Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor Telescope – Review

Astronomy Telescopes
Image Credit: Jennifer Lim-Tamkican

Children are naturally curious about outer space, and allowing kids to view the night sky with a telescope is a wonderful way to get them interested in science and to foster a lifelong interest in astronomy. Still, parents often struggle when trying to choose a telescope for their young astronomers. On the one hand, you want your child to get good views of the night sky, but on the other, you don’t want to pay a fortune or select an overly complicated telescope that will prove difficult to use. The Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor Telescope stands out as an exceptional choice of beginners telescopes for children and families to use at home and on the go.

Clear Right Side Up Images

The Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor is a unique telescope in that it isn’t just for night sky viewing. This telescope is equally suitable for looking across long distances here on Earth. As a result, families can use it to observe the beauty of nature and wildlife, and for birdwatching by day as well as for stargazing at night.

With the Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor, you get a very good viewing experience. The telescope makes it possible to view the moon, stars, planets and nebulae, and on very clear nights, it can even allow a user to catch sight of the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. The telescope has multi-coated optics that minimize the breakdown of light as it passes through the telescope, ensuring that images are bright and clear. The scope can magnify objects by up to 165 times their size, and has a convenient accessory tray.

Extremely Portable

Easy to set up and take apart, the Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor is convenient and at just 18 pounds is also extremely portable. The telescope has a unique permanent star pointer built into its design that makes tracking the movements of celestial bodies much simpler for kids and beginners. With the telescope, you receive access to a database that includes 10,000 celestial objects. This allows children to learn more about what they’re seeing in the night sky, and to find out what objects to look for during stargazing sessions on any particular night of the year.

There are only two main drawbacks to purchasing the Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor. The first is that like all refractor telescopes, this model is heat sensitive, so it must be used away from vents and may not work properly on very hot days outdoors. The other problem is that the mount for the telescope is rather small in size. While this is perfect for children, it can make it difficult for adults to use the telescope properly for long periods of time.

Final Thoughts

Selling for around $150, the Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor telescope is excellent value for families. You’ll find it difficult to locate a telescope that is lower in price, or that can provide optics able to rival the performance of what’s featured in the design of the AstroMaster 70AZ.

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