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Museum Store Company : The Finest Selection of Historic and Museum Jewelry, Art History Replicas and Museum Reproductions! Own a Piece of History...Give a Piece of History (tm) MuseumStoreCompany.com | |  | Microscopes | Home » » Celestron 21024 FirstScope Telescope | | | | | | | Description: | | FirstScope Telescope Official Product of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy. Ideal astronomical entry level telescope. The FirstScope Telescope pays tribute to Galileo Galilei and may of history's most notable astronomers and scientists. We honor these men and women for their contributions bringing us one step closer to understanding the universe around us. The compact design makes it easy to take with you on your next outdoor adventure. The FirstScope is also stylish enough to be used as a decorative fixture on your bookshelves or desk. | | | Features: | |
• FirstScope Telescope
• 76mm aperture reflector optical tube
• Moveable tube for ease of navigation for viewing
• Lightweight, portable
• Two eyepieces included
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 9.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 9.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 16.0 inches | | Product Weight:
| 4.5 pounds | | Package Length:
| 6.54 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.59 inches | | Package Height:
| 3.31 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.88 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 145 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 145 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
327 of 331 found the following review helpful:
 Great Portable TelescopeMay 28, 2009
By Sky Observer
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.
190 of 194 found the following review helpful:
Good starter scope, not so great eyepiecesAug 21, 2009
By Russell Y. Neches
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.
107 of 109 found the following review helpful:
Nice starter telescopeMay 28, 2009
By Hiker
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.
57 of 57 found the following review helpful:
What a Bargain!Nov 11, 2009
By Charles Q. Bufe
For years, I've been wanting a cheap, wide-field, very portable 'scope. This one fits the bill perfectly. It's really inexpensive, has a really wide field, good optics, and is extremely portable. All of which -- along with its extreme ease of use -- makes it ideal as a first telescope for those just discovering the joys of astronomy.
The eyepieces that come with it deliver good images. But, the 20mm Huygens low-power "wide field" eyepiece that comes with it simply won't do. It's a narrow apparent-field-of-view eyepiece (20 degrees) that only delivers a 1.3-degree field of view. This would make finding anything but the brightest objects (basically the moon, Jupiter and Venus) an exercise in frustration. The 4mm symmetrical high-power eyepiece, in contrast, is fine. It delivers good images in an adequate .4-degree field of view.
Anyone buying this 'scope would be well advised to buy a better low-power eyepiece, such as a Kellner, RKE, or Plossl, in the 20mm to 28mm range. Most astronomy sales outfits grossly overcharge for these eyepieces, but you can find bargains at the surplus optical sites (run a search for "surplus optics") -- I just bought a 27mm Kellner for $12.50 plus $5 shipping from one. One of these better eyepieces will yield a 3-to-4-degree field of view, which makes finding an object easy just by pointing the 'scope in the general direction and sweeping until you find it.
From my heavily light-polluted backyard, the views of the brighter nearby clusters (Beehive, Pleiades, etc.) are wonderful in this 'scope -- its field of view is wide enough to allow you to view the entire clusters. I can't wait to take it out of town next year to check out the summer Milky Way.
Finally, don't bother with the accessory package. The eyepieces are almost certainly cheap Huygens eyepieces with very narrow fields of view; the finder 'scope is a toy that's useless if you have a decent low-power eyepiece; and there are good planetarium programs on the 'net (such as Stellarium) available for free. You'd be much better off buying a decent medium power -- roughly 10mm to 13mm -- eyepiece from a surplus optics site.
114 of 128 found the following review helpful:
 First LookApr 10, 2009
By Michael Shimer
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
See all 145 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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