I'm thinking the sight tube image is more trustworthy because the centeredness of the focuser tube opening is unknown. Depending on manufacturing tolerances the hole** in the OTA tube assembly may or may not be exactly concentric with the focuser axial center. However the bottom of the sight tube should be. It’s also ideal for older kids – 8+ years – though you may need to help them learn the basics of using the mount and finderscope. What accessories are included?

Accessories include a 20mm and 10mm eyepiece, a finderscope, and a motor drive. The two eyepieces offer different magnifications for low and high powered views. The 20mm has a built-in erect image corrector. Seemingly as part of an effort to reduce manufacturing costs and maximise profit, Celestron is putting spherical primary mirrors in at least some of its AstroMaster 130EQ units. These mirrors cannot focus light correctly (a proper Newtonian telescope uses a parabolic mirror), and they make the telescope nearly unusable at high magnifications. OK--I'm glad you added the collimation cap view--this clearly shows the importance of the primary mirror center marker. I've attached an annotated image to explain. Given the telescope’s affordable price, the included eyepieces provide satisfactory performance, though more serious enthusiasts might consider investing in higher-quality eyepieces or adding a Barlow lens to further enhance their astronomical experience. The free starry night astronomy software included in the Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ box 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.

Starry Night Software

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. If you have setup on soil/grass do push down on each leg so that it bites into the ground slightly as you continue to level the stand – this will stabilise the stand and cushion any movement.

One feature you’ll really appreciate is the equatorial mount. More on that next. 2. Equatorial mount and tripod 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. 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.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. Moving on from the discussion about the AstroMaster 130EQ Starry Night Astronomy Software, let’s now shift our attention to the Celestron Astromaster 130EQ OTA Assembly. So, take the white paper out of the OTA so we can see the primary mirror center marker and let's see what you need to do next... Using the Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ is a user-friendly experience, particularly suited for beginners. After unboxing, the telescope can be easily assembled following the provided instructions, which typically involves attaching the optical tube to the mount and then adding the finderscope and eyepieces. Its lightweight design enhances portability, making it convenient for transportation to various observing locations. Accessories include a 20mm and 10mm eyepiece, a finderscope. The two eyepieces offer different magnifications for low and high powered views. The 20mm has a built-in erect image corrector.

The cyan circle shows the focuser axial alignment based on the bottom of the sight tube location and center. Overall everything shows reasonble alignment. The key point being that it doesn't agree with the apparent mis-alignment visible when using the collimation cap. Based on the middle position/image it seems the mirror needs to be moved towards the primary (from left to right in the image). It also is a little high in the image so needs to be moved down towards the bottom of the image to be concentric with the bottom of the sight tube.

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The 130mm (5.1 inches) aperture is slightly wider than the 60mm you get from very basic telescopes. But it’s still limited to planetary and lunar observations. The Celestron Astromaster 130EQ also comes with Starry Night astronomy software which can help users locate celestial objects in the sky. However, there are some limitations to this telescope. Its plastic focuser is not very durable and may cause image distortion if not used carefully. Additionally, the mount may need frequent adjustments during use. The Celestron Astromaster 130EQ is a decent telescope for beginners. 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.

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 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. I think the circles are a little elliptical/off-centered compared to the previous Celestron alignment. Aligning the primary mirror clips so they were centered always seemed to introduce an elliptical/off-centered error. Since I wasn't converging I stopped. There are too many degrees of freedom. Is this amount of eccentricity and non-centeredness visible? If it doesn't affect coma or sharpness then maybe it's OK. You may also like: Is A Cheap Telescope Worth It? The motorized upgrade of Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ High-quality aftermarket eyepieces can at least make the observational experience with your AstroMaster 130EQ somewhat enjoyable, even with its imperfect optics and mounting. The 130EQ’s provided 20mm erecting eyepiece is entirely ruins low-power viewing, where the telescope can still deliver sharp views with no issues. 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. 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. The CG-3 comes with flexible slow motion controls for adjustments on both axes. However, you’ll need to switch the right ascension cable from one side of the mount to the other depending on where you’re looking in the sky. The mount has no polar scope, but for a scope meant for visual use and most simple astrophotography, this isn’t really an issue. The mount does have slow-motion altitude and azimuth adjustments for precise polar alignment.