Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130EQ Newtonian Reflector Telescope, Dark Blue

Product Information

I believe the telescope is made to work with little t mount eyepiece lenses that are between 9mm and 20mm though Im sure that is expandable. However, since the t mount adapter has no magnification, I am wondering if that is an issue, and would solve something? Any idea what kind of piece I could get? The Starry Night Astronomy software helps you learn more about astronomy and make locating objects in the night sky easy. Overall, this powerful yet beginner-friendly telescope provides an excellent experience for anyone looking to explore space and expand their knowledge of astronomy. What is in the Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ box? The 1.25″ focuser on this telescope is decent, with aluminum focusing knobs half-covered by rubber for better grip. While you cannot use 2″ eyepieces, the 1.25″ size is an industry standard, and there are many options available. If you are a beginner or you are thinking about getting it as a gift for a beginner enthusiast, it’s a great choice.

There is one other solution, and that is called digiscoping (google it) where the eyepiece is used and the camera is held in place above the eyepiece. It is actually an inferior way to attach a telescope and the IQ won't be that great. For a scope like this along with its lightweight mount, a light weight point and shoot or cell phone camera might be best. For the same price as or a little more than that of the AstroMaster 130EQ, there are a number of other, much higher-quality telescopes you should definitely consider instead, including the following: From my welcome post I got my 5yr old son an Astromaster 130EQ for Christmas. We’re loving using it so far when the weather is right. We live in the NT, Australia so it’s very easy for us to get dark skies but it’s currently what we call the wet season so most nights are unfortunately cloudy. The limited use has shown me some things that may need upgrading or improving if it’s worth it. The Apertura DT6 offers a significant boost in aperture, much better build and optical quality, superior accessories, and a stable, easy-to-use Dobsonian mount. I have to point out and praise the Celestron for the metal legs because many other expensive scopes are supplied with aluminum legs which in my opinion are worthless.I totally agree with the comments at the beginning of the article. I encountered all the issues mentionned. 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.

The Astromaster mount looks strong but in reality is so full of plastic its about as steady as a jelly trifle. The Skywatcher EQ2 looks a bit Meccano but it does actually work and its plenty strong enough for a 130P. To determine the focal ratio, divide the focal length by the aperture. Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ’s aperture is 130mm, while the focal length is 650mm, meaning it has a focal ratio of F/5. I would suggest that for now you limit yourself to a magnification the same as the mirror diameter (have a reason for this) so around the 130x area. For this you need an eyepiece of the same focal length as the f number of the scope. So if it is an f/5 scope you want a 5mm eyepiece if it is around f/8 then you need an 8mm eyepiece. This means I do not need to know the focal lengh specifically to suggest an eyepiece focal length, just get one as per the f number and you have about 130x. 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.While I can only guess, I assume that Celestron wanted to cut costs and offer a telescope at a lower price point to beat the competition. Hence, the telescope is considered an entry-level model with an attractive price. Some handy little things to look at Thankyou. I’m not minding my red dot sight so far. The one you’ve replaced with looks very similar to the one that’s on mine though so maybe they’re the same. Additionally, some users have reported that the mount itself can be wobbly or unstable, which further complicates matters. You may also like: Is Celestron a Good Telescope Brand? What can you see with a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ? On the other hand, parabolic mirrors are considered an ideal shape design because their resulting image quality is higher than that of a spherical mirror.

On the other hand, the 20mm eyepiece feels like a toy to me, with a low-quality plastic body. It is not a standard eyepiece like the 10mm. Actually theres quite a lot of difference between the Celestron Astro Master and the Skywatcher 130P and I would always tell people to get the Skywatcher version - heres why....... If you are looking for a capable and versatile telescope to observe planets, galaxies and stars, the AstoMaster 130EQ is not it.I recommend replacing them with higher-quality options and maybe adding a Barlow lens once you are done testing them. P.S.~to enjoy viewing the planets (the inner ones anyway), you dont really need to use very high magnification such as 5-8mm. I find some of the best views i have seen come with 15-25mm. Obviously you wont see as much detail but its not ALWAYS about detail. I do like to sit and watch Jupiter and its moons from a widefield view and see the moons dance around the planet.

The 130mm aperture of the telescope provides good light-gathering power, making it possible to see faint objects such as nebulae and galaxies. This means that the telescope has a relatively small light-gathering capacity, which can limit its ability to capture fainter celestial objects. It also affects the resolution of the images produced by the telescope, making it more difficult to see fine details on planets and other objects. Neither the CG-3 mount nor the AstroMaster’s focuser are heavy duty enough for astrophotography with a DSLR, though webcam planetary imaging is in theory possible with a 3x or 5x Barlow lens coupled to the optical tube. But in practice, you’re really limited to shots with a mobile phone or the like – and this is assuming the mirror is parabolic and not spherical, which is a real gamble. Alternative Recommendations Digiscoping is afocal photography - put a camera with lens behind the eyepiece. Works best with compact cameras and not so well with larger inage sensors. I would do #1 first as the least expensive path. Work with the Moon first as it is much less challenging compared to the planets. If you want to try #2 go to Telescopeadapters.com for a good source of information and hardware.

It is important to consider the limitations of the Astromaster 130EQ when evaluating its suitability for astronomical observation. One significant limitation is its aperture size, which measures only 5.1 inches in diameter. Speaking of eyepieces, this particular model comes with two: a 20mm eyepiece (which provides a magnification factor of 32x) and a 10mm eyepiece (which provides a magnification factor of 65x). Firstly, let’s look at the 10mm eyepiece. This average-quality eyepiece has a metal body and provides 65x magnification with the Astromaster 130. It takes some time to learn how to use the mount and pointer, but once you do they are really easy to operate. The optical system consists of a spherical mirror that reflects incoming light to form an image at the focal point, where it is viewed through an eyepiece. While a spherical mirror produces images with some distortion due to off-axis light, Celestron has improved image quality by adding a secondary parabolic mirror to correct the distortion.