Explore FirstLight 114mm f/4.4 Newtonian Telescope with EQ3 Mount

The first night with an equatorial mount can feel backward: the tube swings around a counterweight and the polar axis tilts toward the North Star. Once that axis points at the celestial pole, though, a planet can be followed across the sky with one slow-motion control instead of two. The Explore FirstLight 114mm Newtonian with EQ3 Mount (item FL-N114500EQ3) is Explore Scientific's package for learning it: a 114 mm reflector with a 500 mm focal length on the EXOS Nano EQ3 German equatorial mount, with two flexible slow-motion shafts and a 2.5 lb counterweight.

Key Features

• Optics. A 114 mm aperture at f/4.4 with fully multi-coated optics, for the Moon, the planets and brighter deep-sky objects such as star clusters and nebulae. The fast focal ratio suits wide-field views.
• Mount and tripod. The EQ3 comes with two flexible shafts for guiding the scope and can be polar aligned for easier navigation. The included metal tripod is fully extendable, with 1¼-inch legs and an accessory tray that locks the legs in place.
• Mount capacity. The EXOS Nano mount, sold on its own as FL-EXOSNANOT1-00, is a light-duty German equatorial mount that suits short, fast Newtonians. It is rated for telescopes up to 15 lb on a Vixen-style dovetail.
• What comes with it. A 25 mm Plössl eyepiece (20x, from 500 ÷ 25) in the 40 mm draw tube focuser, a red dot viewfinder, a smartphone adapter for pictures through the eyepiece, and downloadable software (Cartes du Ciel).
• Assembly. Setup follows a two-page picture guide: tripod and tray, mount head, the two slow-motion cables, counterweight, tube rings, eyepiece and red dot finder, then lining the finder up on a distant tree.

Who It's For

• First-time owners learning an equatorial mount. Our guides to setting up a telescope and balancing an equatorial mount cover the first evening.
• Buyers who would rather point and look. The National Geographic NT114PH is a 114 mm reflector on a panhandle alt-azimuth mount, with 26 mm and 9.7 mm eyepieces and a 2x Barlow; it costs less.
• Buyers who want a motor to do the tracking. The FirstLight 80mm f/8 Go-To Tracker Combo pairs an 80 mm refractor with the iEXOS-100 PMC-Eight GoTo tracker; it costs more.

Accessories & Compatibility

• Eyepieces. The focuser takes 1.25-inch eyepieces. For this 500 mm focal length, Explore Scientific recommends the 52° Series 20mm (25x), 62° Series 9mm (56x) and 52° Series 4.5mm (111x).