William Optics SpaceCat 51 WIFD Review

I recently got the chance to put the William Optics SpaceCat 51 WIFD (with internal focus design) through it's paces, and under the darkest skies I have ever seen no less. At the end of September we travelled to the Okie-Tex Star Party in Kenton, Oklahoma. I wanted to bring something light yet powerful with me to keep things as straight forward and travel friendly as possible. I settled on the William Optics SpaceCat 51 mounted on the PegasusAstro NYX-101 Mount. Paired with a ZWO ASI533MC-Pro camera this proved to be a very good decision. 

Now, being under Bortle 1/2 level night skies was not only spectacular but also certainly played into the outstanding results I got with the SpaceCat 51. With a 51mm aperture and a 250mm focal length at f/4.9 this can be classified as a wide field, medium speed telescope. This makes picking off large targets full of nebulosity a fairly straight forward task. 

With clear, moonless skies, and a 360 degree view I was spoiled for choice. I wanted to capture anything and everything I could! Over the course of 4 nights I managed to capture many different targets. Some were just a few quick shots to satisfy my curiosity and indecision about which targets to focus on, but I did eventually settle on a handful of targets to collect some decent data on. 

I managed to capture the following targets with enough data to be happy with the final results: The Lagoon (M8) and Trifid Nebula (M20) framed together; The California Nebula (NGC 1499); The Horsehead (Barnard 33) and Flame Nebulae (NGC 2024); The Triangulum Galaxy (M33); and The Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Take a look at the gallery below to see the results! 

I think the results speak for themself here. The stars are round to the corners and the images are crisp and bright. Please note that these images have been compressed on upload to the blog and are not a perfect representation, you can see full scale, high resolution images at https://astrogeek.space/

All of these images are roughly a 3 hour average total integration time. 5 minute exposures with Darks, Flats, and Flat Darks for calibration. Processed from start to finish in PixInsight with a very straightforward processing workflow. 

From a design perspective this telescope is absolutely beautiful. It has a premium build and aesthetic. At first I thought the cat in a space suit was cheesy but now I can't help but think it's pretty darn cute. The space grey color is sharp looking with a smooth, matte finish. It's clear that a lot of time and care went into the design of this telescope. The internal focuser is really something special as the entire image train stays stationary with no external moving parts to worry about. The built in patented bahtinov mask makes focusing quick and accurate without the need for an auto focuser. The built in rotator made framing my targets quick and painless.

Overall I would not hesitate to grab the SpaceCat 51 again for a wide field, travel setup that's capable of producing stunning images. It's not an accident that the RedCat / SpaceCat series of telescopes are amongst the most popular telescopes on the market today.

Here's a quick snapshot of the specifications for the SpaceCat 51:

If you'd like to pick up a SpaceCat or RedCat for yourself you can do so following the product links below. 

We currently have this exact SpaceCat 51 review unit available for purchase as an Open Box / Used item at a significant discount. You can check that out HERE.