Can u see galaxy’s and star clusters through a Celestron AstroMaster 130eq

[Pro]

I recently bought a Celestron AstroMaster 130eq (my first telescope) and I was wondering if you can see galaxy’s and star clusters through the telescope? Sorry if this is an obvious reason 

Thank you

Edited July 25, 2020 by Pro

[Peter Drew]

You certainly can!, specially star clusters.  You just need some sky charts and a clear sky to get started.  Later in the year with darker skies  will be best.   🙂

[Pro]

Thanks 😄

[John]

Yes, lots of them, but you need to know exactly where to point the scope to find them.

A good star chart is essential and also making sure that the finder scope is aligned as accurately as possible with the main scope.

 

[bomberbaz]

55 minutes ago, Pro said:

I recently bought a Celestron AstroMaster 130eq (my first telescope) and I was wondering if you can see galaxy’s and star clusters through the telescope? Sorry if this is an obvious reason 

Thank you

Nice scope, it was my first.

Quick tip, the 25mm eyepiece is quite decent and easy to use, the 10mm is not so easy to get along with and some people struggle with eye placement. However using the barlow increases the power of the 20mm to 10mm s0 you can use the same eyepiece for both magnifications. 33x and 66x.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Pro and welcome to SGL. 

Bear in mind that some DSO's will appear as 'fuzzy grey blobs' as the human eye is not really adapted for night use.

If you invest in a UHC or O-lll filter, it will help with enhancing some of the finer structure/detail. M42, the Orion Nebula is the obvious target to practice on, but add one of these filters, it will show so much more.

A very useful filter for many uses is the Baader Neodymium. I often refer to it as my 'Swiss-Army knife filter' and often called the 'Marmite filter' by some. It is one you either like it or hate it filters. It is expensive for what it is; (many 'specialist' filters are anyway). I use it a lot, especially when viewing Mars, Jupiter, & Saturn too.

[bomberbaz]

4 hours ago, Philip R said:

Hi @Pro and welcome to SGL. 

Bear in mind that some DSO's will appear as 'fuzzy grey blobs' as the human eye is not really adapted for night use.

If you invest in a UHC or O-lll filter, it will help with enhancing some of the finer structure/detail. M42, the Orion Nebula is the obvious target to practice on, but add one of these filters, it will show so much more.

A very useful filter for many uses is the Baader Neodymium. I often refer to it as my 'Swiss-Army knife filter' and often called the 'Marmite filter' by some. It is one you either like it or hate it filters. It is expensive for what it is; (many 'specialist' filters are anyway). I use it a lot, especially when viewing Mars, Jupiter, & Saturn too.

Personally I would go for either the astronomik UHC or baader's uhc-s filter. They are both excellent filters but the baader is more broad in it's light cut so may give you brighter results in a 130. 

A quick what they do is to cut out light you don't want to see and allow light that will help you see nebula better. That is the simplest explanation.