Features

Overview: The AstroMaster 130EQ-MD telescope by Celestron is a Newtonian Reflector telescope with a built-in motor drive. It can be used for both terrestrial and celestial viewing. The 130EQ-MD comes with a sturdy pre-assembled tripod with 1.25" steel tube legs.

Newtonian Reflector: Newtonian Reflector telescopes replace heavy lenses with mirrors to collect and focus the light, providing much more light gathering power than refracting telescopes. It uses a single concave mirror as its primary element. Light enters the telescope and travels to the mirror in the back end. The mirror bends (focuses) the light forward to a single focal point. A flat mirror (diagonal) intercepts the light and points it out the side of the tube to the eyepiece. A Newtonian Reflector telescope offers such impressive light-gathering characteristics you can view some deep space objects, even with a modestly-priced unit.

StarPointer Finderscope: The telescope comes with a permanently-mounted StarPointer red-dot finderscope which helps you to aim the telescope at a distant target. The finderscope must first be aligned with the telescope before use. The StarPointer is powered by a CR1620 Lithium (coin-type) battery (supplied).

Motor Drive: The AstroMaster 130EQ-MD is equipped with a motor drive to allow tracking of celestial objects as they move across the sky. When the drive is properly set, the object you are viewing should be centered in the eyepiece for long periods of time. In addition to the On/Off switch, the motor drive has two controls: a variable speed control and a N/S switch to set the telescope for Northern or Southern hemisphere. The motor drive is powered by one 9-volt alkaline battery (supplied). The cover must be removed in order to install the battery. The battery can power the drive for up to 40 hours.

Equatorial Mount: The telescope is mounted on a CG-3 German Equatorial Mount, which allows you to tilt the telescope's axis of rotation so you can track the stars as they move across the sky. It has a counterweight bar and two adjustable counterweights to keep the telescope in proper balance. The two included slow motion control cables allow you to make fine manual adjustments to the telescope in both the Right Ascension (R.A.) and Declination (Dec.).

Eyepieces: The AstroMaster features two eyepieces: a low power 20mm and a high power 10mm. You can choose which eyepiece to use based on the magnification and field of view you desire. It is recommended that you use the 20mm eyepiece when first setting up and aiming the telescope, then switch to the higher power 10mm eyepiece to get a closer look at the object.

Accessory Tray: The telescope comes with an accessory tray which provides a place to put extra eyepieces or other items while you're using the telescope.

Camera Mount: The AstroMaster 130EQ-MD has a standard 1/4" tripod post mounted to the top of the optical tube for a still image camera. This allows you to perform "piggyback photography," capturing entire constellations and record large scale nebulae. For best results, you will need to polar align the telescope and start the motor drive for tracking.

Included Software: Included with the telescope is "TheSkyX -- First Light Edition" astronomy software on CD-ROM. The disc contains a 10,000 object database with printable sky maps and 75 enhanced images.

Specifications:

• Optical Design: Newtonian Reflector
• Aperture: 130mm (5.12")
• Focal Length: 650mm (26")
• Focal Ratio: f/5
• Eyepiece Focal Length: 20mm and 10mm
• Eyepiece Magnification: 33x and 65x
• Highest Useful Magnification: 307x
• Lowest Useful Magnification: 19x
• Optical Tube Length: 24"
• Light Gathering Power: 345x (compared to human eye)
• Weight (with tripod): 28 pounds
• Overall Dimensions:
  • Length: 23.75" (including eyepiece)
  • Maximum Height (on tripod): 61"
  • Minimum Height (on tripod): 42.75"