StarSense Explorer 8-inch Smartphone App Enabled Dobsonian Telescope

This is a FANTASTIC DOB telescope! I recommend this wholeheartedly and without reservation. This is a great DOB telescope. I would like to tell you about it here. First things first - the StarSense application is tremendously fun and educational for exploring the sky (as is SkySafari - consider this app if you have a non-StarSense scope). I bought one the smaller StarSense reflector scopes to test the app. After using it, I was sold on the platform and looked forward to getting the DOB. The StarSense app is amazing. It will not only point out MANY celestial objects, but it will provide written facts and oral descriptions on the more commonly observed objects. It is highly educational and entertaining. It also provides an interactive map of the sky as you gaze. Think of it this way - you have a mini planetarium on your scope. How great is that? It helps you aim the scope while also providing information about the object you are viewing and the surrounding objects. You can pick from a star map or enter the celestial object you want to view in a search bar. The app has an option to go red to preserve the acclimated eye. It was easy to align and work. The StarSense app is an utterly fantastic way to enhance the stargazing experience!! (Note: I had one phone work PERFECTLY with the app, and another phone did not work on the first night out. Later, I turned location services on and that fixed my problem - both phones worked well. Celestron keeps a list of StarSense confirmed compatible devices on their website if you want more info. It looks like the StarSense app is widely compatible. Frankly, I would buy a phone just to use this app). The DOB is sturdy. It is super solid and I am sure it will last for years to come. I had no problems with assembly. If you go for the 12 inch (you Viking!), be sure to wear gloves or otherwise be very carefully when installing the primary mirror (from what I have read, the 8 and 10 inch come with the primary installed). But overall, it comes together easily. And, if you do go for this - a laser collimator is super handy. And this thing was a breeze to collimate. Images were crisp and clear! The base is surprisingly smooth. I was concerned, given the weight of the 12, that it would be difficult to control and move. That was an unfounded concern. It moves smoothly, and with the nicely placed front handle, you can keep objects centered easily. Slewing is a pleasure on this DOB. The scope is well balanced. But keep in mind, as you swap eyepieces and change accessories (starfinders, lasers, et al) the balance can change and become front heavy. This is no problem. There is a very well done tensioning knob that will keep you level and still. You can also purchase dobsonian weight magnets if you prefer to manually balance the scope. I do not think that is necessary right now - the tension system gets a chef's kiss from me. Image quality is fantastic if you have the right eyepieces (or filters if you are in to that). Physics dictates this result, given the light gathering power of the primary. It is amazing to use a 12 inch aperture. To me, it is worth lugging the weight around. If you are unsure you can handle the bulk of the 12, there is nothing wrong with an 8 or 10! The app is still outstanding and there are plenty dark sky objects to see with the 8 and the 10. You cannot go wrong with any size, in my opinion. I would invite you to treat yourself to some 2 inch eyepieces. These DOBS all accommodate 2 inch eyepieces, and I would recommend the extra money for a nice set. In sum, I highly recommend this DOB if you are in the market for such a telescope. And by using the phrase "in the market", I trust you are familiar with the size and weight of these scopes. But the size and weight are worth the price of admission. And please know, once they are set up they slew with ease. I could move the scope with a pinky and the scope rests firm when left to stand. These DOBs It is by far the best telescope I have ever owned. I would recommend some accessories to enhance your stargazing. I recommend some 2 inch eyepieces (40-23mm), a DOB fan (which Celestron sells for cheap and easily inserts) which will help with great temperature differentials, a laser collimator, a mount to raise the red dot finder up off the scope for ease of use (so you do not have to crane your neck to use it), and a 90 degree starfinder (handy extra - one person can look through the DOB, and another can view the larger sky simultaneously). Just as a sprinter needs quality shoes, your DOB can use some quality accessories, but that is not to suggest this thing is incomplete or lacking in quality. This is a tremendous scope worth every penny. Happy stargazing!

Most astronomers will recommend you start with a 6" or 8" dobsonian. I've had refractors before, but this is my first reflector. I cannot stress enough how enjoyable this scope is to use and view the heavens with. It comes with a decent Omni Plossl in 25mm focal length. I recommend purchasing two additional eyepieces, an 8-12mm, and a 36-40mm. I have a 12mm, a 40mm, and 2x barlow in Omni Plossl fashion to match the 25mm. There are a wide variety of magnifications with these 3 eyepieces and the barlow, for not a lot of money. From 30x, to 200x, I can view a wide range of objects including planets, moon, sun (with a proper filter) and several deep space objects with an apparent magnitude of 10 or lower, quite clearly. Objects higher than 10 will be difficult if you live with city light pollution, but that still leaves thousands of viewable objects. It's not too heavy when carried in two pieces (roughly 25lbs/11kg for the tube, and the mount, each). The starsense app works very well, and on clear dark nights, it is very accurate. With a full moon or cloudy skies, it can be a bit tricky. I highly recommend this scope to anyone that wants a well built telescope, with a helping hand finding objects. It includes a red dot finder if you want to find objects the old fashioned way as well. But for someone like me with astigmatism and poor night vision, the starsense is extremely handy and convenient. Seeing the 8" mirror in the bottom of the tube is a sight to see, I'll include pictures of the scope, as well as several photos I have taken of the moon and some planets. Yes, you can actually do minor planetary and lunar imaging with this scope, even with your phone! In fact, every photo I've included in this review was taken with my Samsung S23, the Nexyz phone mount, and the various eyepieces I mentioned earlier. Take a few videos of the object, turn the videos into an .ser file with PIPP (free software) and stack the frames in Autostakkert (also free) to reveal a stacked image ready for sharpening and color enhancement. I hope this review will help people decide if this scope was right for them, because it was certainly right for me!

