Review on 🌌 Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD Newtonian Telescope: Ideal Reflector Telescope for Beginner Astronomers with Fully-Coated Glass Optics, Adjustable-Height Tripod, and BONUS Astronomy Software Package by Laura Jenkins

You should know right away that the screws that hold the mirror mount (a plastic ring that screws into the tube that the mirror is attached to) put pressure on the mirror and compress the adjustment springs. This means that the inch correction you have to work with when collimating is no more than 1/8 inch. Carefully remove this part and either replace the bolts with smaller ones with the same threads, shorten them if you dare, or do what I did and install lock washers on each bolt to eat up the extra length. It's only when you get those screws out of the way that the world of collimation doesn't give you a migraine or make you feel hopeless like some of the other reviews. I feel like this defect tells you everything you need to know about the Celestron manufacturer. They just want smaller screws but don't care so sell them as is. In fact, having shorter propellers would save them money in the long run, unfortunately for everyone. Another quick downside that I haven't fixed yet is that the focuser isn't perfectly straight as it moves up and down, sometimes resulting in poor optics. If you stick a laser collimator in (it's not Bird Jones, it's lensless under the focuser, so you can easily do that) and fully align everything with the focuser, and then pull the focuser all the way out, you can test it when the laser is not aligned on the collimator. So you have to collimate it to the point where you want the focuser to work, which, as a hint, is never fully introduced. Also, avoid the mistake I made by buying a laser collimator that itself cannot be collimated. If you rotate the laser collimator on the focuser and the laser itself doesn't stay in the same spot on the primary mirror, then you're really just guessing. When you set it up right, it's amazing. Don't expect to get good shots of anything other than the moon on your phone, you'll need to buy a real telescopic camera for that. The planets are too small for your phone to capture fine detail, and most phones can't adjust the shutter speed, so images of blobs, which are galaxies and nebulae, are also out of the question for most. said that in excellent viewing conditions at night at maximum magnification with a 6mm lens and 2x Barlow magnification, one can easily see 8 to 9 cloud bands on Jupiter, it is easy to distinguish the red spot that Saturn and its rings are amazing at this magnification level and you can see your largest lunar titan. If you're only using the 10mm lens that comes with this scope and you don't get an accessory kit, then don't expect as much detail. You'll still see Jupiter and Saturn, but the 65x zoom is a far cry from the 260x this telescope can deliver when conditions are right and everything is aligned. It's easy to follow the planets because of the mount, you just gently turn a knob to center everything. It's amazing when it works properly, as almost every telescope does. Last note. The motor that comes with this tripod is fixed in the tracking adjustment knob. This means that the spotting scope has to be set up perfectly, because once you lock it in place with the motor mounted, all you can do is tilt (up and down, so to speak). If you have good hands and a decent brain you can figure out how this works, so for the price of everything this is a great deal. Now I have to get a bigger one lol because this one will be used for space photography soon if I can get a camera lens for that purpose. I hope this saves some headaches and I will easily buy this scope again.