The Celestron Nexstar is the most popular and commercially successful telescope ever, and with good reason. They are perfect for curious amateurs that want something they can grow with as they explore the sky. It can be a little daunting to pick one though. Right now, Celestron manufactures 13 different versions of the scope.
These are broken into three sub-collections: SLT, SE, and Evolution. We don’t regularly stock the NexStar SLT collection, we find that there are some better alternatives at that price point. The NexStar SE and NexStar Evolution series are both excellent.
The Nexstar SE series is made up of 4”, 5”, 6”, and 8” optical tubes. These are instantly recognizable because of their orange paint job. This is a nod back to the original C8 tubes that drove Celestron’s early success. The NexStar SE series come with computerized mounts, good quality eyepieces, and great quality optics. All of these scopes will stand up well to quality eyepieces and high magnification. They’re ideal for viewing the moon and will show great detail on the planets (Cassini division in the rings of Saturn, bands on Jupiter). The 6” and 8” will also introduce you to deep sky objects like open clusters, globular clusters, and some galaxies. We love the Celestron NexStar 6SE for it's portability. We love the Celestron NexStar 8SE for it's extra aperture. We can't recommend them highly enough.
The NexStar Evolution expands on the capabilities of the NexStar SE series by adding a rechargeable battery and wifi to the mount and tripod. They also come with an upgraded eyepiece. The Evolution is available in 4 varieties as well, 6”, 8”, 8” with HD optics, and a 9.25” optical tubes. Like the SE, these scopes handle higher magnification and work well with good quality eyepieces. They offer beautiful views of objects in our solar system and beyond.
The computerized nature of these scopes solved one of the biggest problems that new astronomers encounter. They draw from a database of 40,000 objects to automatically identifies new targets based on time and location.
They’re also well supported by a series of accessories from battery packs to GPS units to wifi adapters to autoalign accessories to solar filters. It’s easy to tailor these scopes to your specific needs. Out of the box it’s easy to take basic pictures with a cell phone. They’re capable of some very fine planetary astrophotography, and with a wedge they can be adapted to long-exposure or deep-sky astrophotography.
We think that the Celestron NexStar telescopes are often the best telescope for someone looking for their first serious or computerized telescope. We have the best in-stock selection in Canada here. Give us a call or send us an email if you’d like some help choosing a scope. We’re a website with a personal touch. We’re always happy to help.