Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope
by Celestron
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: CelestronModel: 31045
Product features:
- Model Number: 31045
- Objective Lens: 130 Millimeters
- Weight: 24 Pounds
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope
Customer Review: Good scope crippled by bad star finder
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my first telescope purchase and the things I was looking for are
1) not too expensive, and
2) reasonable aperture size.
This scope is 130mm which is pretty good for beginners (from what I have gathered). I was also considering SpaceProbe 130ST EQ and Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian Telescope. The online reviews for both the orion telescopes are pretty good and the reviews for this were not as great.
This review is based on my first impressions. I haven't had a chance to look at the sky with the scope yet for various reasons. I will update the review once I do that.
Comparing the product specs this telescope is exactly the same as Orion space probe 130 st. Both have same type of mounts and same aperture. However, costco was selling this one for about half the price of orion so I went with this one just because costco has a great returns policy and I figured if it doesn't work I will return it and get the orion. So far I am happy with the decision.
1. Unpacking and assembling the telescope was easy. As soon as you open the packaging there is a sheet explaining how to assemble along with pictures. Follow it and you should be able to assemble in no time at all. I think it took me 20-30 mins at most.
2. Several online reviews complain about the quality of the tripod. The quality seems fine, however, I have never owned a tripod before so you know. It feels solid enough. Hopefully I will continue to feel the same way after I have used it for couple of months etc.
3. Once the scope was assembled I pointed it towards the sky. Unfortunately I live in the middle of SF and there is a playground three blocks from my apt with massive flood lights, so there is too much light pollution and I can barely see any stars with naked eye. I will have to take the scope out far away from SF and try it again.
4. After light pollution prevented me from looking at the lone star visible in the sky, I pointed it towards the playground. (I live high up in the bld). After little bit of trial and error I was able to focus onto folks playing in the playground. I was using the 25 mm lens. The picture was very clear and I was able to read the numbers off the players shirts. To put that in perspective, if I hold a measuring tape about 2.5ft from my eyes, the goal post appears to be half an inch when looking with naked eyes. Being able to read numbers of players is just amazing. The 25 mm lens creates an erect image so it is easy to look at objects on earth. I tried using the 10 mm lens as well; however, since it doesn't create erect images had a slightly harder time with it. Also, the picture seems to be clearer via the 25 mm lens.
I haven't used the software that came with it yet so can't comment on it. I think I will most likely use my andriod to find relative position of stars in the sky and then point my telescope towards them.
One of the accessories you will need to get is a good collimation tool. From what I have read, this is not specific to this scope but a fact of life for all Newtonian reflectors. I went with Orion LaserMate Deluxe Telescope Laser Collimator which I hven't been able to use yet though. I have also ordered the Celestron Accessory Kit. Still waiting for it.
[Update] This is an update to the original review.
I finally had a clear night and took the scope out to a park out of the city to take a look at the Sky.
- First the star finder is useless. All you can do is aim towards the thing you want to see and hope luck favors your.
- The views are actually pretty good when they work. I looked at the moon with the 20mm and 10mm lens that comes with the scope and good pretty good views of the craters on the moon. Next I tried looking at Jupiter. The sky was very clear and with naked eyes it was the brightest star in the sky. However, the star finder completely failed over here. I pointed the star finder to Jupiter, but Jupiter was no where to be seen with the scope. Me a friend spent about 30-35 mins which was very frustrating. We tried aligning the star finder several times during the entire ordeal by focusing on something else but it didn't work. Anyway, after wasting 30 mins trying to find Jupiter we decided to try something else and switched to the Orion Nebula. This time we got lucky and by sheer chance found the nebula within a minute. The views of the nebula were pretty good. We were able to make out the stars in the nebula and could easily make out the gas cloud. So that was good. Once we found it it was easy to keep track of it.
So overall the views via the telescope are good, but the star finder is totally useless making it very hard to reliably look something up in the sky. All you can do is aim towards the part of the sky where it object you want to see is located and hope that you get lucky. I am considering returning it and getting the Orion 130 mm scope as it comes with a much better star finder.
[second Update]
I have now had the chance to use this scope couple of times. Also, I spent some time during the day when it is bright pointing at terrestrial objects to align the star finder. Search online to find instructions on how to do this. Aligning the star finder helps a bit in the night when you are trying to find a star, so make sure you do it. That said, it is a red dot finder and unless you are good 20-30 miles from nearest light pollution source, it is not going to be useful trying to locate faint objects. Search online for limitations of red dot finders.
I bought a 20mm Meade eyepiece with 70 degree FOV. This is a must have given the limitations of star finder on this scope. Having a low magnification wide angle eyepiece greatly improves the ability to scan the sky looking for faint objects. Using the eyepiece I was able to successfully locate the Android Galaxy and a double cluster by scanning the sky around the area where these objects were supposed to be. If you have the budget I would say go for an 82 degree low power eyepiece, though, if you have budget consider zhumell 8" dob.
Also, this telescope has focal ratio of 5 which is considerd fast and requires very precise collimation and is not as forgiving if there are small collimation errors. I would strongly recommend a laser collimator for the scope.
Overall if you are getting the scope for around 200 I would strongly consider orion xt4.5. It has about the same apereture, but comes with a better star finder, and has a focal ration of 7.9 which is lot more forgiving in case of collimation errors.
Description of Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope
If you're looking for a dual-purpose telescope appropriate for both terrestrial and celestial viewing, then the AstroMaster Series is for you. Each AstroMaster model is capable of giving correct views of land and sky. The AstroMaster Series produce bright, clear images of the Moon and planets. It is easy to see the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn with every one of these fine instruments. For views of the brighter deep space objects like galaxies and nebulae, we recommend the larger aperture and light gathering ability of the Newtonian reflectors.Reflectors
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