The Celestron NexStar Telescope is a user friendly scope perfect for amateurs and experts alike. Read our review to learn more.
The Celestron NexStar telescope is this company’s first real foray into computerized stargazing–and it’s a success by just about every standard.
Viewing the night sky with a Go-To device or a tracking mechanism can be difficult to get the hang of–some software and hardware just isn’t very user-friendly. But the NexStar is a different story all together. This is surprisingly user-friendly, incredibly powerful, and just a whole lot of fun, to boot.
Celestron is the manufacturer of some of the industry’s top telescopes, so it’s no wonder that this series of models is up there with the best of them.
Suitable for beginners, intermediates, and experts alike, the NexStar is a worthy addition to the optics industry’s computerized collection. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Celestron NexStar Telescope Review
This is a new era for telescopes. Gone are the days when you had to manually search out celestial bodies in the night sky. Today, computerized devices can find those bodies for you. With just the press of a button, you can be whizzing around the galaxy, learning about different constellations and planets.
The Celestron NexStar is a great place to join the modern telescope age. These scopes are beyond user-friendly, reasonably priced, and as powerful as they come. There are an endless number of reasons to check them out, and no real reason not to.
The NexStar series features two separate collections:
The SE line was the first of the two to show up on the shelves. It features a range of telescopes that spanned a great price spectrum–$500 to $1,200–providing the perfect optics for every level of astronomer. These computerized telescopes can be used with glee by an expert, yet can still be operated by a complete novice–that’s how friendly the user-interface is.
The SLT collection was introduced later with the purpose of providing ultra-high quality telescopes with computerized technology to everyone, even those on a tighter budget. New advances in scope-building technology have allowed Celestron to sell SLT telescopes for as little as $400.
Both the SE and the SLT offer amazing features that can’t be beat, including:
- StarBright XLT High Transmission coatings for maximum clarity
- Computerized hand control with 40,000 pre-loaded night sky objects
- Flash upgradable handset
- Planetarium software–“The Sky”–with maps, images, and object locations
- NexRemote telescope software for tracking brilliance
These are, in short, some of the best computerized telescopes on the market, especially given their affordable price tags and extra special features.
That said, there are some drawbacks with the NexStar’s design. The biggest issue is the battery life. Celestron’s customer service department–which is top-notch, by the way–will tell you only to use the batteries as an emergency back-up, but if you go out into the wilderness for a peek at the night sky, you really don’t have much of a choice, do you?
Sadly, 8 AA batteries in the NexStar won’t even last you a single viewing. We’re talking 20-30 minutes here. One option for countering this is to use your car as a power source; otherwise you’re better off keeping it at home.
Another issue that has arisen from time to time is computer malfunction. This really isn’t a very widespread problem, but enough people have experienced NexRemote breakdowns that it should be mentioned. Fortunately, customer service will take care of it very quickly.
Celestron NexStar Telescope Customer Reviews
To give you a better idea about your compatibility with the NexStar series, take a look at what real consumers have said about their design and performance.
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Celestron NexStar Telescope: Summary
The Bottom Line — These are high-quality, high-tech, high-performing telescopes that have to be seen to be believed. Poor battery life aside, there isn’t much about these models to complain about. These come very highly recommended indeed!
Amazon.com Has the BEST Prices on These Celestron Telescopes
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