Are you ready to have the power to see the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter? With the models we are discussing today, you will be able to get a clear view of the sky and gaze upon the wonders it has to offer.Each AstroMaster telescope offers clear images and are even strong enough to show you the rings of Saturn and moons of Jupiter. If you want to delve even deeper and see galaxies and nebulae, a larger aperture model is needed with the light gathering abilities of Newtonian reflectors.
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Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ Review Card
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Manufacturer - 9.9/10
9.9/10
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Optics - 9.8/10
9.8/10
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Value - 9.7/10
9.7/10
Summary
The Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ is a fantastic telescope for a beginner and future star gazer. It’s 114 aperture allows plenty of light to come in to have nice and crisp images on the Moon, Jupiter as well as celestial objects even farther away. Although portability is not one of it’s main feature, overall it is portable but not necessarily backpack-portable. Overall very strong and solid telescope with a nice design from a trusted brand like Celestron.
Pros
- Reflector telescope with an aperture large enough to catch stunning images of the moon, Jupiter with it’s moons, Saturn’s rings and even deep sky objects albeit more faint
- Very popular
Cons
- Might be too complicated for children 8 and younger
- Not that much cons when it comes to this model
Today we are focusing on the Celestron 31042 AstroMaster 114 EQ which offers 130mm aperture, and makes a great novice telescope. It’s part of the AstroMaster range from Celestron which also includes the AstroMaster 76EQ, AstroMaster 70EQ, AstroMaster 90EQ/90AZ and the popular AstroMaster 130EQ. If you want quality optics, then this model is a good choice. It comes with a tripod but as your interest in stellar viewing continues, you can always upgrade to a new steady mount and purchase additional eyepieces.
If you have a child interested in astronomy and wants to have a closer look at the stars and planets in the sky, this is a great gift for him or her. It can also be used for viewing birds and whalewatching but we recommend it for its great capabilities for sky-viewing. Continue reading to find out all you need to know about the Celestron Astromaster 114EQ.
Best Feature: The Celestron Astromaster 114EQ has an aperture with a good price point for beginners who want quality to clearly see the carters of the moon. 130mm is a good amount of aperture and aperture is definitely on of the most important features to consider when purchasing a telescope. There are cheaper telescopes available but we do not recommend much less than 130 aperture unless you need something for a novice to begin viewing planets and stars in the sky.
Two great eye pieces: The Astromaster 114EQ comes with two eyepieces: a 20mm eyepiece with 50x magnification and a 10mm eyepiece with 100x magnification. The 20mm piece is best used to frame the Moon, showing sharp, contrasted quality images. The 10mm eyepiece can help you zoom into the lunar craters or on the other planets. With the 10mm eyepiece can also be used to look at Saturn’s rings. You can also purchase a 6mm piece to use with this model for more details on planets.
Specifications of the Astromaster 114eq
- Aperture modes: 100-150mm
- Item Dimensions: 11 x 17 x 32.25 inches
- Item Display Weight: 12.7 Kilograms
- Magnification Minimum: 16 x
- The package includes the Celestron CG-2 equatorial mount with a rugged steel tripod.
- Two eyepieces: 20mm (50x magnification) and 10mm (100x magnification)
- Built-in Red Dot Finder, illustrated instructions, “The Sky” astronomy software for assiting in finding the stars and planets
- Easy set-up
What They Say Online
Customers who reviews the Astromaster 114eq agree that it is a great model for beginners, easy to use, smaller in size and decent features. It is also a good choice for others but the mixture of the price point with the features makes it a value deal. Some users mentioned that they had trouble viewing specific things in the sky, but as we have mentioned in the review it is very important to use the correct eyepiece for what you want to view. Overall, they say the package which includes the telescope, tripod, and some helpful accessories is a great deal. It has a total of 4.1 stars out of 5 on Amazon and hundreds of people talking about the model online! They love the easy set up and have purchased this model for their children to get started in astronomy.
We have a few runner-up telescopes for review.
For a little bit of a smaller price tag, we have the Celestron 21062 AstroMaster 70 EQ Refractor Telescope with an Aperture of 70mm, focal length of 900mm and a focal ratio of 13.
We also compare with the Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope which is a little more pricey but has aperture modes of 100-150mm. Finally, we also recommend the Celestron 127EQ PowerSeeker Telescope which has 127mm Aperture and 1000mm Focal Length. The less expensive items are considered best for novices and best for children due to their smaller size.
Comparison Chart
The lithium battery is included and the scope has a right angle diagonal that produces an erect, clear image. Because of the size and features, we also recommend it for anyone needing a telescope for bird viewing or whale watching. You can quickly and easily point to the animal and watch them in their natural habitat. We also love that you can purchase a T-adapter separately and use the telescope along with a nice camera to take photos of the planets.
In conclusion, the Celestron Astromaster 114eq is perfect for both terrestrial and celestial viewing. The package is sold with good optic options, a sturdy mount, two eyepieces (10mm and 20mm) instructions and software for easy setup and the knowledge to use it to its fullest capabilities. It is the perfect introductory telescope. You can use it to easily see the moon and its craters and you can also go further to see bright objects like the stars, and the rings around Saturn. The planets and stars will be easy to locate with this package so we do recommend it as our top choice. Runner-up choices can be found in our comparison table if you need something a little different.
Full Technical Specifications
| Optical Design | Reflector |
| Aperture | 114 mm (4.49 in) |
| Focal Length | 1000 mm (39 in) |
| Focal Ratio | 8.77 |
| Focal Length of Eyepiece 1 | 20 mm (0.79 in) |
| Magnification of Eyepiece 1 | 50 x |
| Focal Length of Eyepiece 2 | 10 mm (0.39 in) |
| Magnification of Eyepiece 2 | 100 x |
| Finderscope | Built-on StarPointer |
| Mount Type | CG-2 Equatorial |
| Tripod | 1.25″ steel tube legs |
| Highest Useful Magnification | 269 x |
| Lowest Useful Magnification | 16 x |
| Limiting Stellar Magnitude | 12.8 |
| Resolution (Rayleigh) | 1.22 arc seconds |
| Resolution (Dawes) | 1.02 arc second |
| Light Gathering Power | 265 x |
| Apparent Field of View | 1 |
| Linear Field of View | 53 ft (16 m) |
| Optical Coating | Aluminum |
| Optical Tube Length | 18 in (457 mm) |
