1) Star Sense Smartphone dock
2) Star Pointer red dot finderscope
3) 25mm Omni Plossl eyepiece
The Celestron StarSense Explorer dob telescope is an eight-inch visual telescope with an innovative smartphone app to help you locate objects in the night sky.
This telescope has enough power to see the planets up close and distant deep-sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae.
The Youtube channel Astrobackyard has done a great video review of this telescope, and this post is a short resume.
We’ll show you how the StarSense Explorer dob works and explain why he thinks it’s an excellent option for beginners looking for some help locating objects in the night sky.
Main features of the StarSense Explorer
One of the main features of the StarSense Explorer dob is the StarSense plate-solving technology.
This technology gives you an advantage over traditional “star-hopping” methods.
The package has two main components: the 8-inch Dobsonian telescope, the StarSense Explorer docking system, and the smartphone app. You can, of course, use the telescope on its own without the app, but the app really enhances the experience and makes it easier to locate objects in the sky.
The telescope itself is an 8-inch Newtonian reflector sitting on a Dobsonian base. The 8-inch version provides a native focal length of 1200 mm at F 5.9. This gives you enough reach to look at Saturn’s rings or Jupiter’s moons using a high-powered eyepiece.
eyepiece
Speaking of eyepieces, the package includes an inch-and-a-quarter 25 mm Plossl Celestron Omni eyepiece. This is a perfect mid-range, all-purpose eyepiece, but you can use your existing inch-and-a-quarter or two-inch eyepieces on this scope.
The reviewer also mentions that the 10-inch model may have some balancing issues when using a heavy eyepiece at the front of the scope, but it’s not an issue on the eight-inch model. He also mentioned that it’s a non-issue on the eight-inch model because he likes to stiffen the tension knobs on his Dobsonian telescope so it doesn’t move anywhere in the wind.
conclusion
In conclusion, the Celestron StarSense Explorer dob telescope is an excellent option for beginners looking for a telescope that is easy to use and comes with an innovative smartphone app to help locate objects in the night sky. With its 8-inch aperture, you’ll see more deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae, not just the planets and the moon. With the included StarSense plate-solving technology, you’ll have an advantage over traditional “star-hopping” methods. The package also includes a mid-range, all-purpose eyepiece, perfect for getting started.
