Celestron NexStar SLT 127 Telescope

Five stars seems to only just do justice to this fantastic piece of kit.If this telescope was likened to a pugilist, it would be a middleweight - fighting off heavyweights. Or put another way, the SLT127 Maksutov Cassegrain telescope punches well above its weight. Its five inch aperture and 1500mm focal length provide some impressive results.Admittedly, I was caught up in 'aperture fever' as many amateur astronomers tend do; bigger is better, 10 inch aperture plus or nothing etc.I wanted a telescope that could show me planetary features and deep sky objects with at least some degree of detail. Surely I needed a Dobsonian telescope that may be heavy but is 'the business' . Or (for me anyway) an expensive Celestron Nexstar Evolution etc. etc. etc.Then I actually gave the SLT127 a chance, and have never looked back since.Better than a long sermon about the joys of this scope (there are a few minor issues such as a shaky mount, easily sorted however), here is a list of what I have actually seen with it despite living in an urban area:Jupiter: cloud bands and associated festoons. The Great Red Spot. Shadow transit of Io.Saturn: The rings of Saturn as well as the Cassini divide within said rings, it's cloud band, Titan.Mars and it's polar caps.Orion Nebula, Pleiades (not much in the way of deep sky objects, however, I have not as yet gone through the long list in the SLT127 GO-TO directory).Clear, crisp images which reveal fantastic detail to the eye, not just after the use of stacking software.As yet I have to use the t-ring adaptor and take photos with a DSLR camera.There are so many possibilities with this fantastic telescope. I can't wait to try them all!I'm summary, if you are looking for an affordable telescope that is beginner/intermediate level then the SLT127 is a fantastic place to start. Rother Valley Optics or Harrison Telescopes are two great places to check out on the U. K. for sound advice, fantastic customer services and good stock availability.