Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130EQ Newtonian Reflector Telescope, Dark Blue

Product Information

Although its short focal length enables it to perform best in planetary viewing, its 650mm focal length and 130mm aperture allow it to provide crisp, clear images of the moon, stars, and planets. I'm doing my first ever collimation and have some questions (my scope is an 130mm x 650mm Celestron Astromaster 130EQ). In contrast, the 20mm eyepiece is constructed with a plastic body and serves a different purpose. It is an erecting eyepiece, which means it is capable of presenting images in their correct orientation, making it ideal for terrestrial viewing during the day. Unlike standard eyepieces that invert images, the erecting design adds more optical elements, which can slightly reduce brightness when observing dim objects at night. Nonetheless, it still offers a decent viewing experience, particularly for observing the moon and other prominent celestial objects. Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ is a reflector telescope designed for astronomy enthusiasts. It is a part of Celestron’s Astromaster line and comes with an equatorial mount. The telescope has a 130mm aperture and uses a spherical primary mirror to gather light. How does Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ perform? The Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ is a telescope that has been designed for beginners who want to explore the wonders of the night sky. With its affordable price point and easy-to-use features, this telescope has become a popular choice among amateur astronomers.

We will discuss various aspects such as optics performance, mount design, software compatibility, and limitations. Our aim is to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the product so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not the Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ is right for them.Reasonably small and affordable telescopes like the AstroMaster 70AZ are often presumed to be aimed at beginners and young users. However, despite being a typical design and build aimed at beginners we’re not convinced that the AstroMaster 70AZ is going to hold the attention of new users for long. If the Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ telescope isn’t for you The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130 offers the same aperture as the 130EQ but with better optics, better accessories, a collapsible tube, and a simple tabletop Dobsonian mount. Overall, this telescope is an excellent choice for anyone looking to explore astronomy on a budget while still having access to quality equipment that provides engaging views of our universe. Overview of Astromaster 130EQ Optics Performance

The Celestron Astromaster 130EQ is a great entry-level telescope for beginners who want to explore the night sky. With its 130mm aperture and 650mm focal length, it can provide clear views of planets, stars, galaxies, and other deep-space objects. For the AstroMaster 130EQ, the highest useful magnification is achieved with a 2.1mm focal length eyepiece. The lowest useful magnification is achieved with a 34mm focal length eyepiece. Celestron offers several options for eyepieces that fall within these limits.

Accessories include a 20mm and 10mm eyepiece, a finderscope, and a motor drive. The two eyepieces offer different magnifications for low and high powered views. The 20mm has a built-in erect image corrector. Seemingly as part of an effort to reduce manufacturing costs and maximise profit, Celestron is putting spherical primary mirrors in at least some of its AstroMaster 130EQ units. These mirrors cannot focus light correctly (a proper Newtonian telescope uses a parabolic mirror), and they make the telescope nearly unusable at high magnifications.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced stargazer looking to experience the wonders of the night sky, the Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ is an excellent choice for exploring the cosmos. The Astromaster 130EQ reflector telescope offers high magnification capabilities that allow viewers to observe even faint details on celestial objects such as planets, galaxies, and nebulae. The maximum useful magnification of this instrument is approximately 260x, which can be achieved using a Barlow lens or other accessories. The benefit of polar alignment can’t be understated, but it’s often made to sound far too complicated! Second, you need to tighten up your primary mirror tilt alignment. This means the dark center in the bright Cheshire ring should be centered under the combo tool cross hairs (the dark annulus surrounding the bright Cheshire ring should appear offset toward the primary mirror). Its combination of affordability and ease of use make it a great choice for beginners looking to explore all that our universe has to offer. What can you see with the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ?One of the standout features of Starry Night Astronomy software is its real-time sky projection. This function allows users to see a live representation of the sky, showing which celestial objects are currently visible and their precise locations. This feature can greatly enhance the stargazing experience, making it easier to plan observations and learn about different stars, planets, and deep-space objects. The high quality optics ensures sharp and clear images with minimal distortion. With the right eyepiece, and with the right night conditions, you’ll get a brilliant view of various objects in the solar system.

With a primary mirror diameter of 130mm and focal ratio of f/5, the Astromaster 130EQ reflector telescope delivers crisp and clear images that make it suitable for both deep-space observation and terrestrial viewing.I did have a chance to try it out. At 150x (9mm with 2x barlow) stars were nice points but they did have a slight asymmetry and tended to bulge out on one side with the slightest amount of defocus (either direction). I could see a couple faint "airy disk" rings that came and went, these had that slight asymmetry in the same direction as the bulge.I'm calling all this coma unless someone tells me otherwise.What magnification do people usually use for star testing? 150x seemed barely enough, I would like to have tried 250x. Polar alignment is the process of aligning your telescope’s “ home position” to a stationary point in the sky. This point is the North Celestial Pole (NCP) in the Northern hemisphere. In the Southern hemisphere the South Celestial Pole (SCP) is used. All these features make it an ideal instrument for both novice astronomers looking for an affordable entry-level setup or experienced stargazers who want to expand their collection of telescopes. Celestron Astromaster 130EQ OTA Assembly At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope. We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. Based on the middle position/image it seems the mirror needs to be moved towards the primary (from left to right in the image). It also is a little high in the image so needs to be moved down towards the bottom of the image to be concentric with the bottom of the sight tube.