Power Supply problem --a bit disappointing for such an expensive scope
I received this telescope as a gift for Christmas. My husband did much research and purchased the telescope as well as ac/dc and portable power supply.

I was very fortunate that he purchased those external sources of power as the power source using the batteries is faulty. Loaded up 8 brand new batteries and turned on the scope: NOTHING. Thought perhaps they were loaded wrong, removed them and reinserted the batteries. Still nothing. Tried another set of brand new batteries. Still NOTHING.

I have been able to use the scope, it works well on external power, however if the power supply comes loose for even a second, I have to re-align the scope because the battery power supply seem disconnected from the scope. I have tried to call Celestron however, they are on vacation until 1/4/2009. Wonderful. I really don't want to send the scope back for this (which they would cover under warranty I am sure--except they won't pay for shipping).

Very disappointed with this as the scope was pricy.

Excellent Telescope !

When I opened the package I was surprised the quality of the product. I went right away to test it in my first night. Due to Florida's terrible rainy days lately it was mostly cloudy yet I was able to see Mars, Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moon and clouds, even behind a tinted glass! That's how high quality these optics are. Able to gather celestial light even with such terrible viewing conditions.

The eyepiece that came with it(25mm)is of very good quality itself, I bought a an eyepiece set but I still find myself using it a lot. The tracking does drain batteries fast so I had no choice than to upgrade to an AC power supply. Due to high humidity, dew was a problem on the optics, had to buy a dew shield.


To summarize, every penny spent on it was well worth it. This really isn't an entry level telescope so it does cost a lot but it also shows on the quality and what you can see through it.

I definitely recomend buying this telescope if you are serius about astronomy or want a real good telescope.
It's no wonder this is the most popular telescope these days.

~Leonel & Lennier

Awesome telescope
I got this telescope last year because Celestron was having a huge rebate. They tend to give a 200 dollars off rebate every 1/2 year. Since then, I've added a light pollution filter and a heater to it, along with a Denkmeier Power Switch. The quality of this telescope is top notch, and I've been able to hook up my laptop to it for control. I use a 12 volt, 2 amp power adapter when I'm outside in the garden. So far, from my suburban light polluted environment, I've seen over 60 Messier objects. The telescope is perfectly collimated. I highly recommend anyone looking for a computerized telescope to select this one.

Fantastic Go-To Telescope
I recently upgraded to the Celestron Nexstar 8 SE. I had the Nexstar 4 GT before it. I have to say that the Nexstar line has come a long way in 4 years. The hand controller now has a larger database of objects that the scope will go to, and more alignment methods have been added. With SkyAlign, you can have the scope aligned in no time. I also like the fact that the hand controller and motor controllers are firmware upgradable now. This scope's go-to capabilities are fantastic. Once I used SkyAlign to set it up, I was finding nebulas and galaxies that I had never seen before. 8 "AA" batteries do not last long in this scope, so if you plan to use it for hours at a time, I would suggest that you purchase the AC Adapter, Car Adapter, or Power Tank to go with it. Anyway, the Nexstar 8 SE is a super scope. I love it!

Amazing Scope
I love astronomy and have to say this was my first real purchase of a telescope. I placed my order and in 2 days my product was at the door. I was shocked how fast it came. I was very excited about viewing the planets and hopefully some deep sky objects. Novice would be the best way to describe my viewing experience. However, I was able to get the scope setup and struggled with the star alignment. Then I used the CD that came with the product and got to know the night sky. Yes I know, read the material first then play but I was like a kid in a candy store and just couldn't wait to start viewing.

I did get the sky align to work and then tested the alignment by having it go to the easiest target in the sky. (The moon). Boom it was center view. In a full moon phase right now so the obvious light polution is tremendous but I was able to view Jupiter and see 3 moons (due to the light conditions it wasn't to detailed). Everything else was bleed out by the moon.

I read the reviews before I purchased and did alot of research on scopes and have to say this one hit the nail on the head. It does take 8 AA batteries to operate and I read someone elses review that the batteries do not last long, so I purchased the power pack along with it.

The power pack was a good idea however, take heed that it plugs into where the scope rotates and if you are not careful you can find that your power cable is getting wrapped around the scope as it rotates.

GPS - I was considering purchasing the GPS but decided that google earth will provide me the Long and Lat just as easy.

Leveling - the little bubble level they give you works fine but make sure you keep track of that little bugger cause it's very easy to loose. They give you some double sided tape which proves to by useless because it throws off the bubble. Don't bother with the tape and just place it on the mount to level it.

Accessory pack - I did purchase the Celestron 94304 Nine-Piece Accessory Kit and feel that was a wise purchase. You get the barlow scope, some filters and my son loves the "shakey flashlight" (what he calls it).

Motors - Yes the motors are just a tad noisy but not that bad. It lets you know that it's working :). It tracks very well.

Mounting your scope: Do not make the same mistake I made and just slide it into it's mount and not pay attention to the vertical alignment. Make sure you mount it far enough in so that your scope can go vertical without it hitting the angle lens and preventing it from hitting it's target.

Finder Scope: Very nice- and once aligned works great. I love the red dot LED. It's nice to be able to adjust it's brightness so that it doesn't bleed out what you are trying to target.

Over all. If you are just starting out in astronomy and love to view the night sky. If you ever sat outside at night and wished you owned a telescope because it was a great night to view some planets and deep sky objects. If you were afraid of a telescope because your night sky knowledge was limited. This is the scope for you. I can't say enough good things about it. Not only does it find the stars and planets for me it is also teaching me as it goes.