Celestron Firstscope 114EQ 114mm Reflector Telescope

by Celestron

Product Details

Product Manual [819kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 30 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000051TN3
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,552 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #46 in Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Telescopes > Reflectors
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 7, 2000

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The Celestron Firstscope 114 EQ is a Newtonian reflector telescope packaged with two eyepieces and a sturdy equatorial mount. Invented by Sir Isaac Newton, reflector telescopes provide more light gathering power per dollar than any other telescope design. The Firstscope 114 EQ, with 114mm (4.5 inches) of aperture, provides images that are twice as bright as 80mm telescopes, and more than three times brighter than 60mm beginner scopes.

The Firstscope 114 EQ features a classic Newtonian reflector design.

What can I see with the Firstscope 114 EQ telescope? On clear, calm nights I've been able to see the Cassini division in Saturn's rings and multiple cloud bands on the surface of Jupiter. The Firstscope 114 EQ even brings out pleasing detail in deep space objects. Many of the best galaxies and star clusters were discovered by comet hunter Charles Messier. The Pleiades cluster (M45) is known as the seven sisters because sharp-eyed people can make out six or seven stars with the naked eye. A telescope turns M45 into a beautiful cluster containing dozens of blue- white stars. In 1764, Messier described another deep space object, globular star cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, as a glowing nebula without a star. That's just how M13 looks to this day in smaller 60mm and 80mm telescopes. When I observe M13 from a dark rural location with the Firstscope 114 EQ however, at 90x magnification, M13 takes on the distinctly grainy appearance of a glowing snow ball full of tiny stars.

The Firstscope 114 EQ, like any Newtonian reflector, is a telescope that rewards patience. The mirrors in the Firstscope 114 EQ may need to be aligned or "collimated" from time to time--I find the Celestron Collimation Eyepiece helps get this fine-tuning just right--but the reward is sharp images of the planets even when using the 4mm eyepiece in Celestron's optional accessory kit for a magnification of 225x. The CG3 equatorial mount can be equipped with an optional #93515 motor drive to track the planets at high power, although I find that manual tracking with the standard slow motion controls works pretty well up to magnifications of 120x or so. You'll want some star charts to help find your way around the sky, I like the monthly star charts in Night Sky magazine because they help to find the planets as well as stars and galaxies. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Reflector design good value
• Pleasing detail on brighter star clusters and galaxies

Cons:

• Optics may need occasional fine-tuning
• Terrestrial images appear upside-down

Amazon.com Product Description

The Firstscope 114 EQ is a high quality, economical telescope with superb optical systems housed in a glossy black metal tube. The equatorial mounts are quite stable, with setting circles and slow motion controls on both axes for easy, smooth tracking. Strict adherence to Celestron's tough quality standards for manufacturing, assembly and testing ensures that each telescope performs well.

The 114mm (4.5 inch) Newtonian equatorial telescope is the most popular size telescope for the more serious beginning or intermediate level astronomy enthusiast, and for good reason. The large light gathering power of this 4.5 inch telescope makes it ideal for deep-sky observation of galaxies, star clusters and nebulae, as well as lunar and planetary observing. This makes for a very useful and versatile instrument that can take an observer from the very first time looking through a telescope's eyepiece, through years of observing interesting subjects near and far in the night sky.

Reflectors     This is a reflector telescope. Reflectors (also known as Newtonian reflectors or catoptrics) capture light with a mirror at the bottom of a tube, which sends the image to the eyepiece at the top of the tube.    First-time telescope users sometimes have difficulty with the idea of looking through the side of a telescope, but the big draw for reflectors is that they are by far the cheapest to manufacture--and thus offer the best value--of all telescope types. They also generally have zero chromatic aberration.     Read more about different telescope designs in our buying guide

Firstscope 114 EQ Specifications:

• 114mm (4.5") Aperture
• Focal Length of 900mm
• Focal Ratio of f/8
• Weighs: 19 Lbs.

Firstscope 114 EQ Standard Accessories:

• Two 1.25 inch Eyepieces: 20mm MA Eyepiece (45x), 10mm MA Eyepiece (90x)
• 1.25 inch Focuser with .96 inch Adapter
• Star Pointer Finderscope
• Sturdy, Adjustable Aluminum Tripod with Accessory Tray

Moon viewing 101
The moon is often one of the first celestial objects a beginner will look at through his or her telescope. Here are a couple hints for you once you get your hands on your new 114 EQ.

Often, it is tempting to look at the Moon when it is full. At this time, the face we see is fully illuminated and its light can be overpowering. In addition, little or no contrast can be seen during this phase. One of the best times to observe the Moon is during its partial phases (around the time of first or third quarter). Long shadows reveal a great amount of detail on the lunar surface. At low power you will be able to see most of the lunar disk at one time. The optional Reducer/Corrector lens allows for breath-taking views of the entire lunar disk when used with a low power eyepiece. Change to higher power (magnification) to focus in on a smaller area. Choose the lunar tracking rate from the NexStar's MENU tracking rate options to keep the moon centered in the eyepiece even at high magnifications.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

175 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good First Scope, March 5, 2003

By 

Frank S. Hagan (Oxnard, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celestron Firstscope 114EQ 114mm Reflector Telescope (Electronics)

Quality is first rate, and the German Equitorial Mount (GEM) and tripod are beefy enough to avoid irritating vibration. This scope is still small enough to fit in the corner of the room, ready to be taken outside for quick viewing, but large enough to see the rings of Saturn (and make out the Cassini Division on clear nights) and get resolution of the bands on Jupiter and track the path of its moons as their shadows march across Jupiter's orb. Saturn is a tiny jewel in the eyepiece, about 3/8" across, with the 10mm eyepiece. Jupiter is larger, about the size of a pencil eraser. But you see an amazing amount of detail on them. Lunar viewing is outstanding, with the 20mm presenting the globe of the moon filling all but the edges of the eyepiece. The 10mm gives you close up views of the craters and mara.

