Celestron 21064 AstroMaster 90 EQ Refractor Telescope

Celestron 21064 AstroMaster 90 EQ Refractor Telescope Review

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Celestron 21064 AstroMaster 90 EQ Refractor Telescope Feature

• Model Number: 21064
• Objective Lens: 90 Millimeters
• Weight: 23 Pounds
• Camera Adaptable: No

Celestron’s Astromaster 90EQ refractor telescope is a good choice for anyone who wants to try out astronomy for an affordable price, and it can double as a long range spotting scope. Bigger and more impressive than it looks in pictures, the Astromaster 90 EQ is an adult size telescope that stands nearly five feet high and weighs almost 25 pounds. With it’s fully illustrated quick set up guide, the telescope is easy to assemble, and the package includes an erect image prism, high and low power eyepieces, and astronomy software for your PC.

Refractors are known for their crisp, high contrast views of the Moon and planets and the Astromaster 90 delivers sharp views right out of the box. The low power 20mm eyepiece (50X magnification) nicely frames the moon, while the high power 10mm eyepiece (100X magnification) delivers a crisp close up image full of detail. The sharp Achromatic optics of the Astromaster 90 EQ give me memorable views night after night. On a moonless night I like the way the 20mm eyepiece frames the ghostly glow of the Orion Nebula. Zooming in with the 10mm eyepiece, I can easily pick out all four stars of the Orion Nebula’s embedded quadruple star the Trapezium. Another night I was treated to a nice view as one of Jupiter’s moons cast its shadow on Jupiter’s cloud tops.

The Equatorial mount included with the Astromaster 90 EQ is designed to help track stars and planets at high power. When I set up the telescope, I simply point the polar axis at Polaris, the North Star. This makes it easy to keep celestial objects in the field of view by turning one slow motion knob. Celestron also offers the AstroMaster 90 EQ MD which includes a battery powered motor for automatic tracking. The CG-3 equatorial mount is a little wobbly when the legs are fully extended, but that’s normal for any large telescope in this price range. The built in “Star-Pointer” finder allows me to aim the telescope by aligning an illuminated red dot with the target. This works OK for bright objects like the Moon and planets, but it’s not so easy to use on fainter deep space objects. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Crisp clear views of the Moon and planets
• Rugged refractor design
• Easy no-tool set up
• Erect image prism and two eyepieces included

Cons:

• Equatorial mount wobbles a bit while focusing
• Star pointer not so easy to use

Jupiter showing the shadow of Ganymede, July 22, approx 400X.	Double star Albireo in Cygnus, July 28, approx 200X
The Moon as seen at 50X with Canon Powershot camera.	The Moon as seen at 200X with Neximage camera

If you're looking for a dual-purpose telescope appropriate for both terrestrial and celestial viewing, then the AstroMaster Series is for you. Each AstroMaster model is capable of giving correct views of land and sky. The AstroMaster Series produce bright, clear images of the Moon and planets. It is easy to see the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn with every one of these fine instruments. For views of the brighter deep space objects like galaxies and nebulae, we recommend the larger aperture and light gathering ability of the Newtonian reflectors.

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Customer Review

Jan 13, 2012 03:45:13