The Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ is primarily aimed at keen amateur astronomers looking to buy their first telescope, providing them with a powerful tool to explore the beauty and marvels of the night sky. Aside from being one of the best-reviewed telescopes on our blog and only costing around $200, they are invariably of high quality, as you would expect from Celestron: an award winning brand with more than 50 years of experience in this field.
Key Features of the Celestron 127 EQ PowerSeeker telescope:
- Easy, no tools assembly and setup.
- A Newtonian style reflector telescope.
- 127mm (5 inches) aperture. The aperture size offers excellent light gathering, essential for clarifying the more obscure details of distant celestial objects.
- Focal length of 1000mm (39.37 inches).
- Fully coated, all glass optical elements with high-transmission aluminum (reflective) coatings for refined image sharpness and definition.
- Robust German Equatorial mount which makes use of manual slow-motion controls on both axes, enabling a gentle and fluid tracking motion.
- A choice of eye pieces included: 20mm (50 x magnification) and 4mm (250 x magnification). A 3x Barlow lens is also included which will increase the magnification of each eyepiece by three times (turning the 20mm into 150x and the 4mm into 750x).
- Lightweight, aluminum tripod (no assembly or tools required) with storage tray for housing accessories such as extra eyepieces or T-rings for camera mounting.
OVERVIEW
The Celestron 127 EQ PowerSeeker is a Newtonian reflector telescope. This means that it uses mirrors to gather light and reflect the image for viewing, in contrast to Refracting and Catadioptric telescopes which use lenses (as well as mirrors in the case of catadioptric). Mirrors can be produced at a lower cost than lenses and so consequently a reflector telescope can offer more value when it comes to cost per inch of aperture. In simple terms we can say that the larger the aperture, the more precise and clear your view will be. Of course, there is a lot more to it than that!
The Celestron 127 EQ has a 127mm aperture (5 inches). This is a very good size for a starter to intermediate scope and you will be able to view the moon in superb detail as well as brighter planets, nebulas and star clusters.
No matter how large the aperture is, your telescope needs top quality optical elements for you to be able to enjoy your time with it. The optical components in the Celestron 127 EQ PowerSeeker are all made from glass, fully coated with high-transmission (reflective) aluminum to give even more refinement and definition. It is a sign of true quality and excellent design.
The mounting for your telescope is arguably as important as the telescope itself. As the EQ in the name suggests, this telescope comes with an Equatorial mount, designed for astronomy telescopes. Included are two manual slow-motion controls, these allow for smoother tracking of objects as they pass across the night sky. The tripod is made of aluminum, although lightweight it is robust, solid and also comes with a very handy accessory tray which lets you keep extra eyepieces and T-rings (for mounting a camera) close to hand.
Two eyepieces come as standard, a 20mm (50 x magnification) and a 4mm (250 x magnification). As well as these, you will find a 3 x Barlow lens, which when used in conjunction with the eyepieces, will effectively triple their magnification. In addition to the equipment, you will get the Celestron “The Sky” software which provides a 10,000 object database, printable sky maps as well as some enhanced images.
Pros
It’s very easy to pick out some obvious plus points for the Celestron 127 EQ PowerSeeker. The quality of the optics is top of my list, they form a solid basis for this telescope to become a faithful companion for years. The aperture size means that there is a wide range of targets for you to explore and hone your astronomy skills on. The ease with which you can get your telescope up on the mount and fully assembled, ready to start your adventures, is a definite plus. The Celestron 127 EQ represents a great balance between size, power and portability.
Cons
As with any Newtonian Reflector, you will need to become familiar with aligning your telescope (collimation). There is no need to upgrade the eyepieces included with the telescope right away, they are perfectly suitable and usable. However, you may consider adding to them with different eyepieces in time. You will most likely not often use the combination of the 3x Barlow and the 4mm (250x) eyepiece. Celestron themselves say that the highest useful magnification of the 127 EQ is 300x but bear in mind that a different eyepiece using the Barlow may be of benefit.
A quick word about collimation: this process may take a while to pick up, however once understood and completed properly, it will take just a few seconds of checking and fine tuning before use. In addition to the instructions in the Celestron manual, there are many sources of free advice, step-by-step guides, tutorials and videos about collimation on the internet and it will be an invaluable skill for any keen astronomer to learn.
Price and affordability
You will find the Celestron 127 EQ PowerSeeker at a modest price point (low $200s). This reflects Celestron’s intention for it to be a first-time buyer’s telescope, or at least, an easily affordable one. The really impressive thing is that they have kept an excellent level of quality throughout making it not only distinctly affordable, but also a great bargain.
Review Summary
The Celestron 127 EQ PowerSeeker does more than you would expect of a telescope at this price. If you are looking for your first telescope then it should be a high ranking contender. Even a more experienced amateur or keen hobbyist should take note and give it some serious consideration. Image definition and illumination is superb thanks to the excellent optics and good sized aperture. With the reliable tripod and mount, you will spend many pleasurable hours tracking your chosen objects through the night sky. Rest assured that the Celestron reputation for quality is well earned, and backed by a 2 year warranty.