Celestron Astromaster 70eq

[Jaywillis78]

Hi,

just won a Celestron Astromaster 70 EQ frac for £21 on eBay. Haven't picked it up yet but hopefully it won't be too bad for the money lol....

Anybody had any experiences with this scope good or bad?

thanks Jay

[rowan46]

Sorry haven't any personal experience of this scope but I have tried other scopes of this type. The mount has the reputation of being a little wobbly but will not be too bad. At f11.25 and a small apparture there will be some false colour on bright objects but it should be tolerable This is a scope for the moon and double stars really but will show jupiter and the rings of saturn and a few of the brighter messier objects. it will not give much of a view of the larger deep space objects as it has a very narrow field of view and the dimmer ones will not be much good because of its small apparture.

The first scope I ever looked through was a tasco 60mm of similar spec and on a table top mount wobbly as hell It enthralled me and left me with a burning desire to get a scope of my own it took me over 40 years but I got round to owning one. I still remember the first view of the moon fthrough that scope and if it leaves you with that sort of thrill it will have done its job. I think that sort of thrill is worth £21 of anyones money so have fun

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks Rowen46, I've managed to get out the garden and look at the moon to check the optics. Wow, nothing wrong there the moon is a beautiful sight with the 25 and 10 EP. it was still to light to polar align the mount. Plus it's the first time for me using a EQ! Totally cooked my noodle for the first five minutes.

I left it cool down for an hour then came back out, got it polar aligned by eye and had a go at Saturn, took a few minutes but found it eventually, this was my first time viewing it and I now understand what the fuss is about and that's through a cheapy scope!!!

I need to get a battery for the finder so I was trying my best to line the scope without it. The slow mo controls didn't seem to follow Saturn which was a shame because it doesn't half move fast when you have the 10mm EP in. I think I need more goes setting up the mount first but considering the weather lately the break in the clouds was perfect. Still can't believe it was only £21, but well worth upgrading the mount to something easier and more stable, possibly a AZ4 mount. Not sure how smooth it would be tracking objects though?

anyway I guess it'll be cloudy for the next few weeks now I've finally got a scope!!!!

[Jaywillis78]

Sorry Rowan46 e instead of an a, oops.... :-)

[bingevader]

No need to hear anyone else's experiences of the 'scope when your first time out was so positive!

Best of luck, I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers

[LukeSkywatcher]

Glad you are enjoying the scope. Not bad for £21. The scope is a 70mm refrac with a 900mm focal length. There are worse out there. My first scope was in the same family as your scope. Mine was/is a Celestron 90EQ (focal length 1000mm). It gave brilliant views of the Moon. I was also chuffed to bits with the views of Saturn and Jupiter and Orion Nebula. Just about everything i saw with it really impressed me because i had little or no expectations, so was not disapointed.

Your scope being 70mm, probably wont deliver great views of planets, but any view is better then no view, right. There's lots to see out there for a scope of its size. You just have to pick the biggest and brightest objects as oppossed to the smaller dimmer ones. Even small dim galaxies are exciting because you know exactly what it is that you are looking at...........even if they just appear to be small grey smudges of "cloud" in the scope.

Enjoy. You got a good bargain there.

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks Paul, yep for the money I paid I wasn't expecting a great view of Saturn, but I was wrong. No it wasn't brilliant but its the first time I've viewed the rings having only had bins before. I was very impressed with it. Hoping to get a bit more practice with the EQ mount tonight if there is a break in the clouds. It's not very steady though.

Either way loving it and a great beginner scope!!! :-)

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thanks Paul, yep for the money I paid I wasn't expecting a great view of Saturn, but I was wrong. No it wasn't brilliant but its the first time I've viewed the rings having only had bins before. I was very impressed with it. Hoping to get a bit more practice with the EQ mount tonight if there is a break in the clouds. It's not very steady though.

Either way loving it and a great beginner scope!!! :-)

The scope is not limited because of the price you paid. More so because of the apeture, and (as you already found out)...........the mount. Its a perfectly usable scope. You can do a few things to make the tripod more stable/sturdy. Simply add a bit of weight onto the accessory tray between the legs. Cans of beans or stones or pretty much anything.

You really will enjoy the scope. I hope you didnt think i said you wont.

Have a look around for star clusters. The scope should be good on those.

I have a 70mm refractor (Celestron Travelscope70). It has a focal length of only 400mm. Its my second favourite scope because even though it is rubbish for observing planets, it gives me amazing widefield views of clusters and constellations. It was designed to do so, and i knew that when i bought it. I bought it to take away on holidays with me because it is so compact and weighs next to nothing and came in a handy backpack which i can sling over the back of my wheelchair.

My point is that there is nothing wrong with a 70mm refractor. Its just not going to be very good for observing planets. There is so much more out there then planets though.

[ian_j_kirk]

my first scope was an astromaster 70az, so same aperture as yours just a different mount. This was the scope that got me into astronomy and i got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Try looking at the double star albeireo and some star clusters in your scope. You won't be disappointed.

Ian

[Jaywillis78]

No, no, you hit the nail on the head, I love the scope already, but the mount is going to take some getting used to, plus the clutches that lock the position have to be really tight or it moves around. But trying to tighten them in both directions without losing the object. But I have to say once you have the target the slo mo controls they work really well.

i have sky safari on my ipad so I'll have to see what I can find with the views from my back garden. This scope has a narrow field of view correct? What's best to look for with this scope?

thanks again, loads of clouds now though, my fault I guess

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks Ian, I'll give it a go later hopefully if the sky keeps clearing. Didn't realise just how late you have to wait this time of year before its plenty dark.

