The Universe is Calling. Answer with the 6-Inch Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel Unobstructed Firehose of Light

• The Skywatcher AC 150 / 750 StarTravel 150 EQ5 – A Colossal 6-Inch Achromatic Objective Lens: Drink in the cosmos with a massive eye to the heavens that gathers a staggering 460 times more light than your eye, transforming faint galaxies and nebulae into bright, detailed objects.
• Unobstructed, High-Contrast Views: Experience the refractor advantage. With no central obstruction, you get sharper stars, blacker skies, and breathtaking contrast that makes details pop.
• The Legendary EQ5 Tracking Platform: Move beyond simple pointing. The robust, all-metal EQ5 equatorial mount provides a stable, vibration-free foundation, allowing you to precisely track celestial objects, which is essential for both relaxed viewing and long-exposure astrophotography.
• Immersive “Spacewalk” Vistas: The Skywatcher AC 150 features a fast f/5 focal ratio, delivering a vast field of view. Scan the star-rich lanes of the Milky Way and frame entire nebulae in a single, jaw-dropping eyepiece view.
• Astrophotography-Ready Foundation: Don't just look at the Universe—image it. The EQ5 is the perfect platform to begin your astrophotography journey, fully upgradeable with motor drives or a complete GoTo system.
• Professional 2-Inch Accessories: From the 2-inch focuser to the 2-inch star diagonal, this telescope is equipped for high-end, wide-angle eyepieces, unlocking the ultimate immersive, wide-field viewing experience.

Achromatic Refractors

Achromats represent the classic, popular, modern lens telescope design. An achromat consists of not one, but two, objective lenses, usually made of crown glass and flint glass, which have the effect of a positive and a negative lens. The Skywatcher AC 150 refractor telescope has such an achromatic objective lens.

You’ve paid your dues. You’ve spent countless nights under the stars with your trusty first telescope. You’ve learned the constellations, navigated by star-hopping, and experienced the initial thrill of seeing Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s moons. But now, you find yourself yearning for more. You’re hitting a wall—a wall made of photons. The deep-sky objects you hunt for—the galaxies, the nebulae, the star clusters—remain faint, ghostly apparitions. You know there’s an intricate structure in the Whirlpool Galaxy and glowing filaments in the Veil Nebula, but your telescope simply can’t gather enough light to reveal them.

This is the critical juncture in every astronomer’s journey. Your passion has outgrown your equipment. You’re ready to dive into the deep end of the cosmic ocean, but you’re stuck in the shallows. Perhaps you’ve even dabbled in astrophotography, only to be thwarted by a shaky mount that can’t track the stars accurately, resulting in trailed, blurry images. You look at larger reflector telescopes, but you’re hesitant to deal with the constant need for collimation and the loss of contrast from their central obstructions.

You crave the sharp, pristine views of a refractor, but you assume that a truly powerful one is financially out of reach. You are ready for a serious instrument, a telescope that doesn’t just show you the sky but allows you to truly explore it. You’re ready to stop being a spectator and become a discoverer.

It’s time to stop dreaming about a powerful telescope and start using one. The Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel on the EQ5 mount is the system you’ve been waiting for—a masterful combination of immense light-gathering power and precision tracking capability, designed to launch you into the next phase of your astronomical journey. This is, without exaggeration, one of the most powerful and versatile achromatic refractors in volume production today.

The journey begins with the heart of the system: the colossal 150mm (6-inch) objective lens. This is no mere upgrade; it is a quantum leap in aperture. This lens acts as a giant light funnel, collecting a massive 460 times more light than your eye and channeling it to your eyepiece. This raw power transforms the deep sky. Faint galaxies resolve into discernible shapes with hints of spiral arms. The Orion Nebula explodes with intricate detail, its glowing gas clouds showing structure and depth you’ve only seen in photographs. This is the power of light, delivered with the signature, high-contrast clarity that only an unobstructed refractor can provide.

