Astromaster 130EQ as beginner scope?

Kencollins

Hi all,

I am planning on buying my first scope in the next month or so. Money is tight, so less than €200 is where I am looking.

I am looking to be able to see the planets with some detail in them (rings on Saturn, colours on Jupiter), maybe some nebulae, and things like the pinwheel galaxy.

Would the Astromaster 130EQ be any good for these things? I dont want to under-do it, and have the scope gathering dust after a week or so!

If the Astromaster can see these things, are the optics any good? I dont mind having to track objects, or adjust the focus often, once what I can see is of a reasonable quality. Most of the videos on youtube are taken by people holding a webcam up to the eyepiece, and the planets seem washed out and blurred....is this to be expected from a scope in that price range, or is it a crappy webcam?!

Thanks in advance,
Ken

peterako

Hi Ken,

The Astromaster 130EQ is a decent first scope. In fact, it was my first scope!

Now......

"I am looking to be able to see the planets with some detail in them (rings on Saturn, colours on Jupiter), maybe some nebulae, and things like the pinwheel galaxy."

You'll see the Saturn and Jupiter in reasoanble detail. But they will sitll be small In my experience the Astromaster 130EQ has an effective/usable magnifiaction of 160x.
You'll still be wowed! But we're bombarded with magnificent images of these objects on an almost daily basis and that can raise expectations.

Nebulae and galaxies I looed at first with my 130EQ:

Great nebula in Orion
Andromeda
Whirlpool

Fine for all these. But be aware that for deep sky objects light gathering capabilty if paramount. And the bigger the scope the more potemtial it has for light gathering.

Also, as magnification increases you'll have more issues with trying to keep that object in view. Therefore a mnotorised (of some description) mount is a nice to have.

With deep sky objects another big factor will be seeing conditions including light polution.

A very big pluss with the 130EQ is storage and moveability. It's reaosably light.

I'm not sure if Plug still has his 130mm scope for sale still. But if he does it's well worth considering.

Link here: Plug's Scope

The 130EQ is great for the moon!

Incidently....even with my latest 8" (200mm) scope I've only just found the Pinwhill....and it's still just a smudge to me

Clear skies,
Peter

Plug

My scope is still for sale. €150. Thanks peterako.

Plug

PM sent Ken.

slade_x

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