Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ

Hey guys,

I'm very new to astronomy but have been given a brand new Celestron powerseeker 127EQ. I have heard mixed reviews about this but seeing as it was a gift I'm going to try get into the hobby. Would you recommend any extras for it? I'v heard that the finder scope in particular is terrible and should be upgraded.

Also, would you recommend a celestron collimating tool or should I do it manually, I'v read a little about this and see people doing it with homemade tools.

Appreciate any help you guys can give me, cheers.

Hi,

It is certainly a good start. You might find the mounting a little shaky but as long as you don't expect hubble space telescope views, I think you'll be pleased with it. Expect to see things like bands on Jupiter, rings around Saturn, fine detail on the moon. Some of the brighter deep sky objects will be well seen too.

I see it comes with two eyepieces 4mm and 20mm I don't know about the quality of these but seriously forget about the 4mm one. It might be worth looking at those and see about getting better ones. AT least if the hobby takes off and you end up with a bigger and better scope the eyepieces will still be usable with it.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the finder at the moment. As long as it is stable enough all you will be looking for is the moon and planets. See how you get on with it before spending money on a replacement.

HTH

Dave.

Hi
Congratulations on your first scope, the 127 eq powerseeker is a very nice first scope, it was my first scope and it got me hooked on astronomy, I agree with Dave and would add that the 3x barlow is pretty pointless as it takes you beyond your maximum mag, so most of the time you will be using lower mag eyepieces as It's a five inch your top magnification will be around 250x, which is good for moon and some planets, but as was said before don't expect amazing views. As It's got slow motion controls on a gem you will need to balance it properly, polar align it and learn how to star hop if you wish to get the best out of your scope, these are all skills which will stand to you should you wish to continue in amateur astronomy, basically what I am saying is stick with what you have, change the finder only if you feel you need to but learn as much as you can by books, magazines and here on this forum, but most of all enjoy.
Sorry reply is so long winded.
Aiden.