Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001

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Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
It was a present to me from a girlfriend. I've really enjoyed it.

As with any scope, I'd of course suggest looking through one, e.g. at
a star party, before you buy one. It's not a very good high-power
scope. Stars are not pinpoints like in a Questar. I've cranked it up
to 80x to 90x, but it's not very sharp; 50x or so is about it.
Plossl's or RKE's seem to be good eyepieces for it. The RKE 28mm that
comes with it is pretty good. I've been able to see a band on
Jupiter, maybe two, the Shoemaker-Levy impacts (looked like black
eyes), and the rings around Saturn. The trapezium in Orion isn't too
sharp. On the other hand, looking at the M31 in Andromeda is
spectacular from a dark place (though I'd have to say, I never saw any
dust lanes) because it has a 3 degree field of view. I could see the
Dumbbell, and, with a Lumicon UHC filter, a large arc of the Veil
nebula. It is very portable, and trivial to set up and I found it was
definitely true that the more portable the telescope, the more it gets
used. I have a 13" Dobsonian reflector which of course has brighter
views, but doesn't get used so much because it's so hard just to get
it out of the garage and onto the porch, not to mention a dark sky
site. I like the Astroscan finder; in fact I got an extra one and use
it on the Dobsonian. As an example of terrestrial views (upside down
of course) I took the Astroscan to the White Mountains, which is a
range of mountains east of California's Sierra Nevada, and looked at
snow cornices in the Sierras.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38407

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
While no longer an owner, I still have fond thoughts of my Astroscan(s). I traded my last one in with another scope for an equipment upgrade. My first Astroscan was an Orion mail order. It might have been an exceptional Astroscan. Images were very, very good--even with an 12mm eyepiece and Barlow. Unfortunately, I had a crack flaw in the clear glass front plate which propagated. I am sure this was a manufacturing defect. Orion did little to help my problem other than suggesting I go to Edmund for relief which I did. The replacement scope was O.K. but was nothing like the first one (they opted to replace the scope rather than repair). Overall, I really enjoyed the 'scans I would highly recommend them. If I could get one like my first, I would have never traded it in.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38408

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
great little portable beginner scope.
works very well at higher power with a 17 mm televue plossl
that i picked up used, giving crisp images as 26x. I take it
up to 52x with a barlow, which i feel is the most it can handle.
But i have seen the dark lanes in the sombrero and in the blackeye
from darksky sights in Arizona!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Useful only at low power (<50X) because of fast primary and questionable mirror quality. Very good for casual, low power views of star fields and the moon. Very sturdy and almost "kid-proof".

Overall Rating: 5
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38411

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
this is an ideal first scope. Extremely portable and versatile. VERY easy to use. Brightness is fine but this is strictly a low power scope. Nevertheless on my first few times out I got outstanding views of the Moon, the Pleiades and Jupiter with all the moons. Saturn's rings were not terribly distinctinve. Great deep sky scanning which is where this scope excels. The peephole sight IS a different way of locating objects but no big deal. Very importantly for beginners Edmund's includes all sorts of literature to help the novice learn viewing the skies. Beginners don't get bogged down in fiddling with the minutia of setting circles and the like. The Astroscan allows you to focus (literally) on viewing. A quibble--the focusser is a bit primitive. Overall, a great value.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38412

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Excellent scope! I could see the dark lane of
the Sombrero Galaxy from a dark site. Wide field
of view makes it really easy to look for objects.
Very portable also.
Unfortunately, not able to handle high powers.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38413

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
I'd rate this as a 9 on a scale of 10. The images in our new Astroscan are excellent, much better than I expected. Just had it up to about 60X while looking at M42 using an Orion Ultrablock filter. Luminosity was obvious, trapezium clearly defined(although small). Peep sight finder ridiculously easy to use, and due to low power/wide field views, never had any problem at all finding brighter celestial objects. 60X was about the max for practical power, as images were not sharp above that. The scope was so much fun to use that I forgot that it was only about 15 degrees F around here and I didn't even have my gloves on. Thirty minutes went by like only a few minutes. Suburban skies, eyes nowhere near dark adapted, but scope was still fun! Can't wait to get out to a dark sky site and let her rip!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38414

