Review of the Celestron StarSense Explorer 10" Dobsionian:
"...this is mostly about the StarSense Explorer app and the way that it will revolutionise your observing sessions. Its beautiful graphical user interface (which, incidentally, you can redden to preserve your dark adaption) invites you to explore a constellation or region of sky in greater detail, making serendipitous finds here and there. The way that it uses any compatible phone to reliably plate-solve and find objects means that you don’t need great swathes of clear sky to seek out alignment stars, as is demanded by traditional computerised GoTo mounts – indeed, it effectively renders such methods obsolete. Make no mistake, the StarSense Explorer app is a game changer that will appeal to seasoned observers and smartphone-addicted millennials alike."
Ade Ashford writing for Astronomy Now magazine
About this product
Model: cel_starsense_exp_10_dob
Part Number: 22471-CGL
The first Dobsonian that uses your smartphone to analyse the night sky and calculate its position in real-time.
Celestron has reinvented the Dobsonian telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first Dobsonian that uses your smartphone to analyse 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 in your astronomical adventures.
Dock, Launch, Explore
Leave complicated star charts, imprecise planetarium apps, and computerised mounts behind. With 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), 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.
High-Quality Altazimuth Base
An ultra-stable Dobsonian base provides a sturdy foundation for StarSense Explorer. It features large diameter altitude bearings with variable tensioning, Teflon azimuth bearings, and braces on the side panels for extra stability (unlike most 10” Dobsonian bases). The altitude bearings provide a smooth up-and-down motion while the integrated altitude "brake" system allows you to adjust the tension along the altitude axis for smoothest motion even with slight imbalances. The panning knob on the telescope tube provides an ergonomic grip so you can precisely point the telescope without introducing heat from your hands into the optical system. As celestial objects appear to drift across the night sky, you'll be able to easily follow them with minor adjustments to the telescope’s position.
Dazzling Views with High-Quality Optics
With a large 10" 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 neighbour galaxy, Andromeda. Compared to the StarSense Explorer DX 130 AZ, the 10" Dobsonian has 380+% more light gathering area, providing better views of faint objects.
All mirror surfaces are coated with our 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 10” 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 10" 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 and base. Dust covers are also included for the front of the tube and the focuser.
Smartphone Compatibility
Celestron 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. For a complete compatibility list, click here.
Celestron has reinvented the Dobsonian telescope with 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 in your astronomical adventures.
Patented StarSense Sky Recognition Technology
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.
Specifications
- Optical Design: Newtonian Reflector
- Aperture: 10"
- Focal Length: 1200mm
- Focal Ratio: F4.7
- 25mm FL Eyepiece Included
- Magnification with 25mm EP: 48x
- Highest Useful Magnification: 600x
- Lowest Useful Magnification: 36x
- Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 14.7
- Optical Coating: XLT reflective coatings with silicon dioxide and tantalum pentoxide protective overcoatings for primary and secondary mirrors
- Minor Axis of Secondary Mirror: 47mm
- Optical Tube Dimensions: 1117.6mm x 292.1mm diameter (44" x 11.5" diameter)
- Optical Tube Weight: 13.24kg
- Focuser: 2" Craford with 2" and 1.25" Adaptors
- Base Dimensions: 673.1mm x 533.4mm x 533.4mm (26.5" x 21" x 21")
- Base Weight: 11.6kg
- Total Telescope Kit Weight: 24.86kg
What's in the box
- Optical tube
- Dobsonian Base
- 25mm eyepiece
- 2" Crayford focuser
- StarPointer™ red-dot finderscope
- StarSense Explorer dock
- StarSense Explorer unlock code
- Eyepiece rack
- Collimation cap
- Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition Software
Customer reviews
| Average Rating (2 Reviews): | |
22 January 2023 | James
I am new to stargazing and often don't have a lot of time on my hands, so was looking for a decent quality Dobsonian that would last me many years (only needing to add to an improving set of eyepieces and filters over time), was easy to use and allowed me to find what I was looking for in the sky quite quickly. After reading reviews that seemed to suggest the Celestron StarSense Explorer 10" might be right in the sweet spot for me and deciding to try that, I have to say that I have not been disappointed!
It is clearly a well made piece of kit from a quality brand and my first few weeks of using it have been very enjoyable. It may be a little pricier than some other equivalent sized dobsonians available on the market, but the ease of use to find what you are looking for in the sky (as a newby, that needed to learn what was what in the night sky!) was really important to me, and so the StarSense technology that is fairly unique to these Celestron scopes has made the extra cost totally worth it for someone like me. As long as you are fairly comfortable with using smart phone apps, then this scope makes finding what you are looking for in the sky dead easy.
In my initial purchase, I paired this scope with a StellaLyra zoom eyepiece and a 2x AstroEssentials Barlow (and a few AstroEssentials filters shortly after) and it has made for a great starter set that allows me to enjoy most types of observation, even in a sub-urban area.
As for FLO's service, I can't rate it highly enough. Everything was dispatched super quickly (next working day), with great communication on how the processing was going, and then it all arrived 24 hours later, in perfect condition and very well/safely packaged. A great experience all around!
16 November 2022 | Robert
Only used once so far weather not being kind but scope easy to use and not too heavy base when together easily and had 2 crews left over over all very happy with my purchase
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