Celestron 70AZ Telescope

The Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ telescope is a great no-tool setup, entry level telescope for children and adults. It gives clear images for both terrestrial and celestial viewing. Through the AstroMaster 70AZ you can get bright clear images of the moon and planets, and you can even view the Galilean moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. Erect image optics are built into the telescope making all your images appear the right way up without adding extra pieces to the scope. Don't forget to check out Australian Geographic's great range of astronomy accessories.

What will I be able to see with the AstroMaster 70AZ?

• The phases of Venus
• Lunar craters as small as 7km in diameter
• Cloud belts and Galilean moons of Jupiter
• The rings of Saturn
• Uranus and Neptune visible as small greenish points
• Large globular clusters and some bright nebulae
• Double stars and stars to 11.7 magnitude

General Features:

• 70mm Refractor
• Quick and easy no-tool setup
• Permanently mounted Star Pointer
• Pan handle Alt-Az control with clutch for smooth and accurate pointing
• Rugged pre-assembled tripod with 1.25” steel tube legs – provides a rigid and stable platform
• All coated glass optics for clear, crisp images
• Deluxe accessory tray for convenient storage of accessories
• Includes ‘The Sky X’ astronomy software which comes with a 10 000 object database as well as images

• Optical Design: Refractor
• Aperture: 70mm
• Focal Length: 700mm
• Focal Ratio: 10
• Finderscope: Built on StarPointer
• Mount: Alt-Azimuth
• Eyepiece 1: 20mm
• Magnification 1: 35x
• Eyepiece 2: 10mm
• Magnification 2: 70x
• Software: The SkyX astronomy software
• Tripod: 1” steel tube legs
• Weight: 7.25kg
• Highest useful magnification: 165x
• Lowest useful magnification: 10x
• Limiting stellar magnitude: 11.7
• Light gathering power: 100x
• Angular field of view: 1.7°
• Linear field of view (at 1000 yards): 27m
• Optical coatings: Fully coated
• Optical tube length: 711mm


GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Refractor: a type of telescope that uses lenses to gather and focus light.

Aperture: the size of the main (objective) lens where light is collected.

Focal length: the distance between objective lens and the focal point – the higher the focal length, the greater the magnification.

Focal ratio: focal length divided by aperture.

Magnification: a calculation of the focal length of the telescope over the focal length of the eyepiece.

Eyepiece: a removable lens that is used to look through a telescope. The focal length of the eyepiece is used to determine the magnification. An eyepiece with a long focal length (for example, 32mm) will give you lower magnification; an eyepiece with a short focal length (4mm) will give you higher magnification

Alt-Azimuth mount: a mount that allows movement in altitude (up and down) and azimuth (side to side).

Optical coating: a thin layer of material on an optical component such as a lens or mirror which alters the way in which light is reflected or transmitted.

Finderscope: a low-power scope attached parallel to the main telescope, which provides easy telescope aiming.

Highest useful magnification: the highest visual power a telescope can achieve before the image becomes too dim for useful observing.

Lowest useful magnification: the lowest power usable from a dark sky observing site. An eyepiece with still lower power has an exit pupil (the beam of light coming out of the eyepiece) larger than the pupil of your eye.

Limiting stellar magnitude: the faintest star you can see with a telescope (under excellent seeing conditions). The limiting magnitude is directly related to aperture, where larger apertures allow you to see fainter stars.

Angular field of view: the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. The angular field of view is that viewed by the instrument in square degrees.

Linear field of view: a ratio of lengths and refers to the area that can be observed at 1,000 yards.