Celestron, the makers of magnifying devices manufacturers telescope in its product segment. Coming out with wide range of telescope under many series, Celestron AstroMaster 76EQ Telescope (31035) belongs to the ‘AstroMaster Series’ of the brand. Under this series are available three types of telescope with different technical of which 76EQ Reflector is the one that is been reviewed.
At the outset this series models are been specialised in its design so compact and portable. The materials used are high graded that ensures stability and durability. For those who desire to view both terrestrial and astronomical observation with the capability of giving correct view of both the land and the sky. It can give a lifetime excitement of viewing the bright images of the Lunar and the Planets. May be the deep sky objects like the galaxies and the nebular does not transform with as bright as the planets like the higher models, yet it can give an overview of the same.
Right out of the box:
The excitement begins when the package is been opened to find the telescope and the accessories that are been required to be assembled with the help of the systematic manual provided. It does not require any special degree to do this setting up, as it is user friendly. The tripod can be unfolded instantly and the equatorial mount is been set up with the screws provided. This is been followed by the counterweight bar and the counterweights. It goes on and in few minutes you can enjoy the wholesome benefit of observing far off objects.
Type:
The telescope that is been defined with the reflector type of optical design. This is a Newtonian design that replaces heavy lenses with the mirrors that collect and focus the light. They are popular for its easy maintenance, light in weight, portable and economical. It can take you to the depth of night sky with its enhanced light gathering capability.
Anesthetics:
Celestron 31035 AstroMaster 76EQ Reflector Telescope is quite portable, where the optical tube length measures 914.4mm and it weighs just 8.16 kg. It can be easily accommodated in the back seat of the car and can travel along to bring more pleasure to the trip. The optical coating is made of aluminium and is been fully coated; it consists of a mount of type CG-2 Equatorial. The tripod that is been provided is a 1.25″ Steel Tube Legs. In the case of the equatorial mount the axis of rotation of the telescope is been aliened to the axis of rotation of the Earth which is known as the polar alignment. The mount also plays a vital role in adjusting to the polar axis that is been done by tightening or loosening the rear latitude adjustment screw followed by the front screw. This latitude adjustment ranges approximately from 20 – 60 degrees.
Technical details:
With the aperture which is the diameter of the objective lens measures 76mm, this performs to gather the light from the atmosphere and the higher is the aperture the brighter will be the viewing images. The focal length and the focal ratio are 700 mm and 9.21 respectively. The eyepiece provided are 20mm, which enhances the magnification by 35x and the 10mm eyepiece with the magnification of 70x. The field of view at the distance of 1000 yards is 75 feet or 22.86 metres.
Finderscope performance:
Celestron AstroMaster 76EQ Equatorial Mount Telescope embedded with the finderscope of type Built-on StarPointer, this is the quickest and the most convenient way to make the telescope point to the desired object. It has a laser pointer that directly shines on to the sky. This is just a pointing tool and does not perform any magnification ability. In case of the daytime observation the alignment of the pointer should be done at the nighttime, as the LED dot will not be visible in the day light.
Verdict:
Observing lunar at the low power is easy and by changing the eyepiece is required if you are curious to go deeper in observation. It goes fascinating to view the planets, the Jupiter, the Saturn with its rings and when the contrast is increased, it brings out better details of the object. So is the observation of the deep sky objects that are outside the boundary of the solar system, the use of light filters helps in viewing them better.
Celestron AstroMaster 76EQ Astronomy Telescope - Technical Specification Details
| Manufacturer | Celestron |
| Model Name | AstroMaster 76EQ Telescope |
| Model Number | 31035 |
| Optical design | Reflector |
| Magnification | 180 x |
| Focal length | 700 mm |
| Focal ratio | 9.21 |
| Aperture | 76 mm |
| Eye piece | 20 mm, 10 mm |
| Optical coating | Aluminium |
| Tripod | 1.25″ Steel Tube Legs |
| Optical tube length | 914.4 mm / 36″ |
| Mount | CG-2 Equatorial |
| Weight | 8.16 kg |
| Finder scope | Built-on Star pointer |
| Light gathering power | 118x |
| Linear field of view at 1000 yards | 75 feet / 22.86 m |
| Warranty | 2 years |
