Celestron NexStar 8 SE Telescope

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 41.5 x 24.5 x 13.3 inches ; 51.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 52 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GUFOC8
• Item model number: 11069
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #993 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Telescopes

• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Amazon.com Review Celestron's Nexstar 8 SE telescope combines excellent optics and computerized "GoTo" tracking in a package that's light, portable and affordable. The legendary performance of Celestron's orange tube C8 telescope has been updated with high performance Starbright XLT coatings, and the single arm Nexstar mount now includes Celestron's easy to use "SkyAlign" technology.

Jupiter as seen through the Celestron NexStar 8SE special-edition computerized telescope.

The Nexstar 8 SE upholds Celestron's reputation for quality optics. When I use an 11mm Plossl eyepiece (almost 200x magnification) for example, I can easily see the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings. When I look at Jupiter, the pale orange color of Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot is visible, and I've even been able to identify the polar caps and spot dust storms on the planet Mars. A 20mm Plossl eyepiece (about 100x magnification) is a good choice for viewing galaxies and star clusters. When I look at globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules the high contrast XLT optics show me a glowing snowflake made of hundreds of tiny pin-point stars! And a low power 32mm Plossl eyepiece is a good choice for views of larger deep space highlights like the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula.

The moon seen through the Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope. (See larger image.)

Celestron's patented "SkyAlign" system makes the Nexstar 8 SE very easy to use. I just pick the nearest town from the built-in list, enter the date and time, and point the telescope at three bright stars. I don't need a star chart because "SkyAlign" identifies the stars for me. When I just want a quick look at the moon or a planet, I like to use the "Solar System Align" option. After entering the date and time, I just point the telescope at the moon and press the "Align" key. That's all it takes, the computer takes over and the telescope begins tracking quietly and accurately. At star parties I often have my Nexstar up and running while older computerized telescopes are still waiting for their alignment stars to appear in the twilight.

The Nexstar 8 SE comes with a simple red-dot finder scope and a basic 25mm eyepiece. You'll want to add a few good eyepieces to take full advantage of the Nexstar 8 SE's excellent optics. At the very least get Celestron's bargain priced Accessory Kit which includes high and low power plossl eyepieces, or treat yourself to some top rated Tele Vue eyepieces. At twenty-four pounds total weight, the Nexstar 8 SE is unusually light and portable for an eight-inch telescope. The drawback of course is that some people will find it too light. Like other Schmidt Cassegrain (SCT) telescopes there are plenty of optional accessories to upgrade this telescope with, such as heavy duty tripods and an optical finder scope. If you want to try astro-photography, however, check out Celestron's CPC 800 Telescope which features a heavy duty mount and tripod and an 8x50 optical finder scope right out of the box. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Excellent optics
• Easy computerized GoTo tracking
• Light, portable and affordable

Cons:

• Plastic accessories
• Short battery life
• Too light for astro-photography

Product Description

Advanced computerized telescope has a large 8" aperture and sophisticated Schmidt-Cassegrain optics so you can see deep into the universe with incredible brightness and clarity. See 40,000 stars, planets, clusters, galaxies, nebulas and more with the press of a button. Simply use the backlit LCD hand control to select an object from the built-in database and watch the telescope automatically move and point at the object. The database has more than 40,000 of the best deep sky sights, plus you can add 200 user-definable objects of your own. Acclaimed SkyAlign technology and a StarPointer finderscope let you align the scope in minutes. The large 8" aperture combines with Schmidt-Cassegrain optics and StarBright XLT enhanced high-transmission lens coatings for ultra bright, razor sharp, high contrast images. Sturdy altazimuth mount and patented single fork arm ensure smooth, effortless movement. It weighs only 33 lbs., and the pre-assembled tripod, quick-release optical tube and fast no-tools set up make it easy to take it wherever the viewing is best. You can update your telescope's software via the Internet. The NexRemote telescope control software and a RS-232 cable allow you to control the scope via your computer (software and cable included). Also includes a 25mm 1.25" eyepiece, accessory tray and The Sky planetarium software with printable sky maps. Uses 8 AA batteries (not included). 40,000 stars, planets, galaxies and more at the press of a button order your Celestron 8SE telescope today! Guaranteed Holiday Shipping Cut-Offs for this product are as follows: Standard Ground Shipping: 12/15/09 3:00 p.m. (PST) 2nd Day Air: 12/17/09 3:00 p.m. (PST) Overnight Delivery: 12/18/09 3:00 p.m. (PST)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice scope, but please read about customer service., January 23, 2007

