About this product
Model: cel_nexstarevo_8
Part Number: 12091-CGL
Celestron's highly regarded 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain optics with StarBright XLT coatings on a computerised GoTo mount with integrated Wi-Fi and a lithium-ion battery—what is there not to like?
The first Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with integrated WiFi. Leave your hand control behind and slew to all the best celestial objects with a tap of your smartphone or tablet. Connect your device to the NexStar Evolution’s built-in wireless network and explore the universe with the Celestron mobile app for iOS and Android.
Use the planetarium interface to view the night sky in real time or display a list of visible celestial objects based on your time and location. Our proprietary SkyAlign alignment procedure is built into the Celestron mobile app, so you’re ready to observe within minutes.
The most user-friendly telescope ever
Celestron engineers designed NexStar Evolution based on years of customer feedback. It offers many thoughtful design features that provide the best possible experience under the stars.
Forget about batteries or an external power supply. For the first time on a consumer telescope, NexStar Evolution includes its own built-in lithium-ion battery. You’ll be able to enjoy stargazing marathons for up to 10 hours on a single charge. You can even use NexStar Evolution’s USB charge port to top off the other devices that need to stay powered on during an observing session.
With large, ergonomic handles, setting up your NexStar Evolution is quick and painless. The steel tripod features leg etchings to help you achieve a level, uniform height for your telescope. Manual clutches in both altitude and azimuth offer greater flexibility to point the telescope manually when powered off. Store up to 7 eyepieces in 2 accessory trays, one with an adjustable red LED illuminator.
"With all this hi-tech wizardry built in, assembly and basic set-up was straightforward. We switched the mount on, connected our tablet to the SkyQLink Wi-Fi using the free Celestron SkyPortal app (available for iOS and Android) and performed the star alignment routine. We aligned on each target with ease; most lay within the central 50 per cent of the view in the 40mm eyepiece. Accuracy was improved by aligning with the 13mm eyepiece; after doing this, most objects were in the centre of the 40mm eyepiece, and in the 13mm they were all within the inner 50 per cent.
The optics are Fastar compatible, so the secondary mirror can be replaced with a Fastar/HyperStar unit onto which a CCD camera can be mounted. This speeds up the scope’s focal ratio by a factor of five to f/2 – especially useful for deep-sky imaging.
Our tests on Vega in Lyra revealed the optics to be very good, the bright star being pin sharp 85 per cent out from the centre of the view, with only some very slight coma present. We picked out double star Albireo in Cygnus and enjoyed the golden and pale blue hues of its components in both 40mm and 13mm eyepieces. Moving across the sky to Iota Cassiopeiae, we could split the triple star nicely with the 13mm eyepiece.
Within the Solar System, Saturn looked splendid, with a band visible on the planet’s disc, the Cassini division clear to see and several moons in attendance. The nearly first quarter Moon showed off a wealth of craters and filled half of the 40mm eyepiece, showing that this accessory has a 1º field of view. Next we toured some favourite summer deep-sky objects, with globular cluster M13, the Swan Nebula, galaxies M81 and M82, and open cluster M39 nicely filling the view with the 40mm eyepiece. Slewing to all these targets not with a hand controller but with the planetarium interface of the SkyPortal app was simple and intuitive." BBCky at Night Magazine Review 5/5
Telescope Field of View Simulator
What's in the box
- Telescope OTA
- Telescope Mount
- StarPointer Finderscope
- 2 x 1.25" Plossl Eyepieces
- 1.25" Star Diagonal
- AC Adapter
- NexStar+ hand controller
Specifications
| Optical Design | Schmidt Cassegrain |
| Aperture | 203.2 mm |
| Focal Length | 2032 mm |
| Focal Ratio | 10 |
| Focal Length of Eyepiece 1 | 40 mm |
| Focal Length of Eyepiece 2 | 13 mm |
| Magnification of Eyepiece 1 | 51x |
| Magnification of Eyepiece 2 | 156x |
| Finderscope | StarPointer |
| Star Diagonal | 1.25" |
| Mount Type | Single Fork Arm Altazimuth |
| Tripod | Stainless Steel |
| Power Requirements | Internal battery included |
| HIghest Useful Magnification | 480x |
| Lowest Useful Magnification | 29x |
| Limiting Stellar Magnitude | 14 |
| Resolution (Rayleigh) | 0.69 arc seconds |
| Resolution (Dawes) | 0.57 arc seconds |
| Light Gathering Power (Compared to human eye) | 843x |
| Secondary Mirror Obstruction | 2.5 in (64 mm) |
| Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Area | 9.77% |
| Optical Coatings | StarBright XLT |
| Optical Tube Length | 17 in |
| Total Telescope Kit Weight | 40.6 lbs |
| Max Slew Speed | 4 degrees per second |
| Tracking Rates | Sidereal, solar and lunar |
| Alignment Procedures | SkyAlign, 3-Star Align, Solar System Align |
| Communication Ports | 1 hand control and 3 aux ports for optional accessories |
| App Database | Over 120,000 including 220 of the best deep sky and solar system objects |
| USB Charge Port | Yes |
Downloads / Manuals
The following manuals and downloads are available for this product:
Manuals
Celestron NexStar Evolution Manual (PDF)
Customer reviews
| Average Rating (1 Review): | |
So easy to set up. Great views 07 November 2022 | Paul
I’ve been struggling with 50+ kilos of mount and scope and counter weights for years. Setup and tear down is always a chore. Not any more. Pick it up. Plonk it in the garden. Go back inside. Click connect and align. Woohoo. The views are great
FAQ
Please fill in the form below to ask a question.
Q1. Does the new Evolution series feature Celestron's polar align feature? ?
The polar align feature is built in to the included NexStar+ hand controller. The app will have this feature in a later update (estimated Summer 2014). The polar alignment feature is only used when the telescope is mounted on the optional wedge.
Q2. What is the life expectancy of the built in battery?
Celestron have used long life lithium iron phosphate batteries with numerous advantages over traditional lithium cobalt oxide designs, and even more against standard lead acid designs. The built in battery is rated to sustain two thousand charge cycles and has a life expectancy of 10 years! This greatly exceeds the battery longevity of most consumer products. So, while the battery is user-replaceable, batteries should not normally need to be replaced if reasonable care is given to keep them charged. Note that unlike lead acid batteries, the lithium iron phosphate batteries don't have charge memory and can be drained 100% without damage. Just be sure to keep the battery charged every 3 to 6 months, and expect the battery to last many years.
Q3. Can the battery be replaced?
Yes - Celestron have confirmed that the battery can be replaced by the user but please see the question above for more information about the life expectancy of the battery.
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