Skywatcher EXPLORER-130 Telescope or Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ

[arnookie]

Skywatcher EXPLORER-130 Telescope or Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ

Spec of skywatcher :-

Magnifications (with optics supplied): x36, x72, x90, x180
Highest Practical Power (Potential): x260
Diameter of Primary Mirror: 130mm
Telescope Focal Lengh: 900mm (f/6.92)
Eyepieces Supplied (1.25"): 10mm & 25mm
x2 Barlow Lens
Red Dot Finder
EQ2 Equatorial Mount

Spec of celestron :-

OPTICAL DESIGN Reflector
APERTURE 130 mm (5.12 in)
FOCAL LENGTH 650 mm (25.59 in)
FOCAL RATIO 5
EYEPIECE 1 20 mm (0.79 in)
MAGNIFICATION 1 32.5 x
EYEPIECE 2 10 mm (0.39 in)
MAGNIFICATION 2 65 x
MOUNT CG-3 Equatorial
OPTICAL COATINGS Aluminum
WEIGHT 24 lb (10.89 kg)

what should I buy?
Skywatcher EXPLORER-130 or
Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ ?

Can anyone help?

[admin]

Hello arnookie, welcome to the forums!

What do you want to use the scope for mainly planets or deep sky ie nebulas etc?

[Carlos_dfc]

VERY little to choose between those two models.

SkyWatcher's parent company (Synta) who also own the US company 'Orion' - bought out Celestron last year - so the scopes are VERY similar.
And the Celestron CG-3 mount is basically a clone of the Synta EQ-2.

Celestron have had their mirrors supplied by Synta for a long time, so those scopes have been optically tyhe same for a lot of years - and now that Synta actually own Celestron, the rest of the scope is now pretty much the same as SkyWatcher (Synta)

One thing I will add though - traditionally, SkyWatcher and Orion did tend to supply more accessories (Eyepieces, barlows etc), whereas Celestron's accessories were usually better quality.

So - if you want a barlow included, get the SkyWatcher - and if you would be prepared to forego the barlow, in favour of slightly better eyepieces - get the Celestron

[EVERYTHING]

I say go for the skywatcher.

[Vinnie]

Just a cautionary note that I want to throw in here.

For some reason a lot of the Chinese 130mm Newts use a spherical mirror and a tele-negative corrector fitted at the base of the focuser.

This makes them a real dog to collimate.

This may not be the case with either or both of your choices listed, especially with the Celestron being at f/5 but it is a possibility with the SW at f/7. I can't find any specs on either of these scopes that does actually state whether the primary is spherical or paraboloid

In any case I would be checking with the suppliers. If the primary mirror is spherical, don't buy it. If the primary mirror is paraboloid, sure, no problems, go ahead and get it.

Given the choice of the two and assuming that both are indeed paraboloids, I would buy the Celestron, solely because at a shorter focal length it will be a little shorter physically, and so will ride better on the mount.

HTH

Vin