CELESTRON Powerseeker 50 Refractor Telescope

by Celestron

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 32.9 x 7.8 x 4.3 inches ; 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000UMLYI
• Item model number: 21039
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #3 in Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Telescopes > Refractors
  • #8 in Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Binoculars
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 3, 2008

Product Description

The Celestron® PowerSeeker 50 telescope is a great way to open up the wonders of the universe to the aspiring astronomer. It's portable yet powerful with ample optical performance to excite any newcomer to the world of amateur astronomy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great beginner entry into astronomy, or gift idea., July 17, 2009

By 

Esha "Esha" (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CELESTRON Powerseeker 50 Refractor Telescope (Electronics)

[...] Originally I got it for myself, and once it came I proceeded to open it up and put it through it's paces.

It came with a few different lens atachments with varying degrees of magnification. I used the first lens to look down a long street and could clearly read the street sign and people's licenses plates over on the next street.

I used the next lens atachment, and I could see even further down that street and pick up details in the grout of their brickwork.

Once nightfall hit, I used the 3rd and most powerful lens in combination with the 3x barlow lens, and was lucky enough to have a full moon that night. The detail available in the moon was really incredible. I could see many craters and holes and different peaks and vallys, it really made me form a closer connection with our moon. Yes you can look at pictures, and some take with far more powerful zoom... but actually beholding it with your own eyes personally is a completely different experience, it's a little tough to understand unless you've actually done that yourself.

Anyways, I live in the city and there's not much to look at other than other people's houses, and since I'm not a peeping tom / voyeur, or some kind of spy, I decided to pack this up and send it to my mother as a gift. She lives in Florida on a lakefront, and she has a very nice view across a very large lake. So she can watch wildlife, and there is much less city lights in her area so even celestial viewing I'm sure would be better.

She called me and was very excited to receive this out of the blue, she didn't mind that I had already used it. I figured she would get much more use out of this than I could.

The included tripod isn't anything fantastic, but it gets the job done. Since it's lightweight and inexpensive, it does tend to move around, so you have to be careful when useing the really powerful lens because a small shake or shift will cause you to lose your target. At least it comes with a tripod at all.

It also comes with a 3x barlow lens that I mentioned, which will triple the magnification power of each individual lens, which can make for some pretty powerful magnification.

The included software seems powerful, I installed it, but didn't have much of a chance to mess around with it much, but it contains a mind boggling amount of information about celestial objects. The learning curve of the software seemed somewhat steep for newbies, but with some studious application of wit, I'm sure almost any novice could conquer it.

Overall, I would recommend this telescope to a beginner, as it can open up a world of astronomy for them, and if nothing else, they will have a nice little toy to do some casual moon gazing or wildlife viewing.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Telescope!, June 16, 2010

By 

R. Nash "Mom1stWork2nd" (Bartlesville, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CELESTRON Powerseeker 50 Refractor Telescope (Electronics)

I purchased this telescope for my 11 year old son and he loves it! It's a great starter telescope for the beginner.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good value telescope for a beginner young adult or child, November 17, 2010

By 

Will Kalif "StormTheCastle" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CELESTRON Powerseeker 50 Refractor Telescope (Electronics)

You can't beat the price on this simple beginner telescope. And the Celestron company has an impeccable reputation. The optics of this scope are excellent and that counts for a lot. The mount is a bit shaky where the scope attaches to the tripod but the tripod itself is sturdy.So I recommend you use this on stable ground, not on a deck.
Viewing through it is pretty good. I can see good definition of craters on the moon, the mid band of jupiter and the jovian satellites. Some of the more popular night sky objects such as m13 and m31 are also pretty well viewed.
Good gift for a child and a good value. WIth something like this though you have to get yourself a book too. You don't want to just take it outside and start looking around. There are a lot of things out there and you need a map or book to tell you where they are.