The Celestron PowerSeeker 80 equatorial refractor is a visible step up in performance from the typical 60mm beginner's scope, at a price not much higher than a typical 60mm toy store scope.
This Celestron PowerSeeker 80 EQ telescope is a good choice for a beginning astronomer who wants to do some more-than-casual looking at the heavens, but at a surprisingly inexpensive price. It has 80mm achromatic refractor optics with 77% more light gathering capacity than a 60mm scope. That means visibly brighter deep space images and the ability to see many more faint objects than a 60mm scope could ever hope to show. It has a third high higher resolution than a 60mm scope as well, to let you see more sharper and detailed views of the Moon, planets, binary stars, and star clusters.
The construction of the optical system is first rate, as the Celestron PowerSeeker has all-glass optical components, with high transmission 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.
The PowerSeeker 80 has a light grasp 131 times that of the sharpest eye. Combine that light grasp with its two eyepieces (a 20mm and a 4mm) and 3x Barlow lens, and you have the ability to see celestial sights that are simply invisible to the unaided eye. And it does it at a very down-to-earth price.
This Telescope's Optical System . . .
Refractor optical tube: 80mm (3.1") aperture air-spaced achromatic two-element crown and flint glass lens. 900mm focal length f/11 all-glass optics. No plastic lenses.
Coated optics: The objective lens has antireflection coatings on all surfaces for high light transmission and good contrast.
Dew shield: A dew shield (an extension of the optical tube that's threaded onto the front of the objective lens) slows the formation of dew on the lens in cold weather. This extends your undisturbed observing time.
Rack and pinion focuser: The well-made 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.
Star diagonal: The 90° viewing angle 1.25" star diagonal (eyepiece holder) allows comfortable viewing when looking overhead at the sky. It has a built-in image erecting prism that provides right-reading images that show you the sky and lunar features oriented the same way you see them through binoculars or with your unaided eye.
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 realistically beyond the scope's usable magnification limit on all but the very rare nights of absolutely perfect seeing conditions. An optional 6mm or 7mm eyepiece comes closer to providing the highest useful power on a regular 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 Barlow/20mm eyepiece combination gives 135x, which is a reasonable maximum power on most nights of average to so-so seeing conditions. The 675x magnification of the 4mm eyepiece/Barlow combination is realistically far 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 knob 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 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.
