The Celestron PowerSeeker 114 equatorial reflector proves that you don't have to pay a big scope price to get a big scope's performance. It is a remarkably economical introduction to serious deep space astronomy for the beginning backyard observer.
The Celestron PowerSeeker 114mm equatorial is a good-sized telescope at an astonishingly reasonable price. With a light-gathering capacity 265 times greater than your eye, it's a good choice for a beginning astronomer who wants to do some serious looking at the faint nebulas and galaxies beyond the solar system. It uses Newtonian reflector optics to provide you with detailed and sharp views of the Moon, planets, binary stars, and star clusters, as well - without the faint purple haze of chromatic aberration (spurious color) that surrounds the Moon, planets, and bright stars in every refractor scope in this price range.
The construction of the optical system is first rate, as this Celestron telescope has all-glass optical components, with high reflectivity aluminum mirror coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity. The equatorial mount has slow motion controls in both axes, to let you easily track objects across the sky. Combine its large light grasp with its two eyepieces (a 20mm and a 4mm) and 3x Barlow lens, and you have the ability to see many, many celestial sights that are simply invisible to the unaided eye. It can open a whole new world to you, at an eye-opening low price.
This Telescope's Optical System . . .
Reflector optical tube: 114mm (4.5") aperture Newtonian reflector with all-glass mirrors. Each mirror is coated with highly reflective aluminum and overcoated with quartz for long life. No plastic mirrors. 900mm focal length aluminum tube with protective tube end rings. f/8 focal ratio. The reflector design of the scope is totally free of the purple haze of spurious color visible around the Moon and planets in lesser refractor scopes. Images are sharp and clear. You can even collimate (align) the mirrors for the sharpest images. This will have to be done only rarely, thanks to the special design of the cell holding the lightweight mirror.
Rack and pinion focuser: The 1.25" focuser has dual focusing knobs for precise image control with either hand. The large focus knobs are easy to operate, even while wearing gloves or mittens in cold weather.
Two eyepieces: You get a high power 1.25" 4mm (225x) eyepiece and a low power 1.25" 20mm (45x) with a 1° field of view (twice the diameter of the full Moon). Both eyepieces have antireflection coatings on their lens surfaces for sharp images and good contrast. The 4mm eyepiece is at the scope's usable magnification limit on the rare nights of very good seeing conditions. An optional 6mm or 7mm eyepiece comes closer to providing the highest useful power on an every night basis.
Barlow lens: A 1.25" 3x Barlow lens is included that triples the magnification of the two supplied eyepieces to 135x and 675x. The 675x magnification of the 4mm eyepiece/Barlow combination is realistically substantially beyond the scope's usable magnification capability, however. Do not count on using that optical combination very often, if at all. A lower power eyepiece, such as a 40mm (22.5x; 67.5x with the Barlow), would provide a pair of magnifications more useful than the impractical 675x of the 4mm and Barlow combination.
Finderscope: A low power 5x24mm finderscope attaches to the side of the optical tube. The straight-through viewing refractor finderscope provides a traditional inverted mirror-image astronomical view. If properly collimated (aligned) with the view through the main telescope, its crosshairs will help you center distant objects in the telescope so you don't have to search for them using the narrow eyepiece field of view.
This Telescope's Mount . . .
Equatorial mount: The German equatorial mount is designed for astronomical observing. By aligning the mount on the north celestial pole, you only need to turn one slow motion control knob to follow planets and stars as they travel across the sky. A counterweight on the opposite side of the mount from the telescope balances the weight of the optical tube and makes it easy to move the scope effortlessly from one part of the sky to another.
Setting circles: Setting circles (graduated scales marked in either hours and minutes or degrees) are provided in both right ascension (the east/west position of objects in the sky measured in hours and minutes) and declination (the north/south position measured in degrees). These allow you to align the scope on the approximate position of an object in the sky by using its r. a. and dec coordinates from a star chart - before you search for it in the finderscope and eyepiece. Setting circles can reduce the time it takes for you to find the fainter and more difficult deep space objects.
Manual slow motion controls: There are two slow motion control knobs connected to the mount by long flexible cables so they are easy to reach while observing. One controls the scope's motion in right ascension (the east/west direction in the sky). Turning this knob enables you to follow the motion of celestial objects as they travel from east to west across the sky.
The second controls the scope's motion in declination (the north/south direction in the sky). Turning this knob enables you to correct for any north/south drift a celestial object may take as it drifts across the sky, due to an improper alignment of the scope on the north celestial pole when you first set it up.
The two controls combine to give you complete access to any part of the sky. They give you the ability to star hop from a known object to an any other object by using a star chart. They let you center objects in the field of view, and track them effortlessly with only an occasional quick turn of the r. a. knob.
Tripod: The lightweight aluminum tripod easily adjusts for standing or seated observations through the telescope. The tripod includes an accessory shelf that holds your eyepieces and Barlow.
Two year warranty: As an expression of Celestron's confidence in the quality of their products, the PowerSeeker is protected by Celestron's two-year limited warranty against flaws in materials and workmanship.
