The mount sits on a steel tubing tripod that prevents shaking and vibrations. You can adjust the tripod’s height to raise or lower the telescope to your most comfortable viewing level. 3. Finderscope

Beginner telescopes don’t offer the capability and versatility of more advanced models. But for the price, the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ offers plenty. I love the high quality optics, the beautiful planetary and lunar images and of course, the equatorial mount. The Sky-Watcher 6” Traditional provides similar capabilities to the SkyLine 6 but with a true 2” focuser, allowing for the use of 2” eyepieces. The 10mm Kellner supplied for medium power (65x with the 130EQ) works well, and thanks to its much greater and more reasonable apparent field of view (around 50 degrees) it actually achieves a similar true field to the 20mm Kellner. The Finderscope 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.The Skywatcher 130P has a decent holder with adjustment screws for tilt - The Astromaster has horrible over long screws with no adequate secondary mirror support. Its a pig to collimate. The sceondary mirror just dangles on the end of some long screws with little to give it support. 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). 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. Just a note to all on the forum thanking for contribution on this topic as it helped me decide what to get. I just bought the SW130P over Celestron 130EQ and really pleased thus far. I'm in the blessed honeymoon period with a new scope and haven't come across the disappointments yet! Beginner telescopes don’t offer the capability and versatility of more advanced models. But for the price, the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ offers plenty.

The mount - it has quite a wobble to it which I’m not sure if it’s normal or not. To the extent where if I use the slow motion controls or try to adjust focus the image will go out of focus until it stops again. Although manageable I would prefer to not have to deal with this. The RA slow motion is also quite tight and in need of some sort of lubricating. A collimation cap and/ or Cheshire eyepiece should be at the top of your accessory list as without these you will not get the most from your telescope. These are important, even more than new eyepieces. Priority #1 in fact. The Celestron AstoMaster 130EQ’s 130mm aperture and high quality optics makes it a good choice for beginners looking for an affordable telescope that is easy to use. One feature you’ll really appreciate is the equatorial mount. More on that next. 2. Equatorial mount and tripod If you are an avid stargazer, you will likely always be on the lookout for a high-quality telescope that will help you easily explore the cosmos.

The focal ratio of Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ is f/5, which means it has a relatively wide field of view and is suitable for observing large celestial objects like galaxies and nebulae. How do I align Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ? 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: This Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ review clearly shows it is an excellent choice for amateur astronomers who want an affordable and easy-to-use telescope.