Celestron NexStar 5 SE Telescope
- 5-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope; StarBright XLT high transmission coatings come standard
- StarPointer finderscope to help with alignment and accurately locating objects
- Quick-release fork arm mount, optical tube, and accessory tray for no-tool setup
- SkyAlign allows you to align on any three bright celestial objects, making for a fast and easy alignment process
- Nearly 40,000-object database with 200 user-definable objects and expanded information on over 200 objects
Product Description
Includes Celestron NexStar 5 SE Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope NexRemote Telescope Control Software RS-232 Cable.Amazon.com Review
Celestron's NexStar 5 SE computerized telescope combines excellent optics and easy computerized GoTo tracking in a convenient portable size. The standard equipment tripod and mount feature easy no-tool setup, and the package even includes a student version of "The Sky" planetarium software for your computer. The excellent optics of Celestron's classic C5 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope have been updated with premium Starbright XLT optical coatings. This telescope consistently delivers crisp, high contrast views of the moon, the planets, and brighter deep space objects. The standard equipment 25mm plossl eyepiece produces a magnification of 50x, powerful enough to show the rings of Saturn, the cloud bands of Jupiter, and the changing face of the Lunar disk. Optional eyepieces can be added to bring out significantly more... More >>
Nice… wish I lived under a blacker sky. My only complaint is that I wish the controller display was large-format TFT LCD for my tired old eyes. Otherwise, love it.
Rating: 4 / 5
I have nothing new to add to the reviews already online. The included software will not load on my computers, after making contact with Celestron I found a new release is in the works. The telescope optics are all I thought they would be. If I was intrested in deep sky I would have ordered a larger unit for the increased light gathering, but for planets and casual star gazing it is fine. My choice was between physical size and portability. I find this unit to fit my needs perfectly.
Rating: 5 / 5
Since I was new to Astronomy I selected a scope that I thought would meet my early needs and not be too complicated. The 5 SE scope has been a great purchase for me. My only stumble was telling the NexStar computer I used EST time instead of the Standard time we use during the winter. I couldn’t align the scope which was frustrating. Once I figured out this bonehead move it’s worked flawlessly since. Its ruggedly made and gives you a since that this is a quality telescope. Looking back I would probably buy a slightly larger Celestron scope (perhaps a six or eight inch scope) as this would give me additional, future, options as I build my skill set. Nonetheless this is a quality instrument and I know I’ll spend more time outside with it once the weather warms a bit. The entire family has enjoyed including my three year old granddaughter…you should have seen her face once she saw the moon up close!
Rating: 4 / 5
It was cold as heck out, but I’ve owned my Celestron NexStar 5 SE telescope (my first scope) for three days now and the sky was fairly clear; so out I go. I whip through the Sky Align auto alignment process and then ask the telescope to show me Saturn (FYI: I had already aligned my finder scope during the day, something I highly recommend). There it was, rings and all, as advertized near the center of my eyepiece. Awesome!! I took a quick peak at Mars and then went back inside before my fingers fell off from frostbite. I am hooked!
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a very nice telescope. I have been using it the past week and have viewed the Moon, Venus, Jupiter. Overall the optics are excellent. But there are a few issues, which had I known earlier I may not have purchased this scope.
1. Celestron advertises that the scope can be used with 8 AA batteries. This is not completely true. The batteries drain very quickly and will probably not even last one viewing session (say 30 mins).
2. Without power the telescope cannot be moved along the azimuth (left-right direction). So you cannot use it at all.
So essentially if you want to take this telescope out of the city to some dark sky location you have to buy a powertank (or maybe run it off your car). I would have liked a design that allows me to use the goto feature when I want it but still be able to slew the telescope manually, without power.
Why do I still give it 3 stars. Well, Celestron tech support is very responsive (over e-mail). The telescope itself is excellent (optically). I have gotten very good views of planets. It has been a little too cloudy and light polluted (I live in a city) for me to try seeing nebulae.
Details:
The DC motors that slew the telescope are very sensitive to the voltage and current of the power supply. If you use the telescope for 20-30 minutes after that the batteries drain down and the scope becomes unusable (till you replace the batteries of course). Celestron tech support told me that they recommend using the battery only as an emergency back up!!! Strange that they don’t mention on their website that batteries are only for “backup” and you have to run the telescope on wall socket, or a “power tank”.
Rating: 3 / 5