But all that optical power would be useless without a worthy foundation. That’s why the optical tube assembly is paired with the magnificent and legendary NEQ-5 equatorial mount. This isn’t a flimsy tripod; it’s a serious piece of engineering. Constructed from solid steel, it provides an unshakable, vibration-free platform capable of handling the telescope’s 6.6kg weight with ease. Once polar aligned, the Skywatcher AC 150 EQ5 becomes your personal celestial tracking platform.

With the smooth turn of the slow-motion control knobs, you can counteract the Earth’s rotation, keeping your target perfectly centered in the eyepiece for relaxed, extended observation. This precision tracking is the key that unlocks the door to true astrophotography, allowing you to take the long exposures needed to capture the Universe’s hidden colors and details. This is not just a telescope and a mount; it’s a seamlessly integrated system for serious discovery.

Let’s translate the specifications of this dream machine into the real-world experiences that await you on the next clear night. This is where the true value of the Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel system comes to life.

That 150mm f/5 optical system is more than just glass; it’s your personal wide-screen theater for the cosmos. It’s the experience of using a low-power, 2-inch eyepiece and seeing the entirety of the Andromeda Galaxy hang in space before you, a celestial island so vast it fills the view. It’s the thrill of sweeping through the dense star fields of Cygnus and stumbling upon the ghostly, glowing arc of the Veil Nebula, the remnant of an exploding double layer many years ago. This is the “spacewalk” feeling that wide-field refractors are famous for, and at 6 inches of aperture, the view is brighter and more detailed than you ever imagined.

The Skywatcher AC 150 heavy-duty EQ5 mount is not just a support; it’s your key to unlocking the invisible Universe. Visually, it means you can study an object at high magnification without constant, frustrating re-centering. But its true power lies in astrophotography. By adding the optional motor drive, you can take 30, 60, or even 120-second exposures. 

This is where the magic happens. The camera’s sensor will accumulate photons over time, revealing the deep, vibrant reds of hydrogen-alpha emission nebulae and the subtle blue hues of reflection nebulae—colors that are completely invisible to the human eye, no matter how large the telescope. The Skywatcher AC 150 EQ5 transforms your telescope from a viewing instrument into a scientific tool for creating your own stunning portraits of the cosmos.

The 2-inch rack-and-pinion focuser and 2-inch 90° star diagonal are not just accessories; they are a statement of intent. This professional-grade hardware signals that this telescope is built for serious, immersive observation. It allows you to use premium 2-inch eyepieces that can deliver a field of view so wide and all-encompassing that the black edges of the eyepiece seem to melt away. It’s the most immersive visual experience possible, and the Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel is built to deliver it right out of the box.

• “Moving up to the Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel was like taking the blinders off. The brightness and contrast are just phenomenal for a refractor of this size. On the EQ5, it’s rock-solid. I can finally see the spiral structure in M51 and resolve some of the brighter stars in the Hercules cluster. It’s a true deep-sky refractor.” - A Delighted Deep-Sky Observer

• “I bought this rig specifically to get into astrophotography, and it’s the perfect platform. The EQ5 is solid enough for my DSLR and guidescope. After adding a motor drive, I was taking my first multi-minute exposures. The wide, fast f/5 field is incredibly forgiving for a beginner. This is the best entry point into serious imaging, period.” - An Aspiring Astrophotographer

You’ve reached the limit of your current gear. The deep Universe is waiting. The Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel on the EQ5 mount is the logical, powerful, and versatile next step on your journey. Don’t spend another clear night wishing for more light. Order your dream scope today and start truly exploring.

You’ve reached the limit of your current gear. The deep Universe is waiting. The Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel on the EQ5 mount is the logical, powerful, and versatile next step on your journey. Don’t spend another clear night wishing for more light. Order your dream scope today and start truly exploring.

The Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel EQ5 is not a mass-market toy. It is a serious instrument for the dedicated astronomer and astrophotographer, and as such, it is crafted with a level of precision and quality that cannot be rushed. The large, 6-inch objective lenses are meticulously ground and polished, and the heavy-duty EQ5 mounts are assembled to exacting standards. This commitment to quality means that availability is inherently limited.