[LukeSkywatcher]

No, no, you hit the nail on the head, I love the scope already, but the mount is going to take some getting used to, plus the clutches that lock the position have to be really tight or it moves around. But trying to tighten them in both directions without losing the object. But I have to say once you have the target the slo mo controls they work really well.

i have sky safari on my ipad so I'll have to see what I can find with the views from my back garden. This scope has a narrow field of view correct? What's best to look for with this scope?

thanks again, loads of clouds now though, my fault I guess ������

I find this site helpful and pretty accurate:

http://www.telescope...id=45&Itemid=57

It lets you input the size of scope you have and the eyepiece size etc and gives a pretty true view of what to expect (albeit under perfect conditions).

[todd8137]

Hi jay no not add Ny dealings with the 70mm but am after one my self as they are light weight and my guide scope ways tripple one of these if it does not work out for you then let me no ,

i should think it should be ok on the moon and such like just do not expect to much from it esp if you have any street lights around you

Pat

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks again Paul, I'll check that out later on. Quite clear in Cardiff and the moon is looking good, time for coffee and a trip to the back garden me thinks!!

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks again Paul, I'll check that out later on. Quite clear in Cardiff and the moon is looking good, time for coffee and a trip to the back garden me thinks!!

[Jaywillis78]

Hi Pat, yes the scope is extremely light off the mount. Have street lights out front but the back can be really dark in winter, but my view is limited. Still I have sky safari so I should be able to find plenty to test what I can and can't do with the scope. All exciting fun!!!

[todd8137]

Yeah it will give you loads a great nights out trouble is you will soon want a bigger one and then a even bigger one its very adictive at times

pat

[LukeSkywatcher]

Yeah it will give you loads a great nights out trouble is you will soon want a bigger one and then a even bigger one its very adictive at times

pat

This very true. Apeture fever gets us all.

I went from 10x50 bins to a 90EQ scope (hated the EQ mount), then i went to a set of 20x90 bins. Then i went to a 130mm Heritage Dob. After that i went to an 8" SCT.

Along the way i bought my 70mm travelscope.

If i had known then what i know now............i would have only ever bought the 8" SCT.

I dont regret any purchase apart from the 20x90 bins. They really dont get used as much as i hoped they would.

[mdstuart]

Try it on Albeiro the double star at the bottom of cygnus..rising in the NE at 11pm...

See if you can find the blob that is the globular cluster M13 in Hercules..should be fine in a 70mm scope..

Buy turn left at Orion as that will give you loads of good targets.

Its tough lining up an EQ mount even with a finder but you will get better with practice..

Enjoy

Mark

Sent from my BlackBerry 9320 using Tapatalk

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks Pat, Paul and Mark, well I've been out for an hour and followed Saturn for a good 40mins with the 10mm EP. I managed to align the mount better tonight and what a difference, I also left the legs at the lowest position and used a small wooden chair to save my back.

As the finder scope has a funny battery that Sainsburys don't sell I had to just point the scope and found things quickly enough. So yes the mount isn't great but it was much better tonight and it was a breeze following Saturn.

as I got to spend more time observing tonight I noticed the view was clearer near the edges of the ep's. this leads me to believe the optics on the telescope might be a bit mucky. Is there anything I can clean them with?

Jay

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thanks Pat, Paul and Mark, well I've been out for an hour and followed Saturn for a good 40mins with the 10mm EP. I managed to align the mount better tonight and what a difference, I also left the legs at the lowest position and used a small wooden chair to save my back.

As the finder scope has a funny battery that Sainsburys don't sell I had to just point the scope and found things quickly enough. So yes the mount isn't great but it was much better tonight and it was a breeze following Saturn.

as I got to spend more time observing tonight I noticed the view was clearer near the edges of the ep's. this leads me to believe the optics on the telescope might be a bit mucky. Is there anything I can clean them with?

Jay

When i was using my 90EQ, i could not see Polaris from where i am so i never polar aligned with it. I used a compass to point the tripods polar axis as true to north as possible.

Tracking Saturn for 40 mins using a 10mm EP is no easy thing. It races out of your FOV so damn quickly.

[ian_j_kirk]

a lot of people use baader wonder fluid on their optics, but seeing as you only have the stock eyepieces which won't be the best quality you might get away with just gently using a microfibre cloth. Others please correct me if im wrong. As for the red dot finder, i found they are next to useless on the celestrons, so wouldnt bother trying too hard to find a battery for it. With a bit of practice you will find yourself able to point the scope in generally the right area. Just remember to use your lower powered eyepiece to give yourself the widest fov

ian

[mdstuart]

Are you able to see any dirt on the eyepieces?

If you can then there are various options.

One simple one is to get a celestron lens pen. It allows you to clean lenses.

Others normally recommend special lens fluid and cloth which you could get from first light optics..

Or you could get some better eyepieces but then you are going to more than double your bargin price of £21!

Mark

Sent from my BlackBerry 9320 using Tapatalk

[Jaywillis78]

Thanks for the replies guys, to be honest the eye pieces look really good and clean. However the glass at the end of the scope looks quite dusty and a few light smudges, could I use a micro fibre cloth on that! The diagonal looks ok with some dust but clear. Talking of eye pieces what would be a good size to get for planets with this scope. I get the feeling the 20mm EP is slightly better than the 10mm. I need to see more of Saturn!!!!

[rowan46]

you defintely need a finder on a scope with such a narrow field of view http://www.telescopes.com/images/pdf/CELE248.pdf wasn't sure if you had it you can pick a battery up pretty cheap at poundland