Reviews: Celestron Refractor Telescope Beginners Astronomy

My friend Jessie said It does exactly what it was designed to do.

I don't know why people are expecting the results of the Hubble Telescope in the reviews. It does exactly what it's designed to do. It takes the moon and makes it look like a large marble that's placed a few inches from your eye that's in pretty good focus. You can see some craters on the Moon, but you can't see Niel Armstrong's footprints. You can see the rings of Saturn, but you can't count them like a tree that's been cut in half. I'm not sure why some individuals have ridiculous expectations for something that's less than $100...

There are better scopes out there, sure, but it's a great beginner scope for kids and amateurs. I got this for my 7 year old who has shown interest in the Cosmos. If he really gets into it, I'll invest more later and pass this to his younger siblings. For right now, it's perfect.

The frame is light, but the scope is light and doesn't need a heavy duty frame. It holds the scope, which is what it's designed to do.

All the pieces were accounted for, and it came with a backpack so it can be taken on trips so you don't need to buy a separate case to hold it when you're traveling in the car or walking somewhere.

It does what it was designed to do. Great for kids and amateurs at a modest price to see nature, take it to a long distance shooting range, see space a bit better, and anything else that is legal to do. If you want to see a nebula, and have a few thousand dollars to spare, go for it and buy that kind of scope.

For the normal people with real expectations, this is a great telescope for beginners and kids. Well worth the investment if you're unsure if you want to invest a large amount of money to see footprints on the Moon.

Take care!

A review DM tell us Works as a guidescope.

I'm using this as a guide scope for my SCT. It works fine for that purpose. Probably not as good as a purpose made guidescope, but a good economical alternative. The attached photo was taken while guiding with this scope.

Review Amber Talk Great for staring at the moon 🌘.

Great little telescope for checking out the moon, haven't really tried doing anything else with it though. Bought mine last August and have had lots of fun with it since then. I use my iPhone to take pictures through the lense and have gotten some great shots.

This a word from Rihass tell us Love it. Using Panasonic Gx85.

I bought this to make a lens out of it and guess what. It's done. Here are some pictures I got with it. Love it. Using Panasonic Gx85.

As Alexis A. Talk Amazing telescope for such a great price!.

I got this for my dad and based off the high quality of the telescope, he thought I paid a crazy amount for it! It comes in a nice little backpack and there is even a little extra room to put other stuff in there as well. I didn’t take a picture of the whole thing put together but it is wonderful! The quality is so amazing and the price is such a steal for the quality. If you’ve read this far and if this review helped at all, please click “helpful”!

Another customer DrHanSoloMD tell us No need to fly to the moon.

For the price this is a steal! Got this telescope for my grandfather for his birthday. He is outside a lot on the patio at night and always watches the stars so I figured it was time to give him, what he never knew, he always wanted. A great beginner scope! After focusing the scope properly and taking a glance at the moon it almost feels like you could reach out and grab it. Wonderful!

Review Brandon Talk It's really not sturdy if extended at all.

I'm only rating 4 stars to echo the complaint about the tripod. It's really not sturdy if extended at all. Holding a constant angle (altitude or azimuth) is tricky.

Nonetheless, I'm pleased with this scope so far. I've only used it a little bit, but it does do decently well with viewing the moon. This picture were taken with an iPhone 6 held up to the 10mm eyepiece, so hardly a quality setup.

I primarily bought this scope because I was looking for something cheap and portable. I live in the suburbs of a medium-sized city (~250,000 people) so light pollution takes out most of what I can see. I wanted something I can just put in my car and take with me to somewhere darker without having to plan for tedious transportation and 20 minutes of setup/takedown. This is very small and easy to carry with the included backpack. It sits nicely on the hood or roof of my car when I want to set it up and only requires me to take off a few lens caps and slip in a lens, 5 minutes max.

Overall, it so far does what I want, and for a price that beats even the junky telescopes at toy stores. The tripod is my only gripe.

My friend Techie Eric say Pretty good starter telescope, great for wildlife/viewing terrestrial objects.

Been having so much fun with this scope with my daughter. As others have mentioned the tripod is pretty useless. I had an inexpensive (probably under $40 at the time) full sized one that I got for a camcorder year's ago that I typically use with this. If you have one, maybe use that instead or try to pickup something on eBay or something inexpensive hear on Amazon.

As many other reviews mention, the lenses are fine for observing the moon. The first night I used it I also was amazed (first telescope :-)) to look at Jupiter and see the specs of light that are its moons orbiting it. None of the planets you look at are going to look at are going to look like you see in online pictures, etc, they pretty much are colored specs of light through the included lenses in my experience.

I did however pick-up a Barlow 2x lens which has made things a bit more interesting when it comes to planets. Its only marginally better though, so look for a different scope if you really want to try and view details of planets, etc. However, with the Barlow lens and the 10mm lens I've been able to see the ring around Saturn, and the other night I was able to just barely make out the half-circle of the sun illuminating Venus (have good eyesight or be able to work with glasses when viewing it in the scope for that one it was pretty hard to make out.... kinda the same for Saturn) in the night sky. The Barlow makes things tricky cause without a good tripod or really getting the spotting scope dialed in (one of the more frustrating parts of setting this telescope by the way) it can be hard to get the object you want focused in, but once you do, its kind of cool.

The other thing l really liked and was a bit surprised at is using it for viewing wildlife. I originally picked this up for viewing stars/moon/planets, etc on a camping trip. But boy it became so much fun during the day to spot nesting birds, a muskrat that was swimming across the lake (far out), etc during the day. Highly recommend it for that as its very lightweight, packs up nice making it very portable (as you'd expect a travel scope to be).

