All Telescopes

Celestron Accessory Kit

CELESTRON 94303 -- This well considered Telescope Accessory Kit includes 5 Plossl Eyepieces, a 2x Barlow Lens, 7 Color Planet Filters and an Aluminum Padded Case. Get all these premium optics together at a most affordable price!

A good set of eyepieces will improve the performance of any telescope, and that's particularly true of entry-level telescopes that often come equipped with economy-grade eyepieces. The Celestron Eyepiece and Filter Kit includes five good-quality multicoated plossl eyepieces and a 2x Barlow lens. The set also includes seven colored glass filters for lunar and planetary viewing, and a nicely padded 10.5-by-12.5-inch case with spare room for three more eyepieces.

This set makes a great addition to telescopes like Celestron's Firstscope 114EQ or Firstscope 80EQ. A telescope's magnifying power is equal to the focal length of the telescope divided by the eyepiece focal length, which is usually printed right on the eyepiece. Since the Firstscope 114EQ has a focal length of 900mm, the 32mm plossl eyepiece gives a magnification of 28x and almost 2 degress true field of view. This wide field of view is ideal for viewing star clusters like the Pleiades or checking out the Andromeda Galaxy. On a dark, moonless night, when I use the 9mm plossl (100x magnification) to view globular clusters like M13 and M5, the Firstscope 114EQ shows me many individual stars. And when the night air is still and clear I use the 6mm eyepiece (150x magnification) to pick out planetary details like the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings, or even Jupiter's great red spot.

The Celestron eyepiece kit also includes six colored filters and a neutral-colored Moon filter. The Orange and Red filters are handy for bringing out surface detail on Mars, and the Light Blue and Light Green filters can help a small telescope pick out Jupiter's famous red spot. The Moon filter works like a pair of sunglasses to reduce the blinding glare of the Moon. The Yellow and Green filters are sometimes helpful on the moon as well because they overcome the blue glow of "chromatic aberration," the false color that often troubles low-cost refractors.

Overall, the Celestron Eyepiece kit is simply a great value. These eyepieces deliver crisp views in any telescope that accepts 1.25-inch eyepieces, from a Firstscope 60 AZ to a Nexstar 8GPS. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Good anti-reflection multicoatings
• Crisp, high-contrast views

• Minimal eye relief on 4mm and 6mm plossls

Galileo FS-80 800 x 80mm Yoke Mount Reflector Telescope

The Galileo FS-80 is mounted on an altitude azimuth yoke mount. It's easy use up and down, left and right movement is great for beginners and casual star gazers alike. The Mount features a slow motion altitude adjustment rod for precision adjustments and is attached to a very sturdy, fully adjustable, pre-assembled metal tripod with retractable rubber feet. The tripod also features an accessory tray with slots to place eyepieces or lenses. The telescope tube features heavy duty metal primary and secondary mirror cells.The Galileo FS-80 optical tube assembly features an 800mm focal length. The Primary mirror is a 80mm heavy duty mirror cell with push / pull collimation screws. The primary mirror is aluminized with Silicon Monoxide Quartz overcoat providing 92% reflectivity and a resolving power of 1.4 arc seconds. The secondary mirror has an obstruction of approximately 25% linear (approximately 6% of the total area). The optical tube assembly is diffraction limited at ?4 (0.25 wave in Sodium light). The finderscope is Galileo's Mars Eye electronic Finderscope which helps by getting the observer behind the telescope without losing the surrounding field of view when targeting objects.

Celestron 44320 Microscope Digital Kit MDK

The Celestron 44320 Biological Microscope Digital Kit is the perfect tool for discovering and learning about the world we can't see. This multi-purpose microscope can be used as a traditional microscope with powers up to 600x or attach the included digital camera to view on your computer. Included software allows you to save digital images and video to your computer.

Meade 70AZ-AR Telescope

A high-quality, entry-level telescope that excels at sky and land viewing.

Level: Young, beginner-astronomers interested in a high-quality, low-priced portable telescope.

Optical Class & Design: Achromatic Refractor - 2-element, multi-coated lenses precision polished from crown and flint optical glass components

Aperture: 70mm (2.8")

Focal Length: 700mm

Focal Ratio: f/10

Eyepiece Size: Uses 1.25" eyepieces

Unique Features: Hybrid diagonal mirror, yoke-style slow motion altitude control, well-suited for terrestrial viewing

Mounting: Low-Backlash Altazimuth Mount

Included Accessories: 5 x 24mm viewfinder with 6-point bracket, 9mm & 25mm 1.25" eyepieces, full-length aluminum tripod with accessory tray, StarLocator™ astro software

What You Can See: Major Solar System Planets including cloud belts and satellites of Jupiter, rings and satellites of Saturn, prominent features on Mars, craters and mountains on the Moon. Solar system asteroids, comets, star clusters, constellations. Bright, deep-space nebulae and galaxies.

