FAST SETUP WITH SKYALIGN: Celestron’s proprietary SkyAlign procedure has you ready to observe in minutes. Simply center any three bright objects in the eyepiece and the NexStar SLT aligns to the night sky, ready to locate thousands of objects. In short the mount isn’t anything special but ,it will get the job done to an adequate level. What Are Users Of The Celestron Nexstar 102SLT Saying The more accurate you are with your time, location (latitude and longitude) and centering – the more accurate the scope becomes. Even loosely set, and I do mean loosely here, folks… A low power, wide field eyepiece will bring almost everything into the field of view on the first try. After that, it’s a joy ride of selecting objects from the data base. If it tries to go to something below the horizon? It will tell you. If it might tangle itself trying to go to what you tell it? It won’t let you. If you try to slew it towards the Sun? A little hand reaches right out of the keypad and slaps you upside the head. It knows better! And it learns… Oh, yes… It learns each time you center a new object up and corrects itself. What Can You See With the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT? The Celestron Nexstar 102 SLT Maksutov is a computerised GoTo telescope with high quality, high contrast Maksutov-Cassegrain optics.

And James? Yes! The Celestron NexStar 102 will provide a lifetime of fascination for those even remotely interested in astronomy. If there comes a point where you want to graduate to a larger telescope, you’ll never sell it because it is so portable and durable. Solar filters are inexpensive and a 2″ wide field eyepiece turns the night sky into a showcase! The 102SLT’s dew shield is quite short, at only 3” long from the front of the lens. As a result, stray light and dew are not very well-controlled. The objective lens will fog up pretty fast on damp nights, and glare can be quite problematic, especially if you observe near a streetlight or when the moon is up. You can make your own dew shield extension out of foam or a yoga mat, or buy a more rigid aftermarket plastic unit. Either way, it will significantly improve your observing experience. The focal ratio also means it should be decent at astrophotography also due to the time needed to capture an image not being insanely long. Honestly? I love them both and trying to chose between the two is difficult. The SkyScout Scope 90 has some great gadgetry and is a virtual teacher… The Celestron NexStar 102 SLT is for quiet contemplation. Both are excellent beginner’s scopes – but the NexStar is better suited towards technically minded adults. And if you feel spoilt for choice and are not sure what to observe, select the Sky Tour feature and the hand controller will show you a list of the most interesting object currently visible in the sky. Select an object to begin the tour. 4. Portable TelescopeAgain, don’t ever forget this is a small aperture telescope and it’s not going to reveal every heavenly treasure you dream of and what you see is going to be small. It does rich field, so picture yourself looking at the Ring Nebula about as big as a Cheerio on a dinner plate, ok? But small aperture has it’s advantages… The whole thing only weighs 14 pounds, so it is incredibily easy to take with you as a carry on, or to sling over your shoulder and walk. There’s definitely something to be said about a scope that you can carry everything, including your eyepiece case, folding chair and cooler in one trip!

NexStar 102SLT is ready to grow with you as you become a more experienced amateur astronomer. It’s compatible with all Celestron’s latest accessories, including StarSense AutoAlign, SkyPortal WiFi module, and PowerTank Lithium. The eyepieces are supplied with tight plastic covers — and how many beginners will try to twist these off, rather than prise them off? In instructions intended for raw beginners, points such as this are vital.The kellner eyepieces are of subpar quality especially for the price where I’d atleast expect Plossl eyepieces but will get the job done in the beginning, the star pointer red dot finder is just your run of the mill entry level finderscope, the focuser is of an all metal design and appears to be of high quality and the star diagonal prism is of decent quality too. The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ is an achromatic refractor, with a 102 mm doublet lens composed of two different types of glass. It has a focal ratio of f/6.5, which means that it has a comparatively short tube for its diameter — a situation that provides a wide field of view and bright image with a fairly compact instrument. While not as good as an equatorial mount, the Alt-Az mount on the NexStar 102 SLT is perfectly suitable for beginners. The mount sits on a steel tripod to ensure it remains sturdy during observations.

The Celestron NexStar 102SLT comes with the same Star Locating Telescope mount that all of the other SLT telescopes use—the same chassis and motors are used for Celestron’s NexStar GT, SkyProdigy, and AstroFi telescopes. Everything in the database? No way, Jose. Before you go getting all excited about a 4,000 celestial objects database, remember you are using a 4″ telescope here. We’re talking about a limiting stellar magnitude of around 12 here, so objects much fainter than about magnitude 10 or 11 under average skies are about as good as you’re going to get. However, if you ask it to go to an object, it says it’s there and you don’t see it? Try looking at the on-screen data. Chances are you’re trying for something that is beyond this sweet little telescope’s grasp.All you need to do is set the right date and time and then align the telescope using the included finderscope. Once aligned and calibrated, you select an object from the built-in database and the telescope will automatically swing to the right spot in the sky. Computerised telescopes may appear complicated, but they are actually easy to use. The NexStar 102 SLT is no different. That’s why I recommend a computerised telescope. It’s more expensive than an ordinary manual telescope but it makes observations more fun and productive.