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
I'd rate this as a 9 on a scale of 10. The images in our new Astroscan are excellent, much better than I expected. Just had it up to about 60X while looking at M42 using an Orion Ultrablock filter. Luminosity was obvious, trapezium clearly defined(although small). Peep sight finder ridiculously easy to use, and due to low power/wide field views, never had any problem at all finding brighter celestial objects. 60X was about the max for practical power, as images were not sharp above that. The scope was so much fun to use that I forgot that it was only about 15 degrees F around here and I didn't even have my gloves on. Thirty minutes went by like only a few minutes. Suburban skies, eyes nowhere near dark adapted, but scope was still fun! Can't wait to get out to a dark sky site and let her rip!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38415

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
This is really an ideal starter scope. The wonderful ease of using it with the "ball in socket" design makes learning the sky and starhopping easy. I found a 6mm Vixen Lanthanum eyepiece was about the maximum useful power. Nice wide field views, and very easy for children to use. Also very portable.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38416

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
I'm no longer an owner of one, but here are my recollections;
Without a tripod it can be cumbersome to use, especially while
trying to look through that peep sight. I always found it difficult
to get the scope up high enough off the ground, to use that sight.
On the other hand, if all you care about is panning around the Milky
Way, then the views can be astonding, especially at a very dark site.
Just don't push the power too much.

Overall Rating: 7
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38417

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
easy to use, very high optical quality.
could you get a better scope for less money?

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38418

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Very stable and I get good clear images with the 28mm eyepeice.
Even after using the Celestron 8 I still return to and enjoy my
Astroscan 2001. I bought it the first year it came on the market.
I think that was 1973.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38419

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
I had mine for about 6 months before I decided to sell. I didn't find it terribly usable. Personally, I think you'd be better off with a pair of binoculars. However, many disagree with me on this one.

Overall Rating: 3
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38420

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Does what it is supposed to do and does it well. I bought mine the first year they came out and I STILL use it occasionally. It's been through to many beginners hands to count at this point, (I run an astronomy club for beginners) and it still works great and is still perfectly collimated after 20 years (?) of use.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38421

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Great starter scope. Had one for nearly 20 years. Makes me feel old. Image quality is good for a small F4.2 reflector. Not a scope for high power. Rarely use it loan it to students(I teach science) to get started in astronomy. Good design. Nice for sweeping the milky way. A classic really!!!

Overall Rating: 8
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38422

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
A 10 for the price and purpose. After 6 months a newbie will be ready to sell for a couple hundred and go get a 8-10 dob or Eq newt and already know the sky.
WARNING- A true newbie scope. Do not trade down from your scope of larger size, just does not grab enough light.

Overall Rating: 10
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38423

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
An excellent little beginners scope. I bought the Astroscan because of its light weight and portability, and it goes almost everwhere I go as a result. Bright and sharp images for its size.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38424

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Not a terrible scope, but not a great one either. We had two, and had to send
one back (out of collimation). Ours has a mirror which is ellipsoidal rather
than Parabolic, so it doesn't exactly do an outstanding job at high power. It
does have a nice low power field, but the coma is also visible. We did get
things like the Rosette and Helix using a nebular filter with that little scope.
However, the little 80mm short tube refractors (Celestron 80mm f/5 Wide View)
will easily beat the Astroscan's performance at both low and high power.

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38425

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Perhaps the finest beginners scope ever made. There is a reason this scope has been in constant production for over 25 years, it fulfills its design objectives VERY well. It is super user-friendly and super stable, even in high winds. It is extremely light weight and portable and its wide fields of view make finding celestial targets easy. An excellent grab-n-go or travel scope.

The only thing I'd like to see improved is the focuser. However, much of the problem with the focuser can be mitigated by using multiple coats of Rain Dance car wax on the two guide surfaces the drawtube slides on - this makes the focuser action significantly smoother and Rain Dance is also excellent for the outside of the ball. Make sure focuser is parked completely racked-in to prevent dippling of the roller surface.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38426

Edmund Scientific Astroscan 2001
Excellent beginners scope. It is simple, rugged and has no adjustments to fiddle with. Just point and view.
Focuser is a bit crude and does not easily allow small adjustments. Seems like it is always skipping past the point of best focus. Use at low power as images are not real sharp. In daytime observing of land objects, there is a noticable dark area in the middle of the field of view (the diaginal) when your eye is not perfectly centered on the optical axis. Edmund should lower the price to $200.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38427

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