Celestron Sky Maps

2/8/200615-19-33...

Celestron 44104 500x Power Advanced Biological Microscope

Advanced 500x Microscope

Celestron 93985 SkyScout Speaker (Black)

The speakers have been thoroughly tested and guaranteed not to affect the SkyScout pointing accuracy. This high quality compact speaker features: -Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery â charges from computer USB port -Extension cable â for flexible placement of speaker while using the SkyScout -Nylon Lancet â to hang the speaker around your neck while using the SkyScout -Expandable woofer â for optimum sound quality

PRIME ENTERTAINMENT QX-5 Microscope

The QX-5 Microscope is the perfect educational tool for children who want to learn about their world! Attach this electronic microscope to your PC and let children explore the tiny, hidden parts of their world.

Celestron 93991 Astronomy for Beginners Expansion Card (Black)

The "Astronomy for Beginners" Expansion Card adds to the knowledge base of your SkyScout Personal Planetarium Not only does it show you the objects in the sky but now it can answer many of the mystifying questions about the Universe. TOPICS INCLUDE: Objects in the Sky - Explore the origins of a variety of objects in our sky. Stars, planets, clusters, galaxies and nebulas. Astronomical Distances - gives you a unique perspective of the vast distances between celestial objects in the sky. Star Hopping - learn the secrets astronomers and explorers use to navigate the night sky. Astro Trivia - Informative and fun trivia questions about the most famous night time objects.

Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Dobsonian Reflector Telescope

Without spending a fortune you can get a telescope that will not only satisfy the kids, but the kid in you! Our SkyQuest XT4.5 is a quality telescope, with point-and-view simplicity that makes it easy to use and makes stargazing fun! The optical performance is far and away better than flimsy department store models. Its 4.5" (114mm) mirror, housed in an enameled steel tube, gathers 260% more starlight than a 60mm refractor. More light means you can see a lot more celestial objects in greater detail. In a review of low-cost beginner telescopes, Sky and Telescope (12/05) proclaimed the XT4.5 "The best of the bunch - a solid combination of optics and mechanics." Try it and see for yourself!

Orion's Skyquest XT4.5 is the smallest in their Dobsonian line of telescopes that includes the B00020WZB0 XT6 , XT8 , and XT10. Newcomers to the hobby are always surprised at how large amateur telescopes are, but to experienced observers, this XT4.5 is considered a very small scope. Tiny, in fact (It's so small, astronomers are buying them just because they think they're so cute). Make no mistake, though--the XT4.5 is a full-fledged telescope, and is a serious observing tool that could last you for years.

Your money buys you a lot in this case. Included are a good-quality 4.5" f/8 primary mirror, two eyepieces, a finder, and a CD-ROM with a stripped-down version of The Sky, a software guide to the sky. The scope comes in two cartons. One contains the optical tube, and the other is a flat-packed box containing the base, which you assemble yourself. Orion includes all the hardware and tools you need, and the instructions are well written. Allocate about 30 minutes to assemble and align everything.

See a detailed view of the XT4.5's features

There are a couple of cost-cutting measures. The primary mirror is spherical, not parabolic (this is not likely to affect the views, however). Also, the focuser is plastic. While I've never seen one break, plastic focusers are by nature less robust than metal ones. Finally (and this may be the most serious concern of all), the scope is a little short for an adult. The eyepiece is only 3 feet off the ground, which may force you to stoop over (hint: try sitting on a short chair or stool while observing). On the other hand, the height is ideal for a child, and as a result, I heartily recommend this telescope for children.

Under the stars, the XT4.5 exhibits excellent performance. Once properly collimated (aligned), the optics give clear, sharp, contrasty views. I've spent enjoyable nights using these telescopes, both as a teaching tool and by myself. Jupiter's cloud band and four moons are no problem to see, nor are Saturn's rings. The Orion Nebula is a glowing fan of green gas, with a quartet of tiny stars at its core. Under dark skies (and with some diligence) the XT4.5 can even pull in some of the fainter deep sky objects, like the brighter galaxies in the Virgo Cluster.

Despite the fact that I have a garage full of expensive telescopes, I never feel compromised with any of Orion's XT scopes. As recently as a few years ago, the old adage regarding telescopes was that you must spend at least $300 to avoid buying junk. While this is still mostly true, Orion's little XT4.5 breaks the price barrier in a big way. As long as you can deal with the short eyepiece height, it's a great starter scope.

Pros:

• Very good optical and mechanical performance
• Fully accessorized
• Great value

• Short eyepiece height
• Plastic focuser