By	R. Bunch (Henderson, Nevada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The five stars represent my opinion about the scope. I'm a novice at astronomy, so I can't really make any comparisons. I can tell you, however, that this scope does everything I've ever read about it. I pulled it out of the box and put it together and it went to work just the way the book said. I've done some solar viewing and a little digital astrophotography. My major purpose for this scope is in the area of deep-sky astrophotography without spending multiple thousands of bucks. It may be a little overkill for a novice like myself, but I wanted a scope that I wouldn't outgrow, and one that is easy to accessorize. The only thing I can nit-pick on this scope is the motor drives on the mount. They work fine, but they make a little too much noise, and the sound indicates to me that the gear train is not high quality components. It does seem to run very smooth, though! And accurate, every time! If YOU take the time to accurately set it up and aim it, then IT will put what ever you ask for right in the middle of your field of view. The battery holder is a little tight on the 2000mah NiMH AA batteries that I bought for it, but since I plan to use the AC adapter I bought for it, that's not really a big problem. I wish Celestron had designed the bubble-level INTO the base of the mount rather than just leave it loose for the user to install with the double stick tape on it's bottom. I bought a larger level from an RV store and epoxied it to the top of the battery cover. It seems to be very accurate and my alignment seems to work every time. I recommend a good variety of eyepiece filters, a solar filter for the main aperture, a 45deg. upright diagonal, and several eyepieces to cover the range from about 4mm to 32mm. Zhumell and Celestron both offer good filter/eyepiece sets at very good prices here on Amazon. For the astrophotographer, there's a whole world of accessories to chose from for this scope, and this is where I learned just how bad Celestron's customer support is! A lot of accessories out there state they are compatible with the Celestron C8 and 8i scopes, but this 8SE is so new that it isn't mentioned very often. I was concerned about the differences in the three 8" scopes, so I submitted an inquiry to Celestron's customer support, asking for a description of the differences in the C8, 8i and the new 8SE scopes. After four days they closed my ticket without answering my questions, so I submitted another request. After 14 days there was no response. I called them and the fellow I talked to had to put me on hold three times for about ten minutes each while he went to ask someone for answers. Shouldn't they man the tech-support phones with people that know the differences in their own products? All I was asking is if the visual back from a C8 will fit the 8i and 8SE, and if the solar filters for a C8 will fit the 8SE. He didn't know! I just hope my scope doesn't break because their tech support is less than helpfull. [...]. Just don't expect Celestron to be there for you without a lot of prodding.
By the way, for anyone considering this scope, the best info I've found is that all of the eyepiece accessories that will fit the rear cell of the C8 will also fit the 8i and the newer 8SE. The Celestron tech had to go actually test fit a visual back from the C8 to an 8SE to find out! He did say that any filters for the main aperture (the big end where light enters) of the C8 will not fit the 8i or 8SE! There was a significant dimension change made there.
I hope this helps eliminate the frustration I had in selecting and buying any accessories that anyone buying this scope may have. Happy star-gazing!

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Scope, August 27, 2007

By	V. Farelli (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love astronomy and have to say this was my first real purchase of a telescope. I placed my order and in 2 days my product was at the door. I was shocked how fast it came. I was very excited about viewing the planets and hopefully some deep sky objects. Novice would be the best way to describe my viewing experience. However, I was able to get the scope setup and struggled with the star alignment. Then I used the CD that came with the product and got to know the night sky. Yes I know, read the material first then play but I was like a kid in a candy store and just couldn't wait to start viewing.

