Celestron 8SE NexStar Telescope

Celestron NexStar 8SE

With 78% more light gathering power than the Celestron NexStar 6SE, the Celestron NexStar 8SE will enable you to see even deeper into the universe. It has some of Celestron’s best and most advanced computerised features, including the revolutionary SkyAlign technology for fast and easy alignment, a sky tour feature to show you the best sights of the night sky particular to your time and location, a database of over 40 000 celestial objects and an easy-to-use hand control. It’s also an excellent telescope for those interested in astrophotography. Whether you are a seasoned astronomer looking for a portable scope with advanced features, or just starting your astronomy adventure and looking for an easy way to enjoy the night sky, the Celestron NexStar 8SE will help you take a closer look.

What will I be able to see with the NexStar 8SE?

• Visible structures in many galaxies from a dark sky site
• Details in nebulas, internal star birth region
• Enke’s division in Saturn’s rings is often visible
• Advanced detail of weather systems of Jupiter and small features of Galilean moons
• Thousands of globular clusters with detail
• Double stars separated by less than 1 arcsec

General Features:

• 8” Schmidt Cassegrain telescope
• The SE range combines the classic heritage of the original orange tube telescopes with the latest state-of-the-art features
• StarBright XLT high transmission coatings come standard
• Quick release fork arm mount, optical tube and accessory tray for no-tool setup
• Celestron’s unique patented single fork arm with integral hand control design provides a rigid and smooth operating structure for the optical tube
• StarPointer finderscope to help with alignment and accurately location objects
• Sturdy computerised Alt-Azimuth mount
• Ultra sturdy steel tripod with accessory tray
• Star diagonal provides a more comfortable viewing position when observing objects that are high in the sky
• Compatible with the Celestron NexImage planetary imager and the Celestron Eyepiece and Filter Kit

Computerized mount features:

• Proven NexStar computer control technology
• 40 000 object database with 200 user-definable objects and expanded information on over 200 objects
• SkyAlign allows you to align on any 3 bright celestial objects, making for a fast and easy alignment process
• Flash upgradeable hand control software and motor control units for downloading product updates over the Internet
• Custom database lists of all the most famous deep-sky objects by name and catalog number; the most beautiful double, triple and quadruple stars; variable stars; solar system objects and asterisms
• Autoguider port for long exposure photography
• Double line, 16-character Liquid Crystal Display Hand Control with backlit LED buttons for easy operation of GoTo features
• NexRemote telescope control software and RS-232 cable included for advanced control of your telescope via computer

• Optical Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain
• Aperture: 203.2mm (8 inches)
• Focal Length: 2032mm
• Focal Ratio: 10
• Finderscope: StarPointer
• Mount: Single fork arm alt-azimuth
• Eyepiece: 25mm
• Magnification: 81x
• Highest useful magnification: 480x
• Lowest useful magnification: 29x
• Limiting stellar magnitude: 14x
• Light gathering power: 843x
• Angular field of view: 0.63°
• Linear field of view (at 1000 yards): 10.06mx
• Optical coatings: StarBright XLT
• Secondary mirror obstruction: 63.5mm
• Secondary mirror obstruction by area: 9.8%
• Secondary mirror obstruction by diameter: 31.3%
• Slew speeds: Nine speeds: 5°/sec, 3°/sec, 1°/sec, 64x, 16x, 8x, 4x, 1x, 0.5x
• Optical tube length: 432mm
• Telescope weight: 10.89kg
• Tripod and mount weight: 4.08kg
• Tracking modes: Alt-Az, EQ North and EQ South
• Alignment procedures: SkyAlign, Auto 2-Star Align, 1-Star Align, 2-Star Align, Solar System Align
• Software precision: 24 bit, 0.08 arcsec calculations
• Communication ports: RS-232 communication port on hand control, Autoguider port, Aux port
• CD Rom: NexRemotev 1.6.14 and “The Sky™” Level 1
• Tracking rates: Sidereal, solar and lunar

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Schmidt-Cassegrain: a type of telescope that combines both lenses and curved mirrors to collect and focus light .

Aperture: the size of the main mirror that collects light. The higher the aperture, the fainter the stars that can be seen

Focal length: the distance between the centre of the mirror and the point of it being focused by the eyepiece – the higher the focal length, the greater the magnification.

Focal ratio: focal length divided by aperture.

Magnification: a calculation of the focal length of the telescope over the focal length of the eyepiece.

Eyepiece: a removable lens that is used to look through a telescope. The size of the eyepiece is used to determine the magnification. For example, a large eyepiece (32mm) will give you lower magnification, a small eyepiece (4) will give you higher magnification

Alt-azimuth mount: a mount that allows movement in altitude (up and down) and azimuth (side to side).

Optical coating: a thin layer of material on an optical component such as a lens or mirror which alters the way in which light is reflected or transmitted.

Finderscope: a low-power scope attached parallel to the main telescope, which provides easy telescope aiming.

Highest useful magnification: the highest visual power a telescope can achieve before the image becomes too dim for useful observing.

Lowest useful magnification: the lowest power usable from a dark sky observing site. An eyepiece with still lower power has an exit pupil (the beam of light coming out of the eyepiece) larger than the pupil of your eye.

Limiting stellar magnitude: the faintest star you can see with a telescope (under excellent seeing conditions). The limiting magnitude is directly related to aperture, where larger apertures allow you to see fainter stars.

Angular field of view: the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. The angular field of view is that viewed by the instrument in square degrees.

Linear field of view: a ratio of lengths and refers to the area that can be observed at 1,000 yards.

Photographic resolution: how close dark and light lines can be to each other and still be visibly differentiated.

Secondary mirror obstruction: a secondary mirror is required to send the light from the main mirror to the correct position for viewing. This mirror and its holder obstruct some of the light entering the telescope.

Slew speeds: the speed that the controller moves the telescope. Speeds are calculated to accomplish specific functions.

Tracking rates: in addition to the Earth’s rotation, the computed tracking rates take many additional factors into account such as the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, the Moon’s orbit around the Earth, and an object’s position relative to the horizon.