Celestron Starsense Explorer™ 8" Dobsonian

$1,180.00

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Celestron has reinvented the Dobsonian telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first Dobsonian telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. StarSense Explorer is ideal for beginners thanks to the app’s user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It’s like having your own personal tour guide of the night sky.

  • Unleash the power of your smartphone to take you on a guided tour of the night sky—no telescope experience required.
  • Patented, award-winning StarSense sky recognition technology uses your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate the telescope’s position in real-time.
  • A large 8” parabolic primary mirror with XLT coatings helps you make the most of StarSense technology. Locate faint, deep-sky objects in seconds and see them in more detail than ever before.
  • A sturdy, Dobsonian-style base with large diameter bearings and variable altitude tensioning makes it easy to follow the on-screen arrows to your desired target. When the bullseye turns green, it's ready to view in the telescope's eyepiece.
  • StarSense Explorer app automatically generates a list of objects currently visible. View planets, brighter nebulae and galaxies, star clusters, and double stars from the city. Or take your telescope to darker skies to see even more.
  • Includes a 25mm Plössl eyepiece, a 2” Crayford focuser, the StarSense smartphone dock, a StarPointer™ red dot finderscope, an eyepiece rack, and a collimation tool.    


With the StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian Optical Tube Assembly, Celestron has reinvented the Dobsonian telescope with the StarSense Explorer–the first Dobsonian that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. This large-aperture Celestron StarSense Explorer is ideal for serious beginners, thanks to the app's user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It's like having your own personal tour guide of the night sky. The large aperture will ensure that you won't outgrow the telescope as you continue on your astronomical adventures.

Leave complicated star charts, imprecise planetarium apps, and computerized mounts behind. With the StarSense Explorer, locating objects has never been easier, faster, or more accurate. Within minutes of setting up the telescope, you'll be navigating the sky with confidence. Simply place your phone in the unique StarSense dock and launch the StarSense Explorer app.

After aligning your phone to the telescope's optics (a quick and easy procedure), the StarSense Explorer generates a list of celestial objects currently visible. Make your selection and arrows appear on-screen, guiding you as you move the telescope. When the object is ready to view in the eyepiece, the bullseye turns green. As you observe, listen to hundreds of audio descriptions and view detailed information about thousands of objects within the app's robust database.

With its 8" Newtonian reflector optical tube, this telescope has enough light-gathering ability to bring out impressive detail in celestial objects while remaining remarkably portable. You can expect sharp, bright views of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, its cloud bands and Great Red Spot, the rings of Saturn, the gaseous glow of the Orion Nebula, dust lanes in the Lagoon Nebula, and our neighbor galaxy, Andromeda. Compared to the StarSense Explorer DX 130 AZ, the 8" Dobsonian has 240% more light gathering area, providing better views of faint objects.

All mirror surfaces are coated with Celestron's XLT optical coatings to visibly increase contrast and light throughput for brighter views. With XLT, you'll be able to discern subtle details while viewing the moon and planets, as well as faint galaxies and nebulae. The mirrors are made of low-expansion optical glass, which helps ensure the best images under changing environmental conditions. This telescope also comes with a high-quality 2" Crayford focuser. The Crayford design provides precise and smooth movements without focus shifting. It also includes a 2" to 1.25" adapter and a 2" extension tube, so you can use virtually any 1.25" or 2" telescope eyepiece with your StarSense Explorer Dobsonian. The focuser also features a thumbscrew so you can lock in the sharpest focus.

Perfect for the City or Dark Sky Sites
Even if you live in a light-polluted city location, the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian is advanced enough to easily pick out Jupiter, Saturn, open star clusters like the Pleiades, double stars like Alberio, the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and more of the best and brightest celestial objects. But if you can take the telescope to an even slightly darker location, more objects will become visible. With this 8" Dobsonian and relatively dark skies, hundreds of fascinating objects are well within your reach. Transporting your StarSense Explorer Dobsonian is easy thanks to the ergonomic carry handles located at the balance point of the tube. Dust covers are also included for the front of the tube and the focuser.
Smartphone Compatibility
Celestron's StarSense Explorer works with most modern smartphones, including iPhone 6 and up, and most devices running Android 7.1.2 or later manufactured since 2016.
Patented StarSense Sky Recognition Technology
The StarSense Explorer uses patented technology and your smartphone to determine exactly where the telescope is pointed in the night sky. A Lost in Space Algorithm (LISA), like the ones satellites use in orbit to correctly orient themselves, helps the app match star patterns it detects overhead to its internal database. While other astronomy apps may claim that they can help you find objects, they rely exclusively on the phone's gyros and accelerometers, which aren't as accurate as LISA technology. No other app can accurately tell you when your target is visible in the eyepiece.