Next-generation automated telescope that captures and processes celestial images in real time, controlled via smartphone for a modern, portable astrophotography experience.

Celestron’s signature orange-tube telescope combines advanced features and excellent optics in one easy-to-use system, the NexStar 8SE. It’s the perfect choice for your first serious telescope, offering impressive views at an economical price. Our Founder’s Vision, Reimagined for the 21st Century. In the 1970s, the classic Celestron 8 brought the hobby of astronomy to the masses and established Celestron as the world’s premier telescope maker. Our founder, Tom Johnson, invented Celestron’s proprietary method of producing Schmidt corrector plates for superior views and maximum portability. Johnson believed in creating high-quality optical instruments at an affordable price, and inspired a generation of amateur astronomers. Four decades later, we’ve improved upon this design by adding cutting-edge features, while staying true to our founder’s intent. Big Mirror, Small Price . With a full 8 inches of aperture, the 8SE reveals details in even the faintest celestial objects. With this much light-gathering ability, you’ll clearly observe Cassini’s Division in Saturn’s rings, the cloud bands on Jupiter, and the Great Red Spot. Beyond the solar system, your 8SE will show you hundreds of pinpoint stars in the Hercules Globular Cluster, the spiral arms of the Whirlpool Galaxy, and more. And don’t forget the Moon—you’ll see craters and geographic features like never before. Revolutionary Single Fork Arm Mount. We know the best telescope is the one you will use most often. That’s why Celestron’s engineers created NexStar SE’s unique, patented single fork arm mount. It’s perfectly portable and makes setup quick and easy. What’s more, the NexStar SE breaks down into several lightweight and compact pieces, making it easy to transport, even in small vehicles. You’ll have no problem getting the NexStar SE to your favorite observing site, or setting it up quickly in your backyard. Of course, it’s what’s inside the mount that really counts. Sturdy construction from high-quality components give NexStar SE the pointing and tracking accuracy needed to observe and follow your favorite targets with pushbutton ease. Use the included NexStar+ hand control to locate over 40,000 celestial objects, or take a Sky Tour and let your telescope show you the best objects currently visible. Aligning your telescope is simple and painless, too, thanks to SkyAlign. This process makes alignment as easy as 1-2-3: just center three bright objects in your eyepiece and press ALIGN. For even easier alignment, attach our StarSense AutoAlign and your NexStar SE aligns itself! Advanced Features Let the NexStar SE Grow with You. The NexStar SE is compatible with all the high-tech accessories advanced users love. Control your telescope using your iPhone or iPad with our SkyQ Link, or add GPS functionality with SkySync. If you’re interested in astroimaging, the NexStar SE is Fastar-compatible for ultra-fast, wide field imaging. For planetary imaging, there’s no better choice than a NexStar 8SE paired with one of our NexImage cameras. From your first observing session and for years to come, the NexStar SE is your trusted companion.

The innovative NexStar Evolution is a compact, portable, and mechanically solid telescope made for hours of serious visual observing and certain types of astroimaging. The NexStar Evolution HD package stands out due to its unique features, including: StarSense AutoAlign, EdgeHD optics, integrated WiFi, and its internal LiFePO4 battery. StarSense AutoAlign in the SkyPortal App-StarSense AutoAlign helps you optimize your time outdoors, giving you back time you would have spent aligning your telescope and allowing you more time to observe. It scans the night sky and analyzes the star patterns overhead, automatically calculating the telescope’s precise location, the date, and the current time. What’s more, you can add up to 10 additional alignment stars for the most accurate alignment possible. Learn more about the StarSense technology. Because StarSense AutoAlign is paired with the Evolution mount, you get even more functionality and ease of use. Connect to the mount via the SkyPortal Powered by SkySafari™ mobile app and you can perform the automatic alignment directly from your smart device, then instantly command the telescope to slew to your first celestial object. 8” EdgeHD Optical Tube - EdgeHD is an aplanatic, flat-field Schmidt optical system that produces aberration-free images across a wide visual and photographic field of view. The optical system reduces more than just off-axis star coma; it provides an astrograph-quality flat focal plane all the way to the edge of the field of view. EdgeHD optics produce a focal plane more than three times flatter than a standard Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and dramatically flatter than competing coma-free designs. This guarantees you visibly sharp stars across full frame sensors. The 8” EdgeHD flat-field and coma-free optical tube was made to accommodate modern imaging with cameras of all types, especially larger format CCD and DSLR cameras. The EdgeHD optical tube is Fastar-compatible for ultra-fast f/2 wide field imaging with an optional, third-party lens assembly. Perfect for Visual Use or Beginning Astroimaging-This telescope is an excellent instrument for those looking to explore astroimaging. It’s the only fork-mounted telescope in its price range that offers brass worm gears along with improved motors, which provide great tracking accuracy. Capture images of the Moon and planets by attaching any planetary imaging camera. You can even experiment with imaging brighter deep-sky objects like the Orion Nebula with your DSLR camera. As you progress in the hobby of astroimaging, turn your alt-azimuth mount into equatorial setup by adding the Wedge for NexStar Evolution. This accessory will enable you to achieve longer exposures for more detailed astrophotos. The NexStar Evolution mount also features a built-in lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery with enough power for 10-hour astroimaging sessions. Of course, the EdgeHD optical system offers bright, sharp views with StarBright XLT™ optical coatings—a great choice for visual observers and budding astro-imagers alike. NexStar Evolution is equipped with 4 auxiliary ports—two on top of the fork and two on the bottom. A StarSense hand control is still included, but is not necessary when using NexStar Evolution with the app.