Celestron Astromaster 130EQ Good Upgrade From Current?

[lighty89]

Looking to upgrade my telescope to one which I can actually see more with than the one I got!

Currently got this "North Star - Mars 76RDF 700x76mm Netonian Reflector"

Looking to get some good views of Jupiter, Saturn and its rings etc, as well as star, constellations and moons?

So, from what I currently I have would this be a good upgrade with some noticeable differences, or do you think something else?

Dont want spend more than £160 if I dont have too folks!

[rowan46]

certainly this has more apparture but the mount seems a little flimsy this a touch over your budget but its a serious bit of kit. good sized optics, good quality and easy to use.Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

[lighty89]

Is that a good telescope then?

Be able to see what I said?

Which one will provide the better view?

[Cornelius Varley]

The Skywatcher 130P is similar to the Astromaster but has less plastic in its construction and a better RDF. And the 150P dobsonian is better than both.

Peter

[lighty89]

Whats the RDF sorry?

And will I be able to get a good view of Jupiter or Saturn and its rings with these?

Which one would you go for?

[Hypernova]

Is that a good telescope then?

Be able to see what I said?

Which one will provide the better view?

You should be able to see all of what you said quite easily through the 150p dob, assuming that the seeing conditions are reasonable and there is not too much local light pollution. The longer f/ratio (focal length divided by aperture) should help improve the views particularly on planets, it should hold collimation easier than a shorter f/ratio 'scope and it won't be all that fussy on the quality of eyepieces.

It should be a good choice on planets but there is the need to nudge the tube manually in two directions at once to track the target. This is the downside of a dob and came seen by some as an annoyance at high powers and with eyepieces that have a narrow AFOV. It shouldn't be too bad though, you quickly get used to doing it and it become sort of second nature.

A few high power eyepieces with a large AFOV, like 60-70-80 degrees, should help keep an object in view for longer when at high magnification. TMB planetaries and Williams Optics SPLs both have a respectable AFOV and won't break the bank.

[scogyrd]

I bought an astromaster 130eq as my first scope, which I still own, and I honestly wouldn't recommend it. It's not a bad scope optically but it's not very upgradable, as mentioned above it's very plasticy, it has a very wobbly eyepiece draw tube, although this can be fixed easily enough with some duct tape, and the red dot finder isn't very good.

In hindsight I think the 130 skywatcher or the 150 dob would've been a much better purchase.

[marcdearn]

I have both the AstroMaster and the SkyWatcher 130's

(It is a long story why....)

I think the OTA (tube) is better on the SkyMaster but the mount is better on the Astromaster

The tripod is rubbish on both but for 140 quid what do you expect

Either telescope is far superior to what was available to Galileo

as long as you have reasonable expectations both scopes will give good views of the planets, moon and DSO's

[marcdearn]

RDF is red dot finder

In My opinion useless on both these scopes and I replaced them with a Rigel Quickfinder

[lighty89]

With the 150 would I be able to see Jupiter and its moons? Maybe even the red rings around Jupiter?

And how about Saturn and its rings?

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to this, really want to go into it, just don't want to be left frustrated by it being not much better than what I currently have!

[johnkirkpatrick]

i had the astromaster 130 and found it very shacky, did see saturn with this scope and even at a mag of say x130/x150 was pushing the scope to the limit, I quickly got rid of it for a bigger scope and bought the dob, I recomend either the 150p or if you can push get the 200p skyliner dob you can see so much more and no need to worry about cheap shacky mounts, and you will be rewarded with brill views of the planets galaxies and clusters.

[valleyman]

Go for the 150 dob......as it will not be long before you want to do another upgrade

[Astro_Baby]

I'd move up go the 150 dob if you can or even the 150 on the eq3-2 if yo ant tracking.

If you stick with the 130 I would get the skywatcher version which is almost the same price but has some definite advantages

1 it has much thinner metal spider vanes versus celestrons horrible thick plastic ones

2 collimation is far easier on the skywatcher because it's secondary mirror holder is much better designed.

3 what celestron are pleased to call a finder scope is horrible, dreadful plastic thing moulded on the end of the scope, skywatcher fit a passable red dot finder that works quite well and the scope has proper accessory shoe so you can change finders if you want with minimal fuss.

4 celestron mount is spindly, wobbly and full of plastic, it looks hi tech in pics but in actual fact is horrible. The skywatcher mount is ok, not the best but far better than the celestron one.

5 style, the skywatcher looks like a baby telescope, its made to a price as a starter scope and does it very well. The celestron feels like a toy it's got so much plastic in it.

[John]

With the 150 would I be able to see Jupiter and its moons? Maybe even the red rings around Jupiter?

And how about Saturn and its rings?....

You can see the above features with 60mm scopes, except for the red rings around Jupiter - I think you probably mean the Red Spot, which needs a little more aperture and patience to spot but should be visible in scopes from 100mm and upwards on good nights.

A 150mm scope would be a pretty significant step up from what you have - 400% more light gathering for starters !.