Celestron 11049 NexStar 4SE Computerised Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope with Advanced GPS, Astroimaging and AutoAlign Features, Black/Orange

Product Information

The Maksutov-Cassegrain’s optical design offers several unique benefits. Instead of a secondary mirror, theMAK features a “secondary spot” of reflective coating applied directly to the inside of the corrector plate. Because of this, the telescope does not require frequent collimation like a Schmidt-Cassegrain. Also, the secondary spot is significantly smaller than a traditional Schmidt-Cassegrain secondary mirror, giving theMAK its signature high-contrast views. It may not represent the best value for money in the long term, however, considering how power-hungry it is and the additional accessories required to really optimize its capabilities — but that could equally be seen as an opportunity to grow with the telescope as viewing skill and technique evolve. There are more portable options around, but it's a solid build and will make for many enjoyable viewings. If the Celestron NexStar 4SE isn't for you

Become an instant astronomer, even if you’ve never used a telescope before, with the one-of-a-kind StarSense AutoAlign. Just set up the accessory, push the Align button on the hand control, and StarSense begins capturing and comparing images of the night sky against its internal database. In about three minutes, it's gathered enough information to triangulate its position and align itself. Then, press the Sky Tour button: StarSense will automatically slew to all the best stars, planets, galaxies, and more currently visible in the night sky. There are multiple modes for using the SkyAlign system, but we will go only over the two most important ones as you will be using those two most of the time. The Celestron NexStar 4SE is a great telescope for beginner astronomers. That’s because of its portable size and a motorized mount. However, a wide field of view is still desirable for many of the large star clusters, asterisms, and nebulae that a small telescope excels at. Make no mistake – the Celestron NexStar 4SE is really a planetary telescope, and most deep-sky objects either don’t fit in its field of view, or don’t look particularly impressive. And if all you’re looking at is the planets, the Moon, and perhaps a few double stars, how much do you really need GoTo anyway? Accessories with the 4SE So, you’ve realised you want to get more into astronomy and you want to upgrade your telescope. Imagine you don’t know all that much about what to buy, so you’re looking for an all-encompassing, easy to use great computerised scope that can give you those awesome shots you’ve been looking for. Well, you’ve just found that scope! Celestron NexStar 4SE review What are you buying?

GENERAL FEATURES

One of the Catadioptric Cassegrain design’s shared advantages is that you can squeeze long focal lengths into a small telescope tube. Because of the Maksutov Cassegrain design, the 4SE can provide high magnifications. Magnification is calculated by dividing the telescope’s focal length by the eyepiece’s focal length. Therefore the long focal length of the 4SE is a significant advantage if you are looking for a high-magnification telescope to observe planets. This telescope is not perfect for you if you are looking for deep-sky astrophotography of nebulae and galaxies. The red dot finder is also a great accessory, and you will receive a good eyepiece so you can get straight out there and start viewing without having to buy extra new kit on top of the Celestron NexStar 4se. The included 4” primary mirror has enough light-gathering properties to view details on the moon, Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s cloud banks, and even deeper sky objects. Celestron NexStar 4SE Pros and cons! Pros: You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is.

The StellaLyra 8”/ Zhumell Z8/Orion SkyLine 8 offers double the resolving power, quadruple the light gathering area, and a significantly easier to use and more stable mount than that of the NexStar 4SE. You also get a pile of decent accessories included and features like a built-in cooling fan and 2” dual-speed Crayford focuser. Here are two examples of magnification and field of view you can expect from different eyepieces with the Celestron Nexstar 4SE looking Saturn: Jupiter 6mm eyepiece Jupiter 9mm eyepiece What’s the setup process like for the Celestron NexStar 4SE Telescope, and is it user-friendly?So in conclusion this scope requires love to coax it around the heavens. Some night you will stare in awe at the views and its nimble footwork. Others you will bash it into submission as it fights you at every turn to get that elusive object into your field of view. Such is the lot of a low cost goto scope. To know more about the difference between SCT and MAK design, read this article Schmidt Cassegrain vs. Maksutov Cassegrain . What is the main advantage of the Cassegrain Catadioptric design? We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. I would also replace this telescope’s red dot finder with the proper or Telrad finder scope. The red dot finder is, well, a crap toy. It is a good solution for the telescope’s portability. Still, having a DC power adapter with a motorized mount is highly recommended.