Celestron NexStar 6SE Computerized Telescope

Bought a NexStar 6 SE back in December 2012. Used often and it is a brilliant scope. The 23″ eyepiece provided is excellent, very clear. Very easy to set up and transport to viewing sites as well. I would highly recommend it.

Things to note:

You dont need a carry case, just get a $20 plastic box big enough to fit the bottom half of the packing it comes in, get one wide enough that you can fit in the Power Tank you will need as well – DO NOT USE BATTERIES.

Consider some kind of heater – i have a ‘shade’ that wraps around the top of the scope with a heater attached to stop glare in the area, and kill off any dew if that is an issue where you are (rarely for me in the Caribbean)- powered again by the Power Tank.

Use the auto two star align – the three star align is not reliable for some reason, always off target when slewing. With the two star align, i put the alignment object in the bottom left corner of the eyepiece, hit the button, then move the object right (to bottom center of eyepiece) then up to middle of my eyepiece to center it properly, then hit align button. Do the same when the scope slews to the second alignment object, and voila, your scope will slew to objects and center them in your eyepiece. It may drift out slightly the first time you slew due to play on the gears (it will head to the top of the eyepiece), but one correction and it then seems to track objects accurately for hours.

Overall, the optics are outstanding for a 6 inch, especially with the supplied 23″ eye piece. I bought the celestron accessory kit with the eye pieces/2x barlow and filters and those are slightly darker than the supplied 23″ (still excellent for the price!!). Other members of my astronomy club are jealous of my scope as it is easy to transport, can take all the transportation (Still perfectly collimated after a year of frequent hauling up and down my condo stairs and transport to the sites) and still works like a charm. Excellent bit of kit indeed, and all for $1,000 with the power tank, accessory kit, vibration pads etc. I would say the supplied finder thingy is a bit cheap, and you have to really force it to its lowest setting, but its still working a year later as well, and if needs be, just buy a Telrad. OK, you can get a better 6 inch scope iom sure, but not any where near this price. So 5 stars from me.

The Celestron NexStar 6 SE is an incredible first telescope. I wanted to avoid cheaper scopes and get something that will last a lifetime. This is it. The optics are very good, nice crisp images. The motorized GoTo mount is fantastic for beginners as it makes it very easy for you to find objects quickly and enjoy observing without needing to find them yourself, and it tracks the objects as they move across the sky so you don’t need to. It’s not difficult to use at all as long as you read the manual and follow the on-screen prompts to align the scope, and once it is aligned, you’re off to the races. I’ve seen absolutely stunning views of the Orion Nebula through this, even in my light polluted city back yard. It can be used anywhere, even in a city – you’ll still see a great deal of objects like the planets, moon, star clusters, double stars, and bright nebulae, even a galaxy or two, like Andromeda. Outside of a city, in a real dark site, this scope will reveal so much. I found Neptune, very hard to see, on my second night with the scope. Truly stunning.

A few notes: get a power bank to power the telescope. The AA batteries do not last long. I only keep the batteries in to move the scope back into storage position after it has dried out (it will collect dew) and come to room temperature inside. I recommend the Celestron power banks, despite the price, because they are made for this. Get a dew shield (the Celestron portable roll-up shield is just fine) because SCT scopes are dew magnets, you will need it. And get a couple more eyepieces – the 25mm that’s included is okay, but if you want to see more, I recommend getting a 32mm plossl and an 8-24mm Celestron zoom lens. Both are reasonably priced and will open up what you can see in this scope. Zoom lenses are especially great for beginners to “dial in” the right magnification and get the best views. The included star finder is alright, a little cheap, but it doesn’t matter as long as you align it properly. You only need it for a few minutes to do the initial alignment for GoTo, then you shut it off for the rest of the night, so it’s really not worth the cost of replacement. A couple of filters can help too – Orion Ultrablock for looking at nebulae, and some inexpensive color filters may help with bringing out details with the moon and planets.

Regarding shipping: I suspect this package was mishandled at some point by Amazon. Not long after receiving it, the altitude motor started making strange sounds, and the focuser knob (not the focuser itself) was slightly bent, so I suspect it was dropped. The box even showed a little damage, the visual back of the scope was likely pushed into the cardboard. But Celestron took care of fixing it quickly, for free under warranty, and now it’s perfectly fine.

For beginners considering a more “serious” telescope that 1) is easy to use, 2) will last a very long time, and 3) is portable to travel to dark sites or do quick observing sessions in your back yard, this is a great one to start with. It’s portable enough (with a carrying case) to take almost anywhere, and not too heavy. It’s a quick setup and if you’re following the instructions, it aligns quickly. The hand controller is intuitive and very easy to use as it guides you through every step. If you want more feedback on this scope, check out the Cloudy Nights forum where you can read reviews and first-hand experiences of using it, along with common FAQ.

Highly recommend this telescope. Inspect it when you get it to make sure there are no problems regarding mishandling during shipping. Otherwise, I love it, it really opened my mind to the wonders of amateur astronomy, got me started with a powerful yet easy-to-use telescope, and gave me a great hobby to get outside and enjoy the beauty of the night sky. Just be sure to use it on good, clear, calm nights for stargazing and you’ll get the most out of it.

Good one for those who have aspirations to watch celestial objects..

La serie Nexstar SE ha sido reconocida por muchos años por su excelente relación calidad – precio, y el modelo 6SE no es la excepción. Los materiales de construcción son de la mejor calidad, y destaca la firmeza del tripe para mantener al tubo óptico con la menor vibración posible.

La curva de aprendizaje es aceptable incluso para un principiante, sin embargo yo lo colocaría en una categoria intermedia. La ventaja en este sentido es que el 6SE es uno de los telescopios más usados, por tanto existe mucha información y experiencias compartidas en línea.

La óptica Schmidt – Cassegrain lo hace un excelente telescopio para observaciones planetarias, lunares y solares (con el filtro apropiado). Sin embargo, también da resultados aceptables con objetos de espacio profundo brillantes y de tamaño angular pequeño (nebulosas planetarias, cúmulos globulares, y algunas galaxias).

Finalmente el tamaño del tubo óptico es un excelente equilibrio entre apertura y potabilidad, ofreciendo una buena capacidad de acumulación de luz, sin incrementar demasiado el peso y volumen para transportarlo con facilidad.

En pocas palabras, difícilmente te puedes arrepentir de invertir en este telescopio. Cielos despejados!