Everything you need is included, although like most people, you will probably buy some accessories later. The included eyepieces are good, not fantastic like [...] Naglers, but for starting out they are fine (in fact, I still use mine regularly).

Using the 10mm or 20mm eyepieces (included) for observing nebula, you can make out the gas clouds of the Orion Nebula, and split double stars, with good clarity. The 6mm eyepiece is about the most powerful you will want to use with this scope and mostly for planets, as the width of field narrows considerably. The 6mm might be included in this package; check the description. I bought it separately, as well as a 2X Barlow, but the Barlow seems to degrade the quality of the image so much that I don't recommend buying it ... investing in extra eyepieces or a different brand of Barlow might be a better idea if you want to spend the money. I also bought a motor which fits nicely on the GEM, but when the scope is properly aligned, turning one dial to keep the planet or star in the middle of the eyepiece is no trouble at all. I hardly ever use the Barlow or the motor.

For serious astro-photography, deep sky and "close up" planetary viewing, a more expensive scope is probably required, one in the 8" to 10" range. But you'll expect to pay prices starting at about [...] for that type of setup. And to set up those larger scopes, count on 20 - 45 minutes with "cool down time" and the like. And they are heavy. So if you already know you want to go larger, take a look at the Celestron G8N, an 8" reflector that runs about [...] on sale. But if you're stepping up from a department store scope with a two or three inch apeture, the Firstscope 114 EQ is a great step up. And for the beginner, it is a serious beginning scope that will let you see well into the night sky at an affordable price, without the frustrations of buying those cheap department store telescopes.

Couple it with the books "The Backyard Astronomer" and/or "Turn Left at Orion" and you'll be set to start discovering the world above.

128 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good beginner scope, September 9, 2003

By 

Alex Meier (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celestron Firstscope 114EQ 114mm Reflector Telescope (Electronics)

I originally bought this scope to give me something to watch the sky with while building my 14 inch scope hehe. I think it's a fantastic scope for the price if you know what your expectations are. It's a great scope for a beginner, because it's light , easy to transport and set-up which means that you'll use it often. What's the point of getting a monster scope if it'll end up sitting in the closet because it's just too painfull to have to lug it outside and set it up. With that scope you'll see all the planets and all the messier objects and it'll keep you busy for years. Don't expect to see Hubble type pictures though. All you 'll see is faint fuzzy glows. But that's the case with all small scopes.
Optics: the optics are good. Star images are clean with no major defects. Collimation is easy and the primary stays well collimated through all the abuse you can think of. You'll have to adjust the secondary often though due to the single-stalk spider. The focuser is nice and stable and the knobs are big enough to give you good control. The supplied eyepieces are ok. Not spectacular. I recommend you get the accessory kit at the same time, becuase it's discounted when you get it with the scope. It contains 5 eyepieces plus a barlow and all the planetary filters, which is a real bargain
Mount: the mount is good and very stable. The fine controls barely induce any vibration even at high magnification. The mechanism for the declination control is a little flimsy, since it consist of a screw pushing against a metal block. The setting circles are useful to get the scope pointed approximatively in the right direction, but you still have to exactly align the scope by eye with your target. Don't expect to be able to dial in the coordinates of an object and voila. The only part where you get a lot of vibrations is if you touch the focuser. That can make focusing at high magnifications a little tricky, but even the worst vibrations die down after a few seconds. The only thing I have issue with is the azimuth adjustemnt of the polar axis. The lock screw will move the axis just slightly when you tighten it, so that to get good polar alignment you have to overshoot a little to compensate for the shift caused by tightening the lock screw. Let me point out that this is a minor annoyance only and that overall this is a great mount for that price
Performance: So how good is this scope? I put it to the test in my back-yard in light polluted Los Angeles. Here's a sample: during this year's opposition (2003) I was able to easily make out the polar caps of mars and glimpse some surface feature (300x). I've split close double stars (2 arcseconds separation), and the ring nebula (M57) is definitively a ring. Stars have colors. Based on performance, this scope will keep you happy.
who is this scope for?: this scope is ideal for a beginner who isn't sure about astronomy and wants to get a scope to check out whether or not he/she would like the hobby without breaking the bank. The main problem used to be that beginners would want to get cheap scopes so as to not have a very expensive coat rack but would end up getting such low quality that their dissapointing experiences would turn them away from the hobby. This scope is definitively an exception since it has superb quality for the price.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, November 4, 2003

By 

D. Schuster (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Celestron Firstscope 114EQ 114mm Reflector Telescope (Electronics)

Ordered this scope on a Monday from Amazon and it arrived four days later from Adorama in perfect condition. Celestron does an excellent packing job. The user manual was easy to follow. Assembly took about 90 minutes. I was viewing that evening from my suburban townhouse patio. The views of the Moon, Mars and Saturn were very clear. Not bad for the first night!

In my opinion this is a far superior piece of equipment for half the price of an ETX 90 by Meade. I purchased one of these about two years ago. This proved to be a mistake. The Celestron is far more user friendly.