I got my Celestron 130 SLT last month and am extremely happy with it. For the price, it’s a great scope and the goto software was pretty easy to get the hang of. The sky mapping software that comes with the scope is also a great help and easy to use. A few caveats: Buy the AC power cord….otherwise you’ll need new batteries every night. You’ll need to reset the date/time on the goto computer every night…..it doesn’t remember date/time between uses. It takes a few tries to get proficient with the three star align….it works pretty well, but you need to make sure you’ve setup your location and the date/time correctly. This scope isn’t weighted and is very light. This causes it to shake a LOT when you touch it (i.e. when you’re focusing). It takes a few seconds for it to stabilize after any adjustment. Some people weight the tripod tray to add stability. The focuser could have a finer adjustment. It takes a very steady hand to get optimal focus. The scope doesn’t come with a Barlow lens, which is a necessity for this scope. You’ll want to get one right away. The scope does have a 2″ eyepiece adapter, which is unusual and a really nice feature on a starter scope such as this. It’s worth buying a 2″ eyepiece for wide views. I didn’t find the NexStar PC driver software very useful (after buying the $15 cable to use it). Instead, I downloaded a trial version of the pricey NexRemote software, which allowed me to operate the scope from my laptop much more easily. These caveats are all very minor, as this is a solid scope with better optics and software than the alternatives. In short, the scope was way better than cheap toy scopes I’d used and all reviews I read said it had great optics for the price with very few problems/annoyances. I got a great view of Jupiter and its moons the first night I used it. After I got the hang of it, I started checking out Messier Objects, including the brighter galaxies and nebulae, which are easily recognizable with this scope. I’m extremely pleased with it and I’m very glad I got this scope instead of comparable competing scopes, which all seem to have serious issues per the various reviews I’ve read.
Rating: 5 / 5

I received this telescope about a month ago. It is easy to use and works well. The 2 lenses that come with the scope allow you to begin checking things out in the sky, but there are a few more things needed. 1- A filter kit (at least one filter for the moon. It’s too bright to look at without one). 2- 2X Barlow Lens. This will double the magnification of the lenses you have.

Also, this scope needs maintenance. The mirrors must be perfectly collimated (lined-up) on an F5 scope. (The lower the focal ratio, the more precise the collimation must be, and F5 is low.) My scope needed collimating right out of the box. The scope does not have to be shaken hard to knock the mirrors off of angle or alignment. This requires tools and some mechanical ability. Get info online or visit local stores that sell reflector scopes. I paid $200 for my set of collimating tools (Sight Tube, Cheshire and Autocollimator). For this scope to work properly, this maintenance must be done regularly.

PS- This scope is a Newtonian Reflector type.

Rating: 5 / 5

This may be a wonderful telescope. It is difficult for me to know since I have never been able to use mine. It was purchased, along with the Celestron eyepiece set and NexImage Camera for around $700.00 in September of this year.

The first scope had to be returned to Celestron because the tracking motor would not function on the day that I unpacked it.

After 4 weeks, I received the new scope.

The motor works but it will not track. I am unable to get the scope to align.

That covers the telescope. But the real problem is in the customer service. My first mistake was to send the scope in for repair. Because of the time involved, a refund becomes virtually impossible.

So now I am stuck with a $700.00 white elephant that Celestron wants me to send back to them again for further repairs and a further 4 weeks of waiting.

If you have to have this telescope, then buy it from Amazon so that you have the protection that I DO NOT have. I screwed myself on this deal because I trusted Celestron to be an honest company with quality products.

If you buy Celestron, make sure that you protect yourself.
Rating: 1 / 5

I have revisited my review and dropped 1 star after owning this scope for 2 years now. The 1 star drop to 4 stars is due to the azimuth [horizontal] motor acting erratically now. It will slow down as if it is binding somewhere, then speed way up for periods. Contacting service had me running various basic tests, but all failed, so they gave me an RMA number to send back for repairs. I have decided to wait for winter to return the mount so I won’t “miss” it for the 3-4 months of coldest weather, but now being out of warranty, I’ve no idea how much this repair will cost. I will update this review again after the repair. In any case, since I don’t use it all that much, I’d have expected this scope to last a lot longer before this sort of thing happened.

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(Original Review starts here)

I have now owned this telescope for 4 months, using it (so far) exclusively on upper Manhattan… yes, NYC! So my experience so far is with the moon and planets. For this, it’s a great telescope, bringing out many details quite nicely. Set up was quick and easy to understand. Once set up, I did notice a little tweaking on the alignment [mirror collumation] was needed, and after some indoor alignment, followed by “bright-star” fine tuning, this telescope’s fine optics came into full display.

The 2 eyepieces that come with the scope are quite good, but it was with my 7mm Nagler eyepiece that Saturn’s rings shone fine, and Jupiter’s cloud bands popped right out!

Now, the few caviats: This scope is not good on a windy day as it is prone to vibrations! Vibrations induced from touching the scope to focus quickly disappear so, for normal use, it’s quite tolerable. As to the “goto” system: If you’re going out just to spot the moon or planets, use the “solar system” alignment. It’s quick and only takes one planet or the moon to align. 3-star alignment for multiple object gazing is a bit trickier, but here’s the two secrets: The tripod comes with a built-in bubble level. USE IT! If your scope is not level, alignment will fail. Also, make sure your watch is accurate! If you enter the time and it’s more than 30-45 seconds off, again, alignment will fail!

Take the time to set up the telescope carefully first [yes, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but once you’ve memorized it, it goes quickly. Yes, you’ll have to “fiddle” with their battery compartment cover, but it will pop into place when you’ve got the 2 battery holders in the right position. Finally, get yourself a really GOOD eyepiece somewhere in the range of 5-8mm for truly spectacular lunar and planetary views. Be prepared to spend $150-$300 for that eyepiece, but then you’ll experience this scope’s full optical potential!
Rating: 4 / 5

The optics are good, but the software and the tech service are terrible. I ordered the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT based on glowing reviews I had read. It arrived promptly and was easy to assemble. I was easily able to align the view finder with the main optics, which seemed to be very good. But I was totally unable the align the computer. I made a dozen attempts after entering and re-entering the necessary information and entering the position of various triplets of widely spaced stars, but the computer kept telling me that alignment had failed. I attempted one call to tech service, but was on hold for half an hour before I gave up. I emailed tech service regarding my problem, and received an automatic acknowledgement, but absolutely no further contact over a two week period. Amazon allowed me to return the scope as defective, and even paid the return shipping. So Celestron was terrible, but Amazon was great.
Rating: 1 / 5