Celestron Accessory Kit

A good set of eyepieces will improve the performance of any telescope, and that's particularly true of entry-level telescopes that often come equipped with economy-grade eyepieces. The Celestron Eyepiece and Filter Kit includes five good-quality multicoated plossl eyepieces and a 2x Barlow lens. The set also includes seven colored glass filters for lunar and planetary viewing, and a nicely padded 10.5-by-12.5-inch case with spare room for three more eyepieces.

This set makes a great addition to telescopes like Celestron's Firstscope 114EQ or Firstscope 80EQ. A telescope's magnifying power is equal to the focal length of the telescope divided by the eyepiece focal length, which is usually printed right on the eyepiece. Since the Firstscope 114EQ has a focal length of 900mm, the 32mm plossl eyepiece gives a magnification of 28x and almost 2 degress true field of view. This wide field of view is ideal for viewing star clusters like the Pleiades or checking out the Andromeda Galaxy. On a dark, moonless night, when I use the 9mm plossl (100x magnification) to view globular clusters like M13 and M5, the Firstscope 114EQ shows me many individual stars. And when the night air is still and clear I use the 6mm eyepiece (150x magnification) to pick out planetary details like the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings, or even Jupiter's great red spot.

The Celestron eyepiece kit also includes six colored filters and a neutral-colored Moon filter. The Orange and Red filters are handy for bringing out surface detail on Mars, and the Light Blue and Light Green filters can help a small telescope pick out Jupiter's famous red spot. The Moon filter works like a pair of sunglasses to reduce the blinding glare of the Moon. The Yellow and Green filters are sometimes helpful on the moon as well because they overcome the blue glow of "chromatic aberration," the false color that often troubles low-cost refractors.

Overall, the Celestron Eyepiece kit is simply a great value. These eyepieces deliver crisp views in any telescope that accepts 1.25-inch eyepieces, from a Firstscope 60 AZ to a Nexstar 8GPS. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Good anti-reflection multicoatings
• Crisp, high-contrast views

Con:

• Minimal eye relief on 4mm and 6mm plossls

CELESTRON 94303 -- This well considered Telescope Accessory Kit includes 5 Plossl Eyepieces, a 2x Barlow Lens, 7 Color Planet Filters and an Aluminum Padded Case. Get all these premium optics together at a most affordable price!