Main technical features
Offering first-time telescope buyers an incredible combination of value, quality, power and features, the Celestron 21045 is a Newtonian reflector with a 114mm aperture and all-glass mirrors. All the mirrors are coated with reflective aluminum and then layered with quartz to provide durability for long term use. This scope uses no plastic mirrors that degrade in quality with time, thus ensuring countless evenings of delightful celestial exploration. The aluminum tube comes with a 900mm focal length and is equipped with protective tube end rings. This model also comes with a medium f/8 focal ratio.
The equatorial mount is built with slow motion controls on both horizontal and vertical axes. This model comes with two eyepieces plus a 3X Barlow lens. Both right ascension and declination are provided in the graduated circles or setting circles that are marked in degrees and hours as well as minutes. The lightweight aluminum tripod provides support for the fully assembled optical tube.
This scope is equipped with a low power 5x24mm finderscope that attaches to the side of the optical tube and works better to give you a comfortable viewing experience compared to straight-through viewing refractor finderscopes. In addition, you also get a copy of The Sky X – First Light Edition CD-ROM from Celestron, a planetarium and star charting software that runs on your PC or Macintosh.
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In-depth information
Constructed with no plastic mirrors, this telescope comes with a medium f/8 focal ratio that works well for deep space photography and wide field observing as well as for high power planetary, lunar and binary star observations and photography. This is a good-sized 114mm equatorial telescope that has a light gathering capability 265 times more powerful than your naked eye, making it perfect for novice astronomers as well as kids. It offers great views of faint nebulas and galaxies beyond the solar system, with its Newtonian optics that ensure no faint purple fringing or chromatic aberrations when viewing extremely bright objects. With its first-rate optical system, this telescope offers top notch views of star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. The all-glass optical components come with aluminum mirror coatings that offer high reflectivity for great image clarity and brightness.
This budget-geared telescope comes with an equatorial mount that offers quick and tool-free setup of the optical tube. Engineered for astronomical observing, the mount needs to be aligned on the north celestial pole by simply turning one slow motion control knob to track the stars and planets as they move across the sky. The slow motion knobs allow centering of targets in the field of view as well. On the opposite side of the mount is a counterweight that serves to balance the optical tube weight, making it easy to move the device with less effort from one area of the sky to the other. The setting circles, which are marked in degrees as well as hours and minutes, enable you to align the telescope with the proper position of celestial objects, thus reducing the time needed to find the more challenging fainter deep sky targets. The lightweight aluminum tripod adjusts the height of the supported optical tube assembly so you can be either standing or seated when doing your celestial observations. On the tripod is a nifty accessory shelf to hold your eyepieces and the 3x Barlow lens. The two eyepieces, one 4mm (225x) and one 20mm (45x), offer the right level of magnification for your applications and can be supplemented by the provided Barlow lens that triples the viewing power.
Providing erect-image optics, the finderscope is suitable for use in terrestrial and celestial viewing. Attaching to the side of the optical tube, the finderscope has crosshairs that enable you to center faraway objects in the scope once properly aligned or collimated so you won’t need to keep searching for them with the eyepiece for narrow field of view. The 1.25-inch rack-and-pinion focuser comes with large dual focusing knobs that ensure accurate image control using either of your hands even in gloves or mittens. The included star charting and planetarium software enables you to learn about the universe and its delightful denizens using an extensive database with 10,000 celestial objects. You can print out star charts and plan your astronomical observing activities around the targets you want to see on specific nights of the year.
Known issues
Some users have found issues with the finder scope and the supplied mount, but others have been able to overcome what are perceived as shortcomings in both components. There may be a necessity to do frequent readjustments just to get things right. This product is still considered by many as a good starter scope that can serve its primary purpose: provide a means to view land and sky targets with convenience and ease.
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