Is the Celestron Nexstar 8SE a good amature telescope ? Aprx. cost $1200?

Question

Is the Celestron Nexstar 8SE a good amature telescope ? Aprx. cost $1200?

Answer 1

Yes, it is an excellent scope. However, without more context is impossible to suggest whether it is an appropriate scope for you. Most beginners start with more humble equipment but the reason for that is more budgetary than technical. Are you a beginner? What are your interests?



The only real downside to Schmidt Cassegrains is that they usually give a fairly narrow field of view. How much this matters depends on what you propose to do with it. On the flip side you may be paying for refinement that you don't actually need.

Answer 2

Telescopes like Celestron-Nextar-8SE will take perfectly acceptable astro images of solar system objects, but will not be good enough for deep sky. Deep sky will need a well constructed equatorial mount. I would not discourage anyone from aspiring to do imaging from the word go, as long as you realise that there will be a learning curve and first results may be dissapointing. For astro imaging solar system objects, you can use cameras as follows: (1)The Sun (Warning: use a full aperture solar filter in front of the telescope if you want to keep your sight!!) and the Moon: Fixed lens digital camera which you leave on auto setting and just hold above the eyepiece and snap the image in the eyepiece. may need an inexpensive steadying mounting bracket for the Moon. (2) The Sun, Moon and Planets: A digital SLR with the lens removed and attached to the telescope with approprrite T-Ring, the telescope then becomes the lens of the camera. (3) Planets with a Webcam, which will require a portable computer to download a sequence of images which are then automatically stacked by the program Registax which is a free software you can download on the internet. Webcam is just about the best method of imaging planets whatever telescope setup you use. Hope this is helpful.

Answer 3

Yes, it's an excellent scope. I have a 6SE myself.



Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:

http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying_a_Telescope.pdf

http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html

http://observers.org/beginner/j.r.f.beginner.html



For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington's Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).



You'll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:

http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000

http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106



Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don't buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizations



I strongly recommend that beginners steer clear of astrophotography until they have learned their way around the sky. Astrophotography is by far the most expensive and difficult area of amateur astronomy.



Many people who buy telescopes have no idea how to find interesting things to observe. A good introduction to finding things is NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly). A more advanced book is Star Watch by Phil Harrington (Wiley).

Answer 4

I would be dubious of B's comments regarding GOTO scopes. Modern GOTO scopes in the territory work very well and help to to find things that you often wouldn't have a chance of finding otherwise under less than magnitude 6 skies. Most of the bad press comes from people looking at the super low cost crap such as the Meade 2000 series (which don't work very well) and extrapolating from that that GOTO is bad. It's not, it's just they were using a bad scope and mount.



If you need any more evidence of this look at how many mid range or higher amateur scopes use GOTO. At the lower end of the scale they are in the minority. At $1000 or higher probably 90% are GOTO scopes. The extra cash allows for a good GOTO system that saves a lot of time and effort and offers near perfect accuracy.



B talks about polar alignment which gives some idea of his true level of familarity with GOTO systems. Most systems do not use polar alignment at all for the GOTO system and this one is not even an equatorial scope. There is no polar alignment involved at all and the scope does not even need to be on a level surface - it will still track as it should do since the computer knows how to correct for such factors.



Update for B: Yes, any GOTO system needs a star alignment (usually easy enough even for a beginner) but you referred specifically to POLAR alignment which I specifically countered. Just HOW exactly do you polar align an alt-azimuth scope? I consider it only fair to raise questions as to your relevant experience if you do not appear to understand the distinction. I'm sorry for embarassing you in public but you have email disabled in your profile.

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

Yes, this is a good scope, however if you are a beginner, you will find this scope frustrating. The NexStar scopes must be aligned with Polaris exactly perfectly, for them to work as they are presented to the public in their sales pitch. If you do not have it aligned perfectly, it will not find the objects for you and you will become frustrated. You will also want to purchase a power pack because using all those batteries and replacing them nearly every time you go out will soon become annoying. Batteries don't last long in this equipemnt especially in the winter. You will also want to purchase a carrying case to protect your scope in transit, plus a few additional eyepieces.

