Celestron 11069 NexStar 8SE Computerised Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope with Advanced GPS, Astroimaging and AutoAlign Features, Black/Orange

Product Information

This process makes alignment as easy as 1-2-3: just center three bright objects in your eyepiece and press ALIGN. This 8” go-to telescope is a brilliant telescope for beginners and upgrading novices that's easy to set up and use. However, despite many, many complaints, Celestron still doesn’t package the NexStar range with any power cable.

Main mirror focusing means a very large range of focus is made available, which allows virtually any common accessory to be used. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. Large, 8-inch aperture legendary SCT optics with excellent light-gathering ability provides spectacular views of the Moon and planets, along with deep sky objects like the Whirlpool Galaxy and Hercules Globular Cluster. I now manually review all of my images before stacking them, color coding them red/yellow/green by quality.One of the biggest draws to this telescope, aside from the compact, travel-friendly design, is its computerized GoTo functionality. You will be able to clearly examine the likes of Cassini’s Division in Saturn’s rings, the cloud bands and Great Red Spot of Jupiter as well as all of the craters and geographical features of the Moon. Advice from owners is to attach the scope to the single-armed fork first (and on a soft surface like carpet to prevent scratches). The NexStar 8 SE has all the same features as Celestron’s most advanced computerized GoTo telescopes, including our revolutionary SkyAlign™ alignment technology, a sky tour feature, a database of over 40,000 celestial objects and easy to use hand control.

The 8″ telescope has enough aperture to deliver amazing views of the moon, planets, and brighter nebulae and galaxies. There are plenty of reviews around the Internet, so we’ve gathered a sample of views from owners of the NexStar 8SE.Left to right: 1) Bahtinov mask - placed over the telescope’s end, it produces a spiked diffraction pattern around a star that you can use to perfectly focus the telescope. The largest of the NexStar SE family with 78% more light gathering than a 6" model, the NexStar 8 SE will enable you to see deep into the Universe. Incidentally, the Cloudy Nights forums are filled with opinions stating that the 8SE is only good for visual astronomy and planetary imaging.

Because of current weather conditions have not yet done full 3 star alignment but can see no reason why there should be any problems, but cannot at the moment make any comment about the handset. This scope is sturdy and produce nice image and overall the perfect companion for serious observation. The weather has not been friendly, from -30 C nights to consecutive weeks of precipitation and clouds. If it’s planets you’re after, get a decent high-magnification eyepiece too, something in the 10mm or lower range. You need a minimum signal (observable image separate from background noise) to stack, so low exposure times may not have enough detail, even when stacked.The 8SE features the same iconic “orange tube” design but has been updated with all of the latest features to ensure that the user receives the best stargazing experience whether they be an amateur or experienced observer. I may upgrade to an EQ mount for longer exposures, or I may get a lightweight camera-only EQ setup, such as a Star Adventurer. Galaxies are not one of the strong points of the Nexstar 8SE when shooting with an alt-az mount, mainly because your exposures will be 10-15 seconds and you need more signal for the faint structures of galaxies. You simply choose your location from the database, I chose Toronto (close enough), and point the scope at three bright stars. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.