Celestron · Newtonian
Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ
Celestron's 114mm Newtonian punches above its price class, pairing real light-gathering power with an equatorial mount that grows with your skills.
Performance Scores
Overview
The AstroMaster 114EQ is a 114mm f/8.8 Newtonian reflector built around a German equatorial mount, and that combination is what separates it from most entry-level scopes in this price range. The 114mm aperture gathers enough light to show Saturn's rings, Jupiter's cloud bands and moons, lunar craters in sharp relief, and brighter deep-sky objects like the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula. The 1000mm focal length at f/8.8 keeps eyepiece performance forgiving, meaning even budget eyepieces tend to produce clean views across most of the field.
The equatorial mount takes a little time to understand, but once you learn to align it and use the slow-motion controls, tracking objects becomes noticeably easier than with a simple alt-azimuth setup. This is a genuine long-term advantage as your observing habits develop. The included 20mm and 10mm eyepieces give you two useful starting magnifications of 50x and 100x.
The StarPointer red dot finder works well for star-hopping once you calibrate it. The main limitation to expect is that the included accessories are functional but basic; most observers eventually upgrade the eyepieces to get the most from the mirror.
At a Glance
114mm
Aperture
f/8.8
Focal Ratio
6.02kg
Weight
1000mm
Focal Length
Specifications
Key Features
- The 114mm primary mirror collects enough light to reveal Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, and bright galaxies and nebulae on clear nights
- An f/8.8 focal ratio makes collimation errors and eyepiece quality less critical, which is a practical advantage for beginners
- The German equatorial mount with dual slow-motion controls lets you track objects smoothly as they move across the sky, something a basic alt-azimuth mount cannot do
- At 6kg and with a straightforward assembly process, the scope is manageable enough for solo setup in a backyard or on a balcony
- The 1000mm focal length provides comfortable working magnifications in the 50x to 150x range, which covers planets, the Moon, and most showpiece deep-sky targets
- Celestron backs the scope with a two-year warranty and US-based support, which is worth noting at this price point
- The included eyepieces and red dot finder are adequate to start observing immediately, though upgrading the eyepieces later will noticeably improve the views you can pull from this aperture
Recommended Eyepieces
For planets
All-rounder
Customer Reviews
1,446 reviews
The telescope is fantastic with great potential. Pulls in an abundant amount of light. Moon looks stunning and I saw jupiter... sort of. I was able to focus it in and even sorta make out the gaseous nature of the planet, and I saw one of the moons. Blurry though at high magnification. All in all, is...
The Celestron 31042 AstroMaster 114EQ is everything I hoped for and more! As someone totally new to telescopes, I was nervous about the setup--but Celestron made it incredibly easy. The instructions were clear, and I had it up and running in under 30 minutes, no tools needed! This telescope is perf...
First off, the scope itself is pretty good, but there's just a few things that really keep it from being great. -Missing Parts: When I assembled the scope, I found out I was missing the screws required to hold the tracking handles on. This was not a deal-breaker "return the thing!" issue for me, but...