A compact 50mm refractor designed for straightforward celestial and terrestrial observing while travelling. Its complete no-tool kit fits inside the supplied backpack.
Portable Refractor for Day and Night
The Travel Scope 50 uses a 50mm (2 inches) f/7.2 refractor with coated glass optics. It is suited to casual views of the Moon, brighter planets, star fields and bright deep-sky objects, while the erect-image diagonal also provides correctly oriented terrestrial views.
This is a compact visual telescope rather than a specialist long-exposure astrophotography system. Observing performance depends on sky conditions, target altitude and the stability of the setup.
Manual Altazimuth Mount
The preassembled mount uses a pan handle and clutch for manual up-and-down and left-to-right movement. The adjustable tripod includes an accessory tray and requires no batteries or external power.
No GoTo object finding, motor drive or automatic tracking is included.
Eyepieces and Optical Accessories
The supplied 20mm (18×) and 8mm (45×) provide two starting magnifications. The kit also includes a 2×20 finderscope and 45° erect-image diagonal, .96-inch to 1.25-inch. Barlow lens: 3× Barlow lens included.
Backpack Travel Kit
A custom backpack stores the optical tube, tripod, eyepieces and supplied accessories together. A smartphone adapter is not stated as included with this model.
Smartphone imaging accessories are intended for simple photographs of bright terrestrial or celestial subjects; results depend on the phone, eyepiece, alignment and observing conditions.
What Is Included?
- 50mm f/7.2 refractor optical tube
- Preassembled manual altazimuth mount and adjustable aluminium tripod
- 20mm and 8mm eyepieces
- 3× Barlow lens
- 45° erect-image diagonal
- 2×20 finderscope
- Custom travel backpack
- SkyPortal app and Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition software access
- Instruction manual
Please note: A certified solar filter and any item not listed above are not stated as included.
Specifications
Optical Tube
| Optical design | Refractor |
|---|---|
| Aperture | 50mm (2 inches) |
| Focal length | 360mm (14.17 inches) |
| Focal ratio | f/7.2 |
| Optical coatings | Coated glass optics |
| Eyepieces | 20mm (18×) and 8mm (45×) |
| Barlow lens | 3× Barlow lens included |
| Finderscope | 2×20 finderscope |
| Star diagonal | 45° erect-image diagonal, .96-inch to 1.25-inch |
| Highest useful magnification | 120× |
| Lowest useful magnification | 7× |
| Limiting stellar magnitude | 11.1 |
| Rayleigh resolution | 2.66 arcseconds |
| Dawes resolution | 2.28 arcseconds |
| Light-gathering power | 51× compared with the human eye |
| Optical-tube length | 304.8mm (12 inches) |
| Optical-tube diameter | 82.55mm (3.25 inches) |
| Optical-tube weight | 317.5g (11.2oz) |
| Dovetail | Vixen/CG-5 dovetail bar and saddle plate |
Mount, Accessories and Weight
| Mount | Manual altazimuth mount |
|---|---|
| Mount controls | Pan-handle altazimuth control with clutch, adjustable aluminium tripod and accessory tray |
| Tripod weight | 0.68kg (1.5lb) |
| Complete kit weight | 998g (2.2lb) |
| Smartphone adapter | Not included |
| Additional supplied items | Custom backpack |
| Software | Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition and SkyPortal app access |
Solar Safety
Warning: Never look at or point the telescope towards the Sun without a suitable certified full-aperture solar filter securely fitted over the front objective.
Never use an eyepiece-type solar filter and never use the telescope to project an image of the Sun. Unfiltered sunlight can cause permanent eye injury and equipment damage.
If compatibility and secure fitting cannot be confirmed, do not point the telescope at or near the Sun.
Instruction Manuals
The official Celestron documentation is supplied in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.