Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045 is a dual-purpose telescope that is great for both terrestrial and celestial viewing. The Celestron Astro Master 130 EQ Telescope produces bright and clear images of the Moon and planets through the telescope’s fully coated lens. The Celestron Astro Master 130 EQ Telescope w/ Equatorial Mount has a large 130mm mirror, making it a great medium-sized telescope that will allow the user room to grow in astronomy. This 130mm mirror is the largest mirror in the AstroMaster Series, and will easily provide enough light to see the moons of Jupiter, rings of Saturn, star clusters, and nebulae. These telescopes come with two telescope eyepieces of 50x and 100x magnification, which can pull in objects both near and far away. Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Telescopes have an Equatorial mount that allow the user to follow objects in the sky much easier than an Altazimuth (Alt-az) Mount. Equatorial mounts use a set of counterweights that balances the telescope as it moves, making the movement more smooth. This is also very effective in high magnifications, when the smallest nudge of the telescope will greatly affect the viewing area. In addition, these Celestron AstroMaster Telescopes have the reflector design, which is favored by astronomers with their more advanced setup and controls, when compared to a Refractor telescope. These telescopes come with a tripod with 1.25″ thick steel legs, providing a rigid and stable platform. These features of the Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045 make it a great telescope for serious beginners and intermediate users. Specifications for Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045: Optical Design: Reflector Aperture: 130 mm (5.12 in) Focal Length: 650 mm (25.59 in) Focal Ratio: 5 Eyepiece 1: 20 mm (0.79 in) Magnification 1: 32.5 x Eyepiece 2: 10 mm (0.39 in) Magnification 2: 65 x Mount: Equatorial Optical Coatings: Aluminum Weight: 24 lb (10.89 kg) Warranty: 2 years Features of Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045: Dual-purpose, ideal for terrestrial and astronomical use All coated glass optics for clear, crisp images Permanently mounted StarPointer Equatorial (EQ) mount for smooth and accurate control Pre-assembled tripod with 1.25″ steel legs Deluxe accessory tray for convenient storage “The Sky” Level 1 planetarium software with 10,000 object database Package Contents: Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045 Tripod Planetarium software
Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045
$349.95
SKU: A65C2AD7
Category: Celestron
6 reviews for Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Equatorial Reflector Telescope 31045
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starfan –
I have replaced the red-dot finder with a Rigel Quickfinder, and changed to a sturdy Alt-az tripod mount. After careful collimation, good view obtained up to 55-60X. A good aftermarket eyepiece helped a great deal. Not the best choice for planets or doublestars, but useful within the limits of an RFT. (Far more light gathering than my old 80mm WA RFT). By all means, look for a discount price. Pros: good f5 parabola mirrorCons: finder scope next to useless, EQ mount inconvenient
LordTomas –
For the money it's a good value. The EQ mount is what you want to have when your at the highest level on viewing the night skies. And the mount is well put together. It is not light. But not too heavy as to stop you using it. It is not the easiest mount to use, but a quick YouTube search on EQ mounts and setting them up and you will be fine. The legs of the tripod are steel so they are very nice. The plastic pieces that attach the screws are the weak points. But as long as you use it with care, as you should, you should have no trouble with them. The scope its self is well put together and leaves very little to assemble. My mirrors seem to be very nice so far. I have only had it out twice so far. And my targets have been the moon and star viewing. A total of 30 minutes at most. The scope comes with software that is okay. But much better can be had online for free. This comes with two eyepieces, a 10mm, and a 20mm erecting. The 10mm is just okay. The 20mm is really at the bottom of what I would ever want to use. So that leads me to the bad things. The first is the eyepieces, but that's not any different than any telescope you buy. They all come with very few and not the best. So you should buy either the celestron eyepiece set with filters or do as I have and go for really good eyepieces such as celestrons X-Cel LX line, or Luminus line. I did the X-cel and love the one I have so far. The next con is the red dot finder, it's worthless and to my knowledge there is no way to switch it out. Next is its only a 1.25 focuser, I wish it had both 1.25" and 2". That way you could use more eyepieces. Bottom line buy this one.
Legacy Reviewer –
Local camera shop had it on for 1/2 price. Paid $170 CDN for it. well worth the price considering what you get. Wouldn't pay full price for it.Can easily hit the usual targets, Jupiter, Saturn, etc. still trying to get to nebula's etc. maybe too much light pollution.Pros: excellent optics for priceCons: finder is tough to aim to get close to objects
Dana Williams –
I recently purchased the 130EQ as my first telescope and I am very pleased. It is budget minded so it is not as perfect as some higher cost telescopes, however there are not many 'I wish I had this..' associated with it. Setting it up was quite simple, and mine was already culminated out of the box.The EQ mount functions well, though the tripod is not the most stable so distant objects will bounce around a lot. The 10mm eye piece is the most useful as it seems to be made better than the 20mm. I do recommend purchasing an eyepiece kit for it as well that includes a 2x or 3x barlow magnifier. This will help enlarge distant objects.You will not be able to view Deep Space Objects with it, however I have viewed objects as far as Neptune with it quite easily. A magnifying barlow would have made Neptune a bit more than a bright dot, but the closer planets should be easily seen better.
Johnnybegood –
This is my first telescope and I have used it for about 2 months now, so keep in mind I have no means to compare this scope with any other.This is a true beginner's review. The eyepieces provided are ok, and with the 10 mm one I was able to see the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter, and the Saturn rings were very fainted. I started to enjoy it more after I bought a 2x barlow lens and a celestron 5 mm eyepiece, which stretches the magnification to the scope's limit at 260X. With such magnification I can see see the rings of Saturn very easily (without any details) and Jupiter looks much better. Mars has been a bit disappointing (no contrasts, just a pinky circle). The finderscope is ok, I could not collimate it, but it gives me enough precision to find the objects I look for in a matter of minutes. The equatorial mount is not complicated to use, but a negative here is that it shakes too easily (even with a little of wind). Overall I'm satisfied with the telescope, and for the price I paid I say it's pretty good, but I already think on upgrading to a computerized and powerful scope (which apparently is a good indication that I've become a true hobbyist 🙂
Legacy Reviewer –
I picked up this telescope about a month ago for myself and my daughter. We are just starting into astronomy. This telescope was very easy to set up. It only took me about 10 minutes to set it up out of the box. It is very solidly built. The tripod is rock solid, as is the EQ mount. We have been out looking at Jupiter and the Comit 17p/Holmes. The telescope is easy to aim with it's red dot finder. The images have been very clear. We were able to bring Holmes in close enough that you could see it's dust cloud in 3D. We are looking forward to many years of observing with this telescope. I would definitly recommend it to anyone looking for a very solidly built telescope!Pros: solid, high quality, short tube length, very clear imagesCons: have not found any yet