Celestron NexStar 130SLT VS StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ 

Of course!

I’m sure he will!

I made my own.

Yes, planets for sure. Nebulae like Orion from the city, much more from dark skies. If cost is a factor, you might look for a used 8 inch Dobsonian.

@@LearnToStargaze i have a few dark fields around me with minimal light pollution. If I decided to purchase this telescope would you recommend any other lenses for what I'm looking to do? I was thinking about buying used however, I have no clue what I'm looing for and I think it would give me a bit of anxiety. Thank you so much for your assistance. I did join my local astronomy club in Princeton, new jersey but I haven't heard back from them yet and I want to get started sooner rather then later. 🙂

@@mustangboy96 Hello, you may want to start by simply upgrading the 25mm eyepiece that came with it to a nicer one of the same focal length. Zoom eyepieces are also fun, but it's best to learn to use the equipment that comes with your telescope before you start upgrading.

@@LearnToStargaze thank you, honestly the way you just put it made more sense to me then all the reading I’ve done. Get used to it first,then upgrade. Thank you

Correct! Same optics. The only accessory I would get would be the 5mm X-cel eyepiece for planets, and a laser collimator (any brand).

@@LearnToStargaze Perfect, thank you!

Have you zoomed in all the way on the “is the camera positioned over the mirror” menu?

No what’s that?

Yes, I zoom eyepiece would do just fine. This scope has an exit pupil of 3mm at 43x, so a 15mm focal length eyepiece should provide the optimum contrast on deep sky objects like galaxies. This is right in the middle of the typically zoom eyepiece range.

Assuming you’re talking about the NexStar 127SLT (which is a Mak telescope), the Mak is far better than the astromaster.

I know you can order basically any motorized telescope mount and it will work, but I’m not sure if you can order the SLT mount in particular without a telescope.

Hi! Probably the 102Dx to avoid the collimation issues with the 130. Clear skies!

​@LearnToStargaze thanks for the advise the collimation issue don't phase me too much I just want a good experience. As for extras would you advise a 2x barlow and a filter pack??

I think so, you may need to work with it to get it balanced.

All telescopes seem to come with a not very good high powered eyepiece (because you don’t use high power very often). These should come with a 25mm plossl eyepiece which works great for most people. See my video about upgrading your eyepieces.

Mainly for stopping down the aperture for looking at the Moon.

Nobody remembers. It's become tradition.

Usually it would say either “APO” (if a refractor) or “astrograph” (if a Newtonian). Sometimes it might say “triplet optics”.

@@LearnToStargaze Thank you for answering!

I think they make a wedge for the SE version. This is the SLT version.

@@LearnToStargaze ahhh. Go figure.

Hi! It’s not really designed to move with the power off (it seems to move in one axis better than the other if there’s no power). But you can skew with manually with the hand controller. It is very easy to disassemble.

@@LearnToStargazethanks for the response. I ordered the non motorized because i want to control it manually and they're pretty much the same scope. I ordered a 30 inch duffle bag to take it as carry on hopefully. Would you recommend me ordering anything with my order besides a laser cullimeter?

Ideally you would pull the Starsense off the 80LT and fix it to a more capable telescope. The Nexstar 80Glt does not seem like it would be very fun, not enough aperture for the goto mount to be worth it.

Hi! I’d go with the 127SLT. The 130 is a Newtonian, it’s quite large and requires collimation. The 127 is much smaller and just works great with no maintenance.

@@LearnToStargaze Thank you John. In a Clestron NexStar 130 SLT video (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wAJR5-COpDc.html), you mentioned that the 130 is a good choice for both deep sky as well as the moon and planets. Would you still recommend the 127 because it is smaller and needs no collimation? Thank you.

@@sureshr23 the slight decrease in size is made up for with an increase in contrast. I’m waiting to hear back from Celestron as to whether they want me to officially review the 127 as well.

RASC accepts members from anywhere. You can join meetings via zoom. Here is their messier certificate: www.rasc.ca/messier-objects

@@LearnToStargaze thanks a lot

I think you’ll be fine.

Difference? It’s the same telescope.

The Dobsonian is not motorized, but has a large aperture. The Se is motorized, but with a small aperture.

Have you tried during the day? I don’t typically use finderscopes, and I’m not a fan of Newtonians on EQ mounts, so that’s probably not a video we’ll cover.

That said, try shifting the base of the finder. That may be the root cause of your issue.

@@LearnToStargaze , finder scope? EQ mount? It’s in the focuser tube and off center

@@kmichaelp4508 Just explaining why I won't be getting that telescope.