This is a telescope for those who are ready to commit to their passion. It is for those who understand that the Universe rewards patience, dedication, and the right tool for the job. By choosing to invest in this system, you are not just buying a telescope; you are acquiring a key to a deeper, more profound connection with the cosmos. You are equipping yourself for years of advanced visual observation and opening the door to the endlessly rewarding challenge of astrophotography. Secure your place among the ranks of serious observers. The deep sky is calling—answer it with the power of the Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel.

Is the Skywatcher AC 150 StarTravel suitable for a beginner? This system is recommended for the advanced observer. While a determined beginner could learn to use it, the size, weight (36.4 kg shipping weight), and the need for polar alignment of the equatorial mount present a steeper learning curve than a simple altazimuth setup.

What is the main advantage of an equatorial mount like the Skywatcher AC 150 EQ5? Tracking. Once aligned with the celestial pole, the mount can track any star, planet, or galaxy with the turn of a single knob (or with a motor). This is crucial for keeping objects in the field of view at high power and is absolutely essential for long-exposure astrophotography.

Will I see a lot of color fringing (chromatic aberration) with an f/5 achromat? As an achromatic refractor with a fast focal ratio, there will be some visible chromatic aberration (purple halos) on the very brightest objects like Venus, Jupiter, and Sirius. However, for its primary purpose—wide-field, deep-sky observation of nebulae and galaxies—this is a non-issue and is far outweighed by the benefits of the bright, high-contrast, unobstructed view.

How difficult is it to get started with astrophotography with this setup? This is one of the best entry points. You can start by simply attaching a DSLR camera with the included T2 adapter. For longer exposures, you would add the optional motor drive for the Right Ascension axis. The stability of the Skywatcher AC 150 EQ5 mount is the key, providing the solid foundation you need to learn and grow.

What is “polar alignment,” and is it hard? Polar alignment is the process of aligning the mount’s axis of rotation with the Earth’s. It’s a fundamental skill for using an equatorial mount. While it takes some practice, it’s a straightforward process that can be learned in an evening. An optional polar scope can be added to the mount to make this process faster and more precise.

What is the first upgrade I should consider for the Skywatcher AC 150? A high-quality, 2-inch wide-angle eyepiece. This will unlock the full “spacewalk” potential of the f/5 optics and provide the most immersive visual experience possible. For astrophotography, the first upgrade would be a motor drive for the R.A. axis.

This dual-axis motor drive with Sky-Watcher’s new enhanced hand controller is essential in long-exposure astrophotography as well as a useful accessory for visual astronomy. It precisely controls the telescopes’ tracking speed to compensate for the Earth's rotation during long exposures of celestial objects.

The new enhanced handset has an ST4 interface for an Auto-Guider, such as Sky-Watcher’s Synguider. Features selectable SOLAR, LUNAR, and SIDEREAL tracking rates, plus additional selectable adjustment rates of 0.5x, 2x, and 16x. Also, the hand controller has a convenient facility to invert the direction of the UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT handset keys, so you can have the same directions on the handset as you see through your telescope. Designed for use in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

 The DC motor drive runs on 4 “D” cell batteries (not included). Motors for both R.A. and DEC axes, motor cables, an enhanced hand controller, and a battery pack are included.

TIP: It’s easy to check whether the controls are receiving signals during autoguiding: The control light on the hand-held control panel glows green during guiding.

The polar finder is simply screwed into the back of the EQ5 mount. Correct alignment of the mount can be achieved within a very short time with this improved polar finder.

As the north celestial pole (NCP) (to which the telescope mount must be aligned) does not exactly coincide with the position of Polaris, the Pole Star, using this polar finder is very important. 

The viewfinder arrangement has been further improved, with precision alignment now possible, allowing long exposure photography to be carried out.