★ I would like to suggest that you join a local astronomy club or astronomical society BEFORE you spend your money on a real telescope. There are many different kinds of scopes and what is perfect for one person is not perfect for another. Everyone has their own set of eyeballs and no two are the same. If you join a club, you can attend a few of their star parties and try out members scopes to see what works best for YOU, before you buy a scope. The members can also help you when you get your scope and show you how to get the most out of your new scope as well as to help teach you where the treasures in the sky are located. Most clubs have loaner scopes and extensive libraries that you can gather more information from too. Most clubs will have monthly membership meetings with informative presentations given by members and by guest speakers. You can really learn a lot from these clubs and an added plus is all the great new friends you make there too. Go to this site to find a club in your area. http://www.astroleague.org/societies/list

This only has clubs that belong to the National Astronomy League, so there are many more which do not appear on this list. Continue searching google if you don't see one in your area here.



There are several different kinds of telescopes and all of them have some excellent features. Refractors and Reflectors, plus Schmidt-Cassegrain, APO refractors, Mac-Cass, and many more. There are also several mounts to chose from and the mounts are just as important, if not even more important, than the scope is. All of the different scopes and mounts have some features that some people like and do not like.

★ No two eyeballs are the same and the perfect scope for one person might be completely wrong for another person. ★

There is no one scope that is "better" than another, except for all the junk scopes out there, which are all just a waste of money. Never, ever buy from Walmart, Costco, Target, or any other discount store like that. Junk scopes are flooded into the market from those stores. You will be buying nothing but bad optics and plastic. You must buy from a reputable telescope manufacturer or telescope distributor or telescope store. If they don't specialize in telescopes, look elsewhere.

★ If you are new at this, then stay away from anything used from ANY site. If you don't know what you are buying and who you are buying from you will most likely be getting someone else's headache---with no warranty either. Some great deals on used equipment are out there, by people who know how to use and take care of scopes, but if you don't know what you are doing, you might be spending a lot of money on worthless junk. One improper cleaning can destroy a scope. Buyer Beware.



I recommend: http://oriontelescopes.com/

Orion is the very best for value and for customer service too. I have 3 of their scopes and I will only buy from them from now on. My first scope was a manual controlled scope and I am very glad that it was because it forced me to learn where things are in the night skies. Go-To type scopes can be frustrating to use. If you do not have them aligned exactly perfect, they do not find the targets. If you are a beginner, you will be frustrated unless you spring for a GPS Go-To. An object locator is just that---it will locate objects for you (must be aligned first) but an object locator is not a tracking motor. It will not keep the scope on the target. The Orion site has some excellent diagrams and explanations of all types of scopes and mounts.



★ Things to consider are size--can the user lift and transport the scope to the viewing site easily? Does it fit in your car? If not, then it will gather dust in a closet. I recommend a carrying case too so it is protected in storage and transport. Can the viewer reach all the knobs and buttons? I have a long tube large manual refractor and it is very difficult for me to reach the knobs when I am pointed to Zenith. I am not a tall person.



Some people will try to suggest that you get Binnoculars instead of a telescope. That is not a bad idea but at bare minimum you need 10x50 size and you MUST have a tripod for astronomical viewing. Even your pulse will make them shake. My personal preference is a telescope because Binnoculars must be aligned properly at the factory. If they are not, they you see double or triple vision of everything rendering them useless for astronomy. They can easily be bumped out of alignment too, so be very careful.



★ Take your time in making your decision.



★ Don't try to learn everything all at once or you will be overwhelmed and discouraged. Patience is the key to Astronomy.



★ You will need a good star chart program too.

http://www.stellarium.org/

This is great freeware that you can download. Tell it where you are and it will tell you what you see.

I wish you the very best. Enjoy Life



EDIT: EXCUSE ME CAROLINE, but I have owned 2 NEXSTAR scopes and I do know exactly what I am talking about. Speak for yourself. Your ignorance is showing. You dont even mention that you are probably referring to GPS GOTO---even more expensive add on. Plain GOTO, like the one that this person is asking about, must be aligned.