Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2755 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Celestron
• Model: 31051
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Dimensions: 11.00" h x 19.00" w x 35.00" l, 38.15 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
If you're looking for a dual-purpose telescope appropriate for both terrestrial and celestial viewing, then the AstroMaster Series is for you. Each AstroMaster model is capable of giving correct views of land and sky. , ,The AstroMaster Series produce bright, clear images of the Moon and planets. It is easy to see the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn with every one of these fine instruments. For views of the brighter deep space objects like galaxies and nebulae, we recommend the larger aperture and light gathering ability of the Newtonian reflectors. , ,This model includes the motor drive for automatic tracking.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Good optics for the price, great customer service, poor 'extras'.
The quality of the tripod, mount, scope and optics are superb for the price (even though both ends of the tube are ill fitting). The level of magnification achieved is a little disappointing though. The moons of jupiter tonight were clearly visible as was the shape of the planet, although no detail was. I have ordered a moon filter and will probably order a barlow lens for it as well. Two lenses 10 and 20mm are supplied as standard (although annoyingly only a case for one of them).

I too had some build quality problems like the other reviewer. The starfinder shorted out when I first put the battery in. As a result the alignment lights became very dim. The motor also didn't last 5 minutes. I contacted Celestron who put me in touch with Hama UK. They exchanged the parts very quickly, which is the best customer service I have received from a good many companies in a long time. The replacement starfinder however is so bright its less use than the one that shorted out, Stars are barely visible past the bright red LED. So I'm using the faulty one, which is a far more useful dim orange. The other one would be more use during the day.
When attaching the replacement motor onto the mount the allen bolt sheared and will no longer tighten. Obviously that's a disappointment too as it means I can't really use the motor drive. What's the saying, the more things it has on it, the more there is to go wrong?! I'm not convinced the motor drive is worth the extra, it looks very cheap by comparison.

In retrospect, I too would save a little more and perhaps consider a higher magnification one, without a motor drive. The quality of the rest of the kit though and the customer service means I would most likely still consider Celestron; and Hama's reputation, in my eyes, has also improved as a result of this purchase.

Good from a distance
Looks good when you get it out of the box. One of the screws snapped during assembly and couldn't be removed, it wasn't in too a conspicuous area, so no harm done. Personally I wouldn't bother with the motor-drive version unless you don't have the use of your hands or are so lazy that you cannot be bothered to move the scope unaided.

I'm not very impressed to be honest, maybe I was expecting too much. You really need a 4mm lens or a barlow lens to get any decent level of magnification from this although the image is pretty clear.

My advice is to save a little longer and get one of the £300+ models.