Customer Ratings & Reviews

Good scope.. but for this price one can get many more features even within celestron brand. The app they provide ( which supposedly finds objects in sky from your phone ) is a nightmare to calibrate.. .. The plate resolve tech they use in the app needs a computer not a phone. It lags like anything!! Be aware that the mechanism of clipping the phone to the scope and the pointing to an object (via a 90 degree mirror they provide ) has too much room for error.. There are just too many moving parts. So no matter what you do you are almost always fat off from the target.. and it might get quite frustrating if you are a beginner. It’ll take you close to an object but realistically you would have to do quite a bit of work. The tripods are light and even the tiniest of vibration is amplified.. But thats what you’d get for this price. Counter weights are recommended especially if you are outside and its windy.. The lens is pretty good imo. The views of moon were amazing, and clearly visible Saturn rings. Try going outside the city to really appreciate this scope. My recommendation is to go with a scope with an inbuilt goto system for this price if thats what you want, else get something with similar aperture (or even 90mm) without any goto system. There is no point in paying for a goto system such as this one because its far from useful.. In general, Reflectors begin to standout at around 8inch aperture... So I can’t see a very good reason to spend so much money on just a 130mm reflector..

Great beginner telescope to use and learn. The app dosent work properly ony phone, but other than that it works amazing!

Good telescope, mediocre eyepieces with little eyerelief. Have been able to view Jupiter and Saturn with them but lots of chromatic aberration. Will replace eyepieces. The starsense software is excellent though and can assist in figuring out what's viewable in even a light polluted sky. Please learn about viewing objects in night sky and what is possible where you live before having unreasonable expectations of what telescope can view.

This is a great beginner telescope. It's very to calibrate and aim. The app requires for viewing can be troublesome at times. But if you're just looking at the moon, it's great. I can't recommend in it because I don't feel comfortable leaving my phone on the telescope outside for hours while the temperature equalized between the scope and the ambient temperature.

I am by no means an expert, but this was easy to set up and use. Also its amazing what this telescope allows you to see with such detail and clarity. Im thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm a Beginner in a big city and I just saw Saturns rings and Jupitar spot on my very first night. Tons of light pollution. I was really just practicing the first day I received it so I would be prepared for when I would take it to the darker gorge near Portland this weekend.... and WOW!! The app said that Saturn was easily visible (because it knows where I am, the time, and what is visible at my location by using my iPhone). I clicked on it, followup the arrows. It beeps and said look through the telescope.... and there it was. Holy cow! I can't wait to go to the darker area tonight!!! This is the first time I have ever used a telepscope.

Bought this as a gift and they loved it. Have been using it nightly and it is really simple to set up but has a great view

This scope is fantastic for beginners. So easy to set up and configure with your phone. I have several telescopes and this is by far the easiest to get going for those with low patience who just want to see something. It has great viewing capabilities even in the city. What isn't apparent from the literature is that it also has the capabilty to use 2" eyepieces which greatly increases its flexibility. This is a great scope for the price and i highly recommend it for anyone with low patience or young kids that just want to see planets, moon, or galaxies.

Some problems with the app, it was not alligned with the star map. Otherwise decent.

My daughter loved this gift! Once she figured it all out it’s pretty simple to use! Unbelievable views/ pictures for the price!

It's a good first telescope. Not super expensive and does its job well. Light and easy to transport. Good for beginners.

Fantastic starter telescope and I love the StarSense Explorer App. This is my first attempt at using a telescope, a hobby I got interested in because of the pandemic. I did a lot of research before deciding on this one, but I am very happy with my choice. For those who are novice telescope users like me, I think this is a great place to start. I also feel like I can grow with this telescope for years too and continue to learn. It is a bit weighty but not anything that I can't move around myself without any issues. I look forward to getting more lenses and filters to use with it as I move forward in learning more about it! I have other Celestron optic instruments and have really enjoyed them and they have all been very well-made, this telescope is no different.

This telescope was unstable while on the tripod and also did not show the planets I was searching for. I returned it and got the more expensive celestron model and it was well worth it.

Great telescope and my kid loves it. Used it many times this summer to teach and show my son what is beyond our planet and it has grown his interest in astronomy and science in general. The learning experience and excitement that has sparked in him is priceless! I really like it myself and it has me wanting to learn more about the astronomy and the universe.

Always wanted a telescope. After a lot of research found this to be a good starter telescope. It is very easy to use and light to carry. With a DSLR mount the sky is the limit.

I really could see the rings of Saturn they are bright white but i can see them. The telescope was easy to set up but the app toke a little work. between the app and the alignment scope it is easy to find what I was looking for.

My family loves this telescope so far. Bought a travel bag on amazon and took it to Yosemite with us and got to see a couple of shooting stars whiz through our sights. Precision adjustments, east side viewing, and nice app to aide in locating viewable points of interest

We are still learning how to use this but some of the things we have captured are truly out of this world. It’s been a lot to Learn for some newbies but slowly but surely we are learning. That is the fun part.

Bought as a Christmas gift for my little sister who is pursuing astronomy! She absolutely loved it!!! Takes some time to get the focusing done and you definitely need to follow the directions to have a clear image of what it is you’re looking at! The quality is great as we could visibly see each and every crater on the moon! I highly recommend this as a gift for a great starter telescope!

Item was in good condition and operated as advertised. The only problems were that the instructions and necessary code needed to operate were not in the box. I had to obtain the needed information by email from the manufacturer. This oversight was the fault of the manufacturer and not Best Buy.