Celestron Nexstar 8SE Computerized

great product

As a newcommer to astronomy I did a lot of reading prior to purchasing the Nexstar 8SE. I am more than impressed with its capabilities and set up is a breeze. With the luxury of an almost unpolluted sky I was amazed at the clarity of Jupiter and its 4 nearby moons.

Potent Scope on A Lightweight Computerized Mount [Update 07/07/2009]

The NexStar 8SE makes a larger telescope portable with computer guidance than any other package. It does a lot, works well, and is reasonably priced.

Great. Light. Easy to use. Magnification smaller than expected

Easy to use. Really clear picture. I live in the city and I still enjoy great images. Magnification: images on celstron.com are a bit misleading as you do not get Saturn or Jupiter to fill the frame and I have a 2x barlow, and a tele-extender...

Look elsewhere if you're more than a casual hobbyist

The Celestron Nexstar 8SE is a powerful telescope, but if you take this hobby seriously, you'll be pulling your hair out at the terrible mount it comes with. As you can imagine, a plastic mount does not have the stability to do any kind of photography beyond the moon.

NexStar 8SE

Seems OK but cannot use it completely because they supply an obsolete connect from the PC, and we must purchase, separately, from Celestron, a USB - to - their - obsolete - connector.for a semi-modern PC.

Celestron Nexstar 8 SE

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the mysteries of the universe, and captivated by the glimpse it presents of itself via the nighttime sky. For the most part, "naked eye" and binocular observation, have satisfied my visual cravings, but every so often I would wonder how much...