Home > Consumer Reviews > Celestron 21024 FirstScope Telescope

I was looking for an affordable and portable telescope so that I can easily set up without taking too much time. A friend recommended this so I decided to purchase this (for $50, I can't go wrong). I was skeptical at first but that went away when I unpacked this. The telescope is 3" which is better than the 60mm telescope one usually sees in this price range. It came with 2 decent eyepieces (2 decent eyepieces by themselves already costs around $40 - $50). It was easy to put together as it was ready to use out of the box. For the price I paid, the base was well made like a dobsonian. It had a smooth swiveling motion so that I can easily point it at celestial objects and tracking it by gently pushing the tube. I was able to see Jupiter and its moons, Saturn, craters on the moon and on a clear night the Orion nebula. The images were brighter when I compared it to my friends 60mm telescope becasue this is a 76mm telescope. I am very pleased with my experience with this telescope and the price is great. It doesn't take long to set up so when I feel like just going outside to take a look at a celestial object, i can easily do it. My 9 year old daughter loves it too. Definitely a telescope I would recommend to anyone who is interested in looking at the night skies.

I bought this telescope to gain some experience with telescope optics before spending "real" money on a more powerful instrument. In that capacity, this really is the perfect thing to buy. Celestron really did go to some trouble to design a decent telescope, but for under $50, you can expect to bump into the limitations fairly quickly. If you are trying to learn about telescope optics, this is actually a good thing -- you will learn as much from what this telescope cannot do as from what it can.

However, if you buying it to do astronomy (rather than to learn about optics), some advice :

1) Do *not* buy the accessory kit. There is no way you can get your head into a position where you could use the spot finder. Unless you are a squirrel.

2) *Do* buy some better eyepieces and a Barlow.

With the included eyepieces, Jupiter is a fuzzy orange circle. With a better eyepiece and a Barlow, I could see the bands, the Great Red Spot and the poles.

The weakness of this telescope is the included the eyepieces. However, in my opinion, you could throw them in the garbage and the FirstScope would still be a bargain. Eyepieces are replaceable, and you can use them on just about any other telescope.

After reading another reviewer state that he could see the rings of Saturn with this inexpensive scope, I immediately bought one for my son who is 8. He is really starting to get an interest in space, and growing up with an amateur astronomer father, I am overjoyed. It's a nice starter telescope and has been really easy for him to use. I like that it doesn't take up a lot of room and you can't beat the price. It's also nice that it commemorates history's greatest scientists and astronomers, my son has actually looked a few of them up on the internet to find out more about them! Very pleased.

For less than $50, you get a great little scope in a compact package.
Set it on a table and explore the night sky. The lower power eyepiece is good for searching and the higher power eyepiece will fill the entire view with the moon (though it's quite bright)

I ordered the 'scope March 30 and received it April 7. Not bad for a product which was supposed to ship at the end of April. Some damage to the outer carton thanks to FedEx, but both 'scopes (I ordered two) were undamaaged. No assembly required - just slip in one of the eye pieces and it's ready to go. The manual (one paragraph) was not needed, but a person new to astronomical telescopes will certainly want to get some better documentation. The 'scope is better than I expected for $50. It appears to be well made - the eyepieces are not really good, but what can you expect for this price. The alt/az movements are good. The alt has adjustable tension. Az is probably adjustable via the main axis nut, but I didn't mess with it - the movement is fine as-is.

Unfortunately, we have had no clear nights in the Pacific Northwest since the 'scopes arrived (what else is new). A quick test on trees about 200 meters distant resulted in good views. Note the secondary mirror does cause a dark spot if your eye is not aligned correctly.

I'm looking forward to clear skies, but the long range forecast is not good.

Mike


April 21 - OK, last night was the first clear night since I got the 'scope. I viewed Saturn, and although the 'scope short focal length means lower magnification, with the included 4mm lens (approx. 70X), the rings were visible. The 'scope handled well, and handled a large, heavy lens I have with no problems. I had my 10" dob out also, and of course the dob gave a better view, but I enjoyed using the little 'scope for scanning the sky. No moon up when I was out, so could not see how it looks. The 21024 mount is stable, and moved smoothly. I tried the included lenses, and then some better lenses from Meade and Orion. These performed better, but the included lenses are not bad for a first scope.

Mike