CelestronAstroMaster 114EQ Newtonian Telescope – Manual Reflector for Beginners – Aluminized Mirror – Adjustable-Height Tripod – Includes Accessories Plus Astronomy Software Package

So there's been a lot of discussion in the reviews about if this is a beginner telescope or not.As a person who never touched a telescope (except maybe in high school a thousand years ago) until I decided it was something I wanted to try out this year, I emphatically say YES! This is a great beginner scope.Here's the problem with most people's definition of a "beginner" anything. They want it to be rock-bottom priced, and ultra-easy to use. The problem with this mentality, is that often you go so cheap that you wind up getting a product that does not really expose you to the prospective hobby, and while trying to find something ultra-easy to use, it winds up being extremely difficult because it lacks the more expensive tools that were specifically designed to enhance the human ability when performing certain tasks.... NET RESULT: You wind up putting the hobby down out of frustration without ever really trying it out.I think the reality with getting into telescoping (is that a word?) is that you have to first decide that it is something you truly want to try, so that you don't go by a $74 telescope at W*****t (like I did) and expect to actually be introduced to this hobby.So after trying the $74 failure I got this scope due to the (mostly) good reviews, and because of the brand name. Never being in the hobby myself, I still had heard of Celestron.Many reviews showed broken parts. This wasn't the case for me. Everything was intact and assembly was relatively easy for a novice.A few reviews said this was not a beginner telescope because you had to adjust the mirrors, which apparently was a very difficult task to do. I researched this requirement ahead of time, found that for just over $20 you can buy a laser collimator that allows you to do this adjustment in just a few minutes, and decided that wasn't too much to ask to have an opportunity to enjoy this hobby. P.S. when I got the telescope, I used the laser collimator just to find out that the mirrors were perfectly aligned and I didn't need to do any adjusting. But apparently mirror adjusting is inevitable with Newtonian telescopes, so I'll just keep the laser collimator in my kit bag.Now about the beginner using this scope:1. The red dot starfinder is a life saver! At first I thought you could just look through the starfinder, see what you wanted to look at, then see it in the telescope. NOPE! You really need that red dot to put the object into the site picture of the scope (especially on a low MM eyepiece). My only complaint might be that I couldn't perfectly adjust the red dot. When I first got the scope I focused in on a house way down the street, then tried to calibrate the red dot so that it was pefectly centered on the center of what I saw in the eyepiece... It was close, but wasn't perfect. HOWEVER. It is more than sufficient for my beginning level telescoping. With my $74 flunkee scope, I would use the cross hairs to try to align the scope to an object, yet even on a large MM eyepiece I could never find anything smaller than the moon! With this red dot starfinder, I have (easily) been able to align the telescope to both Jupiter and Saturn.2. I may have started of with the starfinder, but the equitorial mount is probably the show winner with this thing. Not to keep referring to my $74 fail, but it is good to have a frame of reference when explaining why sometimes you have to make an investment even for entry-level equipment into a hobby. The $74 fail used a super cheap camera tripod. Problem with these tripods is they don't adjust at a fine enough level to make the small changes to put an object into the site picture. And, despite the fact that the cheap scope didn't weigh anything, it still would drift on the tripod... basically making it impossible to do anything except look at the moon. The Celestron is big and heavy, yet the EQ mount holds it masterfully in position, but the real winner is the fine tuning knobs. I didn't realize just how fast objects move in space (I mean.. I get it. The earth is spinning at 1000 mph, I just never put that together to mean objects move out of a telescope site picture QUICKLY). But with one hand on the fine tuning knob, I can follow the object for a reasonable amount of time to enjoy viewing it. NOTE: I recently bought a motor that I am suppposed to be able to connect to the knob, so that it can automatically hold the picture for me (again... spending more to get the right tools to enjoy the new hobby). Only complaint I have is that one knob seems to be able to adjust indefinitely while the other can only change maybe 20 degrees (10 in each direction) before it hits a stop. After additional study, I think this is because space objects only move in one direction, so if you properly polar align the scope, you should only need one knob to get the object where you want (left and right) and then not touch that again, then solely use the (up and down) knob to follow the object as it moves in the sky... but hey.. I'm new.. I'll learn to use this better too :-)Other than that, the only thing left is the scope. Like I said, I've looked at Jupiter, Saturn, Moon. I can't really speak to the provided eyepieces. Understanding from my research about focal length, and deciding that as a beginner it would help if I had an adjustable eyepiece (so that I can start zoomed out, find the object easier, then zoom in), so I bypassed the provided eyepiece and went straight to a x2 barrow with an 8-24mm adjustable eyepiece. So far it's been great! Saturn is still a little small, so I'm going to see if I can go even smaller on MM and higher on barrow zoom to see if I can really clearly make out the rings.....but do you see what Celestron did? They created a (relatively) affordable telescope that grabbed my interest in the hobby and now I am full on exploring new ways (EQ mount motors, higher zoom barrow, lower MM eyepieces) that I can explore the universe above!

