The Celestron NexStar is the most popular and commercial 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 NexStar telescope.
These are broken into three sub-collections: SLT, SE, and Evolution. We regularly stock the SE and Evolution series of computerized telescopes.
NexStar SE
This 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 6SE for it's portability. We love the 8SE for it's extra aperture. We can't recommend them highly enough.
NexStar Evolution
The Evolution expands on the capabilities of the 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 Celestron Ecosystem
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 these telescopes are often the best option for someone looking for their first serious or computerized telescope. These are some of the best telescopes in the world because they're easy to use and provide great viewing experiences. We keep NexStar 4SE, NexStar 6SE, NexStar 8SE in stock, along with NexStar Evolution 8 and Evolution 9.25. We also carry a full selection of accessories for telescope. If you are looking to learn more, start with some of our videos!
