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The Vista 80S 80mm spotter is a hybrid instrument, half spotting scope and half astro-telescope, suitable for both terrestrial and astronomical observing.

At last, if you are searching for a serious general purpose telescope, to watch wildlife, birds and perhaps shipping or aircraft but you would also like to do some astronomy and checkout the Moon, planets, nebulae and galaxies for yourself - then the Vista 80S 80mm hybrid is the telescope for you!

Our exclusive deal gives us the total remaining UK stock of this product, and gives you a stunning price of just £101.99 inc UK mainland p&p and two FREE guide books! That's less than half the last UK selling price!

There's real experience and know-how in the large aperture 80mm hybrid design. This powerful general purpose telescope is another great idea from North Star - they took a classic high-light grasp 80mm short-focus spotting scope, added a couple a serious good quality 1.25" eyepieces, an erect image prism, a super slow-motion equipped table-top tripod. Gave it good close-focus potential (under 9m to make the telescope perfect for field and garden close-up wildlife watching) but then added great features like an optical cross-hair finder and a super slow-motion equipped table-top tripod to make an instrument that is as capable of giving you great close-up views of people, animals and birds as well as being an ideal starter scope for astronomy use!

This classic 80mm refractor benefits from an up to date makeover featuring a image corrected 45 degree diagonal, a lightweight adjustable height aluminium and ABS table-top tripod with manual slow-motion movements for easy target finding and tracking on both azimuth (left to right) and altitude (up and down). The complete package is supplied in a padded semi-hard storage and carry case - the scope, tripod and finder all fit into compartments in the case (and there is even room in the case for other accessories - torch, notebooks etc).

Ideal for explorers young and young at heart, the Vista 80S hybrid is the perfect instrument to discover the wonders of nature, from your back-garden to the remote wilderness of the night sky.

Free: two great astronomy guide books To make sure you get the most from the Vista 80 we have included Ian Ridpath´s popular guided tour of the stars and planets free of charge (publisher's price £10.99). Between them these two well written and fully illustrated guides provide expert, easy-to-understand, guidance on where to find things in the night sky for all the seasons of the year. Fully illustrated with colour diagrams and easy-to-use star maps, the guides, together with the Vista's super cross-hair finder, will allow you to discover the extraordinary wonders to be found on any clear night in the skies above Britain the very first night you use the telescope!

Features:

superior 80mm two-element air-spaced achromatic primary lens

20 to 45x magnification expandable to 150x with the addition of recommended accessories (see lower left for details).

Smooth and precise rack & pinion focuser

Close focus point: just 8m (26ft)

Optical cross-hair finder for daytime or night-time use to make it easier to point the main instrument

Folding variable height table tripod with easy-to-use slow-motion alt-azimuth head

Threaded fitting point for standard camera tripod

Supplied with fitted semi-hard storage and carry case with double zip fastener and shoulder strap.

Specification

Telescope optics. 80mm aperture, 400mm focal length (f5 focal ratio). Crown and Flint glass, design: air-spaced achromatic doublet.

Eyepieces: 1x 9mm (45x) & 1x 20mm (20x)

Star diagonal: 45 degree Amici prism corrected type.

Tripod: table-top with slow-motion control knobs for both altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left to right).

Finder scope: Optical with cross hair and focusing eyepiece.

Case: double zippered, padded semi-hard carry and storage case with shoulder strap and side pocket for accessories.

So what´s so great about the Vista 80S telescope?

If you are looking for a universal telescope for terrestrial use and with the ability to observe astronomical targets - look no further. The Vista 80mm is the ideal hybrid scope and delivers the best of both observing worlds! It is an ideal family use telescope and has powerful features that make it perfect to enjoy the widest possible observing usage.

The terrestrial views of birds, nature, shipping etc are breathtaking and are fully corrected (not inverted or mirrored) via the 45 degree optical erecting prism (item 4). For astronomy viewing the Vista is equipped with an optical finder that superimposes a cross-hair (like a gun sight) on the target to show you exactly where the scope is pointing - this makes finding targets easy and it can be used for spotting wildlife, birds, people, ships etc! The fully adjustable slow-motion tracking head of the tripod ensures that targets (terrestrial or astro) can be tracked by turning a knob without taking your eye from the eyepiece. The altitude even has an adjustable slipping-clutch for easy target centering.

The Vista has good quality eyepieces that use standard 1.25" fitting - so additional eyepieces and other accessories like camera adaptors can be easily attached. The telescope comes with two eyepieces (items 1 & 2) that deliver more than enough magnification to get impressive astronomy views. The high quality optics can deliver magnifications up to 150x with additional accessories.

What can you expect to see in your back-garden sky?

This telescope will show you some of the most amazing sights in the solar system right from your back garden! If you haven´t seen the surface of the Moon in a quality telescope then get ready for some incredible views. The Moon is an awesome spectacle any month of the year - its desolate and ancient surface showing thousands of impact craters and some of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the solar system! (and this from YOUR back-garden - and for under seventy quid! Ryan Air, eat your heart out!) The phases of the planet Venus, going rapidly from almost a full disc to a thin crescent can easily be seen and tracked over the weeks of its seasonal apparitions.

Under favorable conditions the planet Mars will show surface detail and at the right time of year the white frost of its polar cap. The giant planet Jupiter, just a bright star to the unaided eye, will, using the 9mm eyepiece (item 2) show the observer a image of Jupiter´s globe in the eyepiece almost equal to the full Moon as it appears to the unaided eye! Jupiter's four major moons can be tracked through the evening and can be seen transiting the disk or being eclipsed.

The famous rings that encompass the giant planet Saturn can be seen (and are truly unforgettable) as can Saturn´s enigmatic attendant moon, Titan. The brighter nebulae and galaxies millions of light-years distant can be seen with the Vista's large 80mm optics. Beautiful asterisms (groups of stars) like the Pleiades and globular clusters (swarms of stars in a clump) like the famous M13 can be easily viewed on any dark night when these targets are above the horizon. And, a little closer to home, you can watch the behavior of birds on your bird-table just 8 or 9 meters away!