Recently, I had the opportunity to review the largest telescope from Stellarvue, in Auburn, California — the SV160 triplet refractor. According to company owner Vic Maris, the SV160’s initial design came out six years ago. Since then, it has gone through several iterations to optimize performance.

Well, the latest version promises to be another hit. And that statement holds true whether you are a visual observer or an astroimager, and whether your taste runs to galaxies or planets.

For example, the initial objective was an oil-spaced triplet lens, but in 2008, the company replaced it with an air-spaced one that optimizes imaging capabilities. Changes to the 2012 version include a lens set made in the United States.

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