A 15mm “redline” or “goldline” eyepiece (43x) fits well between the 32mm and the provided 10mm eyepieces, while a 7mm planetary eyepiece (93x) provides about the highest magnification you can use with the AstroMaster 130EQ before the flawed spherical mirrors no longer provide a sharp or even acceptable image. For beginners, the difference in image quality between these two mirror types at this aperture size may not be significantly noticeable, making the current version still a viable choice for entry-level astronomical exploration.

Following the six-month deferral period, Novuna Personal Finance will initiate a monthly direct debit payment for the remaining duration of the loan. While the concept might seem complex, it can be simplified as follows: a telescope with a faster focal ratio, like F/5, captures brighter images compared to a slower one, say F/10. The 130EQ optical tube can be rotated in its rings to adjust the position of the eyepiece, but you could easily throw off the balance and/or skew the pointing of the telescope in the process of doing so.but i view in a public place and a lot of people have stopped on there way past and asked for a look and the first word from 99%is WOW. The CG-3 has a Vixen dovetail saddle so in theory you could put a different optical tube on it, but it wouldn’t really make financial sense to do so under most circumstances.

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.

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. This makes it ideal for lunar and planetary observing, as well as for use on splitting double stars and brighter deep sky objects. Now, Celestron is using that same technology to allow star gazers to connect to the night sky and enhance their experience of the cosmos in fun and unique ways. During the six-month deferral period, it is possible to pay off the loan, either by way of a lump sum or in smaller amounts.

Without chaning the focuser (see above), I don't believe there's any way around this, so instead of 650mm FL you have a 1300mm lens. You won't believe how easy it is to see the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn with your AstroMaster 130EQ.

The equatorial mount includes setting circles to help in adjusting the right ascension and declination. I had to force myself to stop, pick up the instructions and read, I cannot stress the importance of instructions in the assembly of scopes.

It has a large aperture, which means it can gather a lot of light and provide detailed views of celestial objects such as the Moon, planets, and deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.

However, it offers mediocre build quality, a limited 30-degree apparent FOV, tons of stray light, and it isn’t especially useful for viewing birds, planets, or anything else for that matter. A good low-power eyepiece, such as a 25mm Plossl (26x), is far sharper than the 20mm erecting eyepiece and offers the widest practical field of view with this scope, making it ideal for observing deep-sky objects. The Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ is a Newtonian reflector telescope with a 130mm primary mirror, a focal length of 650mm, and a focal ratio of F/5. One of the rings has a small ¼ 20 threaded screw/knob that allows you to piggyback a DSLR on top – if the mount is motorised with an aftermarket clock drive such as Celestron’s Logic Drive, it will work well enough for wide-field astrophotography.