I bought this last October and have used it multiple times looking at the moon, a few planets, and I even saw a nebula. I'm a bit of a klutz and I know very little about the stars but I'm learning with this scope. The moon is very bright in the scope because of its high magnification so for viewing the moon you do need a good moon filter. At higher powers it is difficult to keep an object within view but it just takes practice with making very minor adjustments. Aligning the spotting scope with the main scope is quite easy. Collimation of the mirror is also easy with the provided instructions. I've experimented with the StarSense app and my first phone was a cheap one and I was not able to get it to figure out where it is to start using it. I got a new phone and I've been able to align it and I've started using it but have not had a lot of opportunities to do so because of poor weather. I would recommend getting additional eyepieces and filters to go with the scope as they can enhance your ability to view various objects. A strong moon filter is critical to view the moon without blinding yourself with moonlight. I just bought an adjustable moon filter because you can adjust it to filter out quite a bit of light. Now I want a solar filter. I gave the scope 5 stars for portability even though it is a really big and fairly heavy but I knew that when buying it and expected the size and bulk.

There are two significant issues with this scope. First, the Starsense app doesn't work on two recent Android phones that I tried. Celestron tech. support was unable to fix this problem. It does, however, work perfectly with the iPhone X that I bought to use with it. The app is really a joy to use, even allowing one to point to comets when they become visible, for example. I've been using small telescopes (as well as large ones) for over 60 years, and this app brings a whole new ease and excitement to observing. The second issue is that the holes in the telescope tube didn't line up with the holes in the mirror cell when I tried to install the mirror, so I had to drill and tap 6 threads for the screws in the mirror cell. (This would not be a problem in the 10-inch and 8-inch versions of the scope, which come with the mirror already installed.) The eyepieces that come with the scope aren't particularly good. I mostly use an Explore Scientific 11mm eyepiece, but a Celestron zoom eyepiece also works surprisingly well. The directions for collimating the scope are clear, and it comes with an adequate collimation tool. The optics are superb; clouds in the atmosphere of Saturn are particularly impressive, as one example. The assembly of the mount is straightforward, and the mount is heavy but fairly easily carried by a reasonably healthy adult. The optical tube assembly is quite heavy. Although it comes with a handle installed for carrying, I've found that a Dobsonian strap (such as the one sold by High Point Scientific) helps a lot. I also purchased a cart for transporting the scope over significant distances. Overall, I'm happy with the scope, except for the two issues mentioned at the top of this review. If you're just starting out in astronomy, however, I'd recommend purchasing a smaller Starsense scope, with the warning that the app might not work with an Android phone.

This telescope exceeded my expectation. I'm new to the hobby. My fist telescope was a Meade LX-90 8" SCT goto telescope. Its awesome but it takes me 30 to 45 min to set up level the tripod home position the telescope etc. The Celestron 8" dobsonian was a breeze to set up. The starsense software worked great and it was pretty easy first time set up. The starsense software is pretty accurate but as my viewing evening progressed it got further off. I'm sure with experience I will be better able to use this software. Its great for beginners like me who don't know the night sky. It gives you "tonight's best" objects that can be found and viewed easily. I see such bad reviews on the 25mm lens included with the telescope. I have a top of the line 31mm Nagler. The 25mm Celestron plossl to me looked every bit as good as my 31mm Nagler! Stars could be focused to pinpoints and the clould layers of Jupiter easily seen equally as well with both lenses to me as a beginner. No the Plossl didn't have the 82 mm field of view as the Nagler but still impressive to me. The 8" dobsonian has 1200 mm focal length and was not so sensitive to vibration compared to the 2300 mm focal length of my 8" Meade LX-90. Manually I could easily point to stuff and keep it centered much better than I expected. I could also move my new Dobsonian Telescope and the the starsense software compensated and didn't have to be recalibrated unlike the LX-90. You will not be disappointed if you buy this telescope.

Best goal I ever had awesome views in unbelievable sights. One problem though my camera on my phone has broken, so I can't use the telescope right now. But you will not be disappointed.

$1000 for something made with particle board. Not even real wood.

I LOVE this telescope! It's so easy to use, and the images are very, very good. I can see Galaxies, Nebula, start clusters! I did do a modification to the stand by adding leveling shop wheels to it to make it easier to move it on cement from my garage to my driveway. I bought the kind that has crankable feet, and you can crank the feet back up into the caster frame, so that it allows the wheels to move. I bought those here on Amazon. That was a game changer for cement moving. I also added a rubber, removable door ramp to match the lip size of my garage, and skateboard shock absorbtion pads to each wheel where it meets the stand wood. This is my FAVORITE Telescope! I also have a Skywatcher refractor.