"Celestron PowerSeeker telescopes are a great way to open up the wonders of the Universe to the aspiring astronomer. The PowerSeeker series is designed to give the first-time telescope user the perfect combination of quality, value, features and power. Amateur astronomy is a great family hobby that can be enjoyed year round, and Celestron's PowerSeekers are the ideal choice for an affordable and high quality telescope that will provide many hours of enjoyment for the entire family. PowerSeekers are quick and easy to set up – even for the novice. No tools are required for assembly! Their sturdy equatorial mounts are perfect for tracking objects in the night sky, and the collapsible alt-azimuth mounts are perfectly suited for terrestrial (land) viewing as well as astronomical use. All of Celestron's PowerSeekers include a full range of eyepieces plus a 3x Barlow lens that provides an increase in viewing power hundreds of times greater than that of the unaided eye! PowerSeekers are designed and manufactured using all fully coated glass optical components with high transmission coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity. Erect Image Optics are ideal for terretrial (land) and astronomical (sky) use."
Celestron's value priced PowerSeeker 70AZ is an affordable entry level telescope with some nice extras like a correct image prism and "The Sky" astronomy software included. The package also includes an Alt-Azimuth mount with adjustable aluminum tripod, high and low power eyepieces, a 3X barlow lens, and a 5 power cross hair finder scope.
The PowerSeeker 70AZ comes disassembled in a compact box, but the fully illustrated quick set-up guide makes it easy to assemble. Go ahead and try it out in the daytime, that's the best time to align the finder scope while looking at a distant tree or telephone pole.
The optics of the PowerSeeker 70AZ are surprisingly good, especially when I use the low power 20mm eyepiece. The correct image prism and the 20mm eyepiece give me a magnification of 35X, so backyard birds seem five times closer than with my seven power binoculars. The PowerSeeker 70 can be upgraded with standard 1.25 inch telescope eyepieces. A 25mm plossl eyepiece for example gives a true field of view of almost 2 degrees for delightful views of star clusters like the Pleiades, while a 6mm eyepiece provides a magnification of 117X, just right to see the rings of Saturn or the cloud bands on Jupiter. The included 4mm eyepiece (175X magnification) might be too much power: I can see Saturn's rings but at 175X it's not easy to focus and it's not easy to keep planets centered in the field of view.
The Alt-Azimuth mount included with the PowerSeeker 70AZ is lighter and easier to use than an Equatorial mount, but it does not track stars and planets. As soon as you get the Moon centered in the eyepiece it starts drifting toward the edge, this is caused by rotation of the Earth. The Moon may stay in the low power eyepiece for two or three minutes, but with the high power 4mm eyepiece (175X magnification) a star will disappear in only twenty or thirty seconds.
Quick and easy no-tool setup
Slow motion controls for smooth tracking
Erect image optics - Ideal for terrestrial and astronomical use
Fully coated glass optical components with high transmission coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity
3x Barlow lens triples the magnifying power of each eyepiece
Accessory tray for convenient storage of accessories
''TheSkyX – First Light Edition'' astronomy software with a 10,000 object database, printable sky maps and 75 enhanced images