The Celestron 31042 AstroMaster 114EQ is everything I hoped for and more! 😍 As someone totally new to telescopes, I was nervous about the setup—but Celestron made it incredibly easy. The instructions were clear, and I had it up and running in under 30 minutes, no tools needed!This telescope is perfect for beginners who are curious and ready to experience something new. The image clarity blew my mind—moon craters, Saturn’s rings, even some deep-sky objects became real from my own backyard. It feels like having a personal window into space. 🌌🔭Not only does it perform beautifully, but it looks sleek and professional too. It instantly made me feel like a legit stargazer. If you’re even slightly interested in astronomy or just want to see the universe in a whole new way, this is your sign to go for it. 💫Huge thanks to Amazon for the fast shipping and seamless experience as always. If you’re scrolling through reviews trying to decide—this is the one. 👏

The media could not be loaded. So, I'm gonna say this upfront: I wish I could give this telescope a 5 star review, because it is an AMAZING telescope...once you collimate it properly, and learn how to use an equatorial telescope. But here are some quick pros and a few more cons:PROS:- INCREDIBLE views of objects, great for very close planetary observations and very good at looking at Messier/deep space objects.- Not very complicated or hard to initially set up, I did it in less than an hour.- Once you learn how equatorial telescopes work, it's very easy to find targets and align the telescope, then follow targets with the fine tuners.- Comes mostly ready to go, alignment for me was (mostly) in place, but still needs proper collimating for serious users.- Tripod is relatively stable for the weight/size, once you have it firmly in the ground.- Comes with x10 and x20 Plossl eyepieces, and they are excellent lenses (for the prices eyepieces go for!- Targetfinder is VERY easy to use to align the scope, makes for fast changes (when it's not finnicky, see below, it's my biggest complaint about this telescope and others like it).CONS:- Collimating is very very time-consuming: one has to remove the 5 inch mirror at the bottom, perfectly center-dot it, put a binder-ring protector on the mirror (carefully), then align the 2ndary and primary mirrors. I used a collimating cap, not a laser collimator, it didnt sit in very well with enuf stability to get the alignment right.- Adjusting the base screws to collimate the primary mirror takes a lot of patience...I found when I locked one of the 3 screw sets down, it would get just a smidge out of alignment, so it took several tries to get the alignment right right at all 3 corners of the bottom tube.- Astrophotography is next-to-impossible with this telescope: I got into this wanting to take pictures, and for that purpose, its' only stable enuf for really good smart phone and a clamp mount at best. The viewfinder is on the side of the tube, and anything heavier than a cellphone will make it entirely unbalanced. But I've discovered that most telescopes are not really great at astrophotography...they are great for true, naked-eye astronomy though lol- Weight is fairly heavy, making this a little hard to travel with. Requires some disassembly, but it is doable with patience and some arm strength.- Starfinder/Targetfinder is easily the WEAKEST item on this scope. The lateral adjusters to get it aligned aren't very stable, and Im finding that the laser rolling switch is sometimes shorting out after just a few months of usage...may have to buy a better replacement, which is unfortunate, because when it's working, its VERY efficient in finding targets. (*UPDATE 6/10/23* : this stock starfinder basically died on me, and not because of the battery...the roller to turn it on/adjust dot brightness is thoroughly stripped out and not working...sadly, the standard replacement starfinders are no better, this is a SERIOUS problem that has an easy solution, but no mfr. wants to tackle...because the visual parts of it work great, but anything the rotates/rolls just doesn't last...hence the drop to 4 stars on this).All in all, Im "very pleased" with what I'm getting with this telescope, and I expect to use it for many more years to come. But it's really an intermediate-level telescope. If you are just getting started out, it could be a little daunting without some patience, and some help setting up.