Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Motor Drive Telescope (Black)

I recently purchased this scope through TigeRetaiL_SLP and the product was amazon fulfilled. The astromaster 130EQ is a standard entry level telescope and is widely known across the globe. This scope along with it's close rival Celestron powerseeker 127(which is also available on amazon for almost the same price) are usually the scope of choice for people beginning their journey in stargazing.I received a sort of faulty piece with the declination cable slightly jammed but I'd still give it a 5 stars because I got it at an amazing price of 15999.You should go for this model if you want to do some serious stargazing in a low budget. Anything less than this is not recommended if you actually want to enjoy stargazing for a long time to come instead of just looking at the moon and packing your scope away for it to collect dust in your store room. You should not go for this scope if you plan to use your scope for astrophotography at a later point in time since the mount is not stable enough for a good astrophotography experience with a dslr.It comes with 2 eyepieces, a 20mm one which produces erect images and is suitable for terrestrial viewing and a 10mm one which produces invert images and is for space observations. Also note that the finderscope provided with this scope is different from the one shown in the product images.What to expect:1, This scope is decent for planetary observation.2. With the eyepieces provided, you will be able to see the moons of jupiter with ease. To bring about the planetary details you will need to buy additional accessories since the provided eyepieces only use a fraction of the maximum possible zoom capabilities of the scope.3. You will be able to observe a fair amount of deep sky objects including most of the objects from the messier catalog.Another thing worth noting is that it uses equatorial mount instead of alt-az mount which can be a bit troublesome if your primary focus is terrestrial viewing.The only difference between the astromaster 130eq and astromaster 130eq md is the additional motor drive which you receive with the 130eq md model. Note that you can choose not to connect the motor to the scope if you don't like it. Doing that will make it identical to the astromaster 130eq. I wonder why the version with the motor drive is sometimes sold at a lesser price. If that seems to be the case while you're making a purchase, go for the model with the motor drive without a second thought. They are completely identical.Also make sure you're aware that telescopes in this price range do not produce NASA like vivid images. Overall, this is a very good scope to start your stargazing journey if you have a limited budget. The only close competitor for this scope at this price range on amazon.in right now is the powerseeker 127 but if you'll look on the international sites, you will realize that the powerseeker is usually a lot cheaper than the astromaster. This is however not the case for Indian e-commerce sites as of now since their prices are comparable, atleast at the time of writing the review. This makes astromaster 130 the scope of choice, atleast for Indian buyers for now.

(This is my second purchase of the Astromaster 130EQ, although my previous one was an older generation model.)This is a really good and reasonably affordable telescope for casual observation of the moon and larger/closer planets- Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. One can observe double stars and Pleiades easily and they look beautiful. Deep sky objects are a challenge under urban/suburban skies.Using an appropriate Solar filter, sun observation is also possible to view surface details and sunspots.I have not tried astrophotography with this telescope yet.Here are some pros and cons:Pros:1. The new generation model comes with a Celestron StarPointer red-dot finderscope, which is a huge improvement on the previous models which had an optical finderscope. Additionally, the mounting rings of the telescope come with a screw, onto which a cheap cellphone mount can be fitted, and used as an additional guide, using the TELRAD function on the Stellarium app.2. I purchased the model with a motor drive (130EQ-MD), which makes tracking objects easy, without needing to fiddle too much with the RA and Dec knobs (see below). The motor drive assembly itself looks old-school, like it was built in a school hobby shop. But it does what it's supposed to do reasonably well.3. Assembly is easy and the instructions are clear enough. Necessary tools are provided. Consulting YouTube videos makes the process easier.Cons:1. The tripod and CG-3 EQ mount are this telescope's biggest and only weakness. There is a significant amount of play in the locking screws so that even the slightest touch, such as when making fine adjustments, makes the apparatus wobble and can sometimes even move the target object out of view.2. The plastic parts of the tripod are somewhat fragile and my previous 130EQ's tripod broke due to this.The earlier model came with 4mm, 20mm and Barlow 2x eyepieces, while this one comes with only a 10mm and 20mm eyepieces.3. Not really a con, but the telescope and, especially the mount, are heavy and optics are sensitive, hence the assembled apparatus has very limited portability except in and out of a house. This telescope is not meant to be moved around too much.Overall, this is an affordable and easy-to-use telescope for those looking to start out in serious amateur astronomy without burning a significant hole in one's pocket. I would highly recommend purchasing the Astromaster 1.25" accessories kit, for additional eyepieces and useful filters, along with this.

The media could not be loaded. Here are some exciting experiences you can have with the AstroMaster 130:1. *Crystal-clear views* of the Moon's craters, mountains, and phases.2. *Breathtaking views* of planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus.3. *Deep-space exploration* of nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies like the Orion Nebula, Pleiades, and Andromeda Galaxy.4. *Observing double stars* and binary star systems like Albireo and Mizar.5. *Witnessing celestial events* like lunar eclipses, planetary alignments, and meteor showers.With the AstroMaster 130, you can also try:1. *Astrophotography* to capture stunning images of the night sky.2. *Planetary observation* to study the details of planets and their moons.3. *Deep-space exploration* to discover new objects and wonders in the universe.