I did get the sky align to work and then tested the alignment by having it go to the easiest target in the sky. (The moon). Boom it was center view. In a full moon phase right now so the obvious light polution is tremendous but I was able to view Jupiter and see 3 moons (due to the light conditions it wasn't to detailed). Everything else was bleed out by the moon.

I read the reviews before I purchased and did alot of research on scopes and have to say this one hit the nail on the head. It does take 8 AA batteries to operate and I read someone elses review that the batteries do not last long, so I purchased the power pack along with it.

The power pack was a good idea however, take heed that it plugs into where the scope rotates and if you are not careful you can find that your power cable is getting wrapped around the scope as it rotates.

GPS - I was considering purchasing the GPS but decided that google earth will provide me the Long and Lat just as easy.

Leveling - the little bubble level they give you works fine but make sure you keep track of that little bugger cause it's very easy to loose. They give you some double sided tape which proves to by useless because it throws off the bubble. Don't bother with the tape and just place it on the mount to level it.

Accessory pack - I did purchase the Celestron 94304 Nine-Piece Accessory Kit and feel that was a wise purchase. You get the barlow scope, some filters and my son loves the "shakey flashlight" (what he calls it).

Motors - Yes the motors are just a tad noisy but not that bad. It lets you know that it's working :). It tracks very well.

Mounting your scope: Do not make the same mistake I made and just slide it into it's mount and not pay attention to the vertical alignment. Make sure you mount it far enough in so that your scope can go vertical without it hitting the angle lens and preventing it from hitting it's target.

Finder Scope: Very nice- and once aligned works great. I love the red dot LED. It's nice to be able to adjust it's brightness so that it doesn't bleed out what you are trying to target.

Over all. If you are just starting out in astronomy and love to view the night sky. If you ever sat outside at night and wished you owned a telescope because it was a great night to view some planets and deep sky objects. If you were afraid of a telescope because your night sky knowledge was limited. This is the scope for you. I can't say enough good things about it. Not only does it find the stars and planets for me it is also teaching me as it goes.

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Telescope at a Great Price, August 9, 2007

By	Kuldeepsinh Rana (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In brief I was thoroughly satisfied with the quality of the telescope. I havent yet used it much, but in about 2 weeks or so that I have owned the telescope, I have used it each night irrespective of the seeing conditions.
I will divide the entire review into two parts, likes and dislike/want.

Things that I dislike or would want.
Power consumption is really high... I learnt that the very first night. I had to terminate my viewing session in about two hours. I was using brand new Duracell AA battries with a lot of moving. I would have really like if Celestron was a little more direct about the fact that power comsumption is really high, but then again I could have missed it! I would really recommend buying the power tank.
Levelling the telescope is really important and Celestron has even provided with a bubble level. I would have really liked if the bubble was built into the mount.

Things that I like...
In one word... everything else. The optics are really good and I get clear crisp images. The GoTo system, called SkyAlign here, is easy enough to use. I had a little trouble getting it up and running but found a good thread on Cloudynights by MarvinTheMartian and followed everything there to get a really good alignment.

First light Report:
Saw Jupiter with the four moons and it was spectacular. I could even see the clouds of Jupiter. Moon is probably the best target to view, however dont make the mistake I made, see moon on a full moon night without any filter! Its just too bright!
I see from suburban areas, and have a lot of light pollution. Even with all that I was able to see some of the deep sky objects. I have seen M31 and am hoping for some more time and some clear skies to continue viewing.

Portability: Though people may say this is portable, I would not necessarily agree with them. Its not as portable as I would call portable. If you are like me, carrying it around like me, I would recommend buying a carrying case at least for the OTA.

Final Verdict: If money is not the concern, go ahead and buy this telescope. I really loved everything about this telescope and the dislikes are trivial (and hence the 5 star rating). Big aperture will keep me occupied for quiet some time before I move to my next, a 14"!