blocking infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV and 99.99% of visible sunlight.