Review of Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ Reflector Telescope (price, reviews, purchase)

[reviewer]

Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ Reflector Telescope

Rating: 4 out of 5

• Currently 4.0/5.0

I fell in love with telescopes in Barbados, when our hotel offered star-gazing on the beach as an attraction for its guests. So, when my sister gave me one for my birthday, I was thrilled. The telescope I got is Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ Reflector, what sounds very science fiction, but is actually the name of a pretty basic telescope, suitable for beginners like me.
My Celestron comes with its own already assembled tripod made of 1.25 inch steel tubes, very stable and light, so I can take it with me anywhere. The telescope itself is very easy to mount and dismount, without the need for any tools.
My primary use for this telescope is to look at the moon, galaxies and star constellations, so I was thrilled to find that it comes with a Star Pointer finder scope, actually a small low-magnification telescope, which is used to help direct the main telescope to the particular area of the sky I wish to observe. It also has a German Equatorial Mount with Setting Circles, which enables me to locate and track different objects on the sky. The picture is exceptionally clear and bright, thanks to the coated optics, which enhance the brightness.
Since the rest of my family is more interested in using the telescope for watching more terrestrial objects, they are happy that the image on this telescope comes right side up (reflector telescopes often show images upside down.)
The telescope is manually handled, fancy automatic star-tracker is available separately. It is not connected to the computer, but it does come with a fun planetarium software, called "The Sky" Level 1, which is actually a 10,000-object database of enhanced images.
My sister was able to purchase this fun and simple telescope for only $149.98. Normal List Price at the telescope.com is $370.95.

Review by professional reviewer, Oct. 2, 2010