@@kmichaelp4508 What do you mean by cross hairs? Cross hairs are only inside a finder scope.

No, and the 114 has been Bird Jonesed. The number is the diameter (aperture).

@@LearnToStargaze Thanks, I have a NexStar 114SLT that I have made an adapter for a 4” solar filter. The OTA for the 114 is just about 5.25” . I was wondering what the size is of the 130 OTA. On another question, can the 130DX reach zenith?

@@markmaxwell2765the OTA is 6 inches wide and reaches 70 degrees above the horizon.

You may have better luck with larger aperture, I’d go with the Mak over the Newtonian if imaging planets is your game. I never had much luck with my Nexstar Camera. Upgraded to a ZWO planetary camera.

@@LearnToStargaze do you have any recommendations for getting better images? I can show you some photos on some app

@@Zemixlol Astrophotography is quite a different hobby than stargazing. The cool thing is, a telescope cameras are cheaper than a DSLR. If you only have $4000 to spend on a Camera, and you want to take pictures of space, you might as well Spend that $4000 on an astronomy camera, and astrophotography grade telescope and mount. See my "I'd start here video for an example". (The only change is that I'd use a Staradventurer GTi instead of an AZ-GTi on a wedge.)

@@LearnToStargaze ? I’m confused I just wanna get good images with planets and be able to see some deep space objects. I’m thinking of getting nexstar 127SLT

That telescope is designed for planet, and genera stargazing. It will not work well for astrophotography.

Yes, any telescope will show a clear view of the moon.

What do you want to take photos of? The Moon would work, but not deep sky objects.

@@LearnToStargaze 130 SLT isnt made for astrophotography and I realised that so I decided to buy the sky watcher adventurer mount (A manual-electric eq mount) and attach the omni az 102 refractor telescope on it. Would that work for deep sky objects?

@@zpcao2396 it might work. Take photos with the telescope at the end of my Omni 102 video. I’d be worried that the telescope is a bit too heavy for the month though.

the issue with that is that it will move a bit?

@@zpcao2396 the issue is that the mount may not be powerful enough to move it once you have a camera and guider attached. The system must be under 11 lbs for that mount, but the scope is also long, so there may be some torques to worry about too.

Yes.

I honestly don’t know which version I like better. They both have their advantages.

Sounds like you’re not selecting the right object during the alignment process.

@@LearnToStargaze definitely am selecting the right object. If you read the reviews on Google Play, I'm far from the only one having problems 2.2 rating. and the sad thing about it is Celestron doesn't answer any of the complaints

To be honest, it is probably a user error. Don’t be offended, there is a learning curve to setting the system up. I can assure you that the StarSense application and the telescope you’re referring to are of good quality and very capable. Customer service aside, is there an astronomical club near you? I suggest that you reach out to them and ask for help. Most clubs have people that are very helpful in getting you set up.

@@markmaxwell2765for sure is, my app is spot on with the 130

Why would the StarSense app need to find the telescope? It doesn’t work like that.

@@LearnToStargaze it does not find the telescope track, in the phone on the app it says that it does not detect the telescope to point the sky, but I point the sky free and it always tells me telescope not found

@@LearnToStargaze I'm typing from Sardinia, Italy, they are definitely telescopes designed to work well in America

Waste of a good telescope.

That’s probably because it needs collimation, like all newtonians. Ironically, of all the telescopes on Amazon, the DX130 one of the best. Amazon reviews give the astromaster 127EQ good reviews, and that’s literally the worst telescope on the market.

I’m a member of an astronomical society in Connecticut. Somebody called us recently asking for help setting up their new Star sense dx130. After I inspected it I saw that It arrived WAAY out of collimation. The secondary was so far off it was only showing half of the primary mirror. After collimation, the brief time I used it the views were very acceptable for a scope of that size. It wasn’t optically junk at all. The mount is a bit shaky but worked as advertised. The starsense app works great also.

@@Dyno05 I forget if I showed it in this video, but the secondary in the DX130 Celestron sent to Dr. Sian Proctor wasn't even connected, it was hanging by a screw. Same with the primary. I literally had to take it apart and fix it. Once that was done, it was a great telescope!

@@LearnToStargaze That’s crazy. What’s up with their quality control lately? I’m a Celestron fan, I have 3 of their SCTs and they are all great but it seems these recent Newtonians are being shipped out in awful shape. The one I worked on had tight mirrors, but secondary was way off, it needed to be rotated and then angle adjustment. The primary was actually pretty square and only needed minor adjustment. The moon and a star field looked great after the collimation. I would have no qualms recommending that scope for new users and for visual use.