While JMAC Talk Disappointed.

Purchased this as a travel scope to view the August 2017 eclipse because my other scopes are too large to haul across country. It's a good size and the included backpack makes it easy to bring along. It works well and I liked the removable solar filter which lets me use the scope for nightime viewing as well. I've tried it at night and for daytime non-solar viewing and it works acceptably but I received this note about the included solar filter from Amazon today (8/12):

"Amazon has not received confirmation from the supplier of your order that they sourced the item from a recommended manufacturer. We recommend that you DO NOT use this product to view the sun or the eclipse."

I had briefly tried the telescope with the solar filter and it appeared to be okay. I don't have the means to accurately measure the effectiveness of the included filter but if there is any doubt it is safer not to take a chance with one's eyesight. I was able to order an ISO 12312-2 compliant filter elsewhere and am hoping it arrives in time to use the scope for the eclipse.

Amazon issued a refund and I appreciate them checking and notifying customers there may be a problem. Lower rating for not confirming the product was safe for the advertised use before selling and causing customers to scramble at the last minute to avoid risk of permanent vision damage. The scope itself (which works well) is still for sale but I see they have removed the Gosky 70 80 Solar Filter from the bundle. There is a Celestron filter available separately that can be safely used with this scope.

As Dan Talk It's a good scope for terrestrial viewing (astronomical viewing may need some upgrades).

Celestron travel scope is a good product for what it is made for. It is primarily a terrestrial viewing scope. The objective (large lens in front of the scope) is good quality and is functional. However, the eyepieces that come with the scope are (in my opinion) lower quality (this is probably done to keep the total cost of the scope low). Without a decent eyepiece the experience of viewing objects will be minimal.
What I did was invest about $25.00 (they can be higher priced - based on quality) in a good quality 20mm x1.25 inch (a good standard starting size) "Plossel" type eyepiece (several listed on Amazon for under $30.00). The addition of a higher quality eyepiece really changed the viewing experience with this scope. Or, if you want to get into astronomical viewing with this scope Celestron makes an Observers Accessory Kit (#94308- you can get it on Amazon - about $70.00). It comes with two Plossel eyepieces -17mm and 6mm-, a moon filter (definitely will need it to bring down the glare if observing the moon), a 2X Barlow lens (doubles the magnification of the eyepieces), and two planetary filters, and a case. It seems like a well put together and thought out accessory kit (I know, another $70.00 !!).
Also (as stated in other reviews) the tripod is weak (when extended to its full length). What I recommend is getting a sturdy table (and chair) and set the tripod (in its non-extended or shortest length) on the table. Sit in the chair, and rotate the 45 degree prism (with eyepiece attached) until you can see what you want. You don't need to be standing to view the stars (or whatever)!! It is even better to get a 90 degree correct image diagonal to view the heavens with (that way you don't have to bend over so far, and you can aim the scope higher - I know even more money - actually about $45.00 for a starter correct image diagonal). Become familiar with how the pieces attach (eyepiece to 45 degree prism to insertion in the telescopes focusing tube-and how they can be rotated to your seated position) and you will get a lot more enjoyment out of this well made product.
Remember, this is not a heavy duty alt-azimuth tripod with slow motion controls (Celestron #93607 - which looks like it would fit this scopes screw on base). It is basically a standard camera tripod. You will have to "play" with it and figure out (especially on celestial objects) how to aim it high and then tighten the adjustments (which will lower the object into your field of view). You could even buy a heavier tripod with the same type of adjustments that this tripod has - Celestron #93610- it would make the scope more secure if you needed to fully extend the legs on the tripod - I have one that I use with some of my other telescopes - you just have to get used to the way it adjusts -think each mentioned tripod is about $80.00 to $90.00 (that money just keeps adding up !!). The adjustment for lowering the object into view while tightening the tripod controls takes some getting used to, but it can be learned -and is part of the overall "experience" of this fine travel scope.
Also, about the adjustments on the tripod. The vertical (up and down) lever on the tripod - do not back it out all the way. What happened to me is that a small nut that attaches the handle to the tripod will fall out. So what I did was put a piece of tape over the hole where the nut is - so if I backed out the adjustment to far, the nut would not fall out (no big deal - just need to be aware that it could happen).
I have had this scope for several years, and have seen many celestial objects with it (although I use a correct image 90 degree star diagonal - as stated previously). It is a nice scope for its intended purpose, however (in my opinion) it does need a couple of upgrades (as suggested).
Further, if you need to make the tripod more secure when it is on a table top or partially extended - try draping some "strap on ankle weights" over one or more of the tripod's braces (let one or both sides of the weight rest on the table - so you don't over stress the brace). I had some old strap on ankle weights lying around, just draped one over the brace (without strapping it down), and it makes it much more secure. Also, you get two ankle braces in a set. So you will have an extra one if you need it !!
So let's review. The most important item on any telescope is the objective lens (as stated previously) the large lens in the front of the scope. The Celestron Travel scope objective lens is of good quality, that's where I think the product excels. I recommend to buy a higher quality eyepiece (Plossel type), add some weight to the tripod (as suggested)-do not extend the tripod into its fully extended position (becomes really shaky and weak)-keep it as "low as possible"-preferably on a table top (add an "ankle weight" to the fold out extensions), learn how to rotate the 45 degree diagonal so you can view while seated (this won't change the correct image view of the object), and you have a very well made, fairly light weight travel scope. I have used this scope for terrestrial and astronomical purposes, and as a "spotting scope" while at the range. Works perfectly !! I hope this review has assisted you in your decision (I know -I didn't intend for this review to be so long - but there you have it !!). Have fun !!