Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope
by Celestron
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope
Customer Review: Great Scope
Summary: 5 Stars
I got my Celestron 130 SLT last month and am extremely happy with it. For the price, it's a great scope and the goto software was pretty easy to get the hang of. The sky mapping software that comes with the scope is also a great help and easy to use. A few caveats: Buy the AC power cord....otherwise you'll need new batteries every night. You'll need to reset the date/time on the goto computer every night.....it doesn't remember date/time between uses. It takes a few tries to get proficient with the three star align....it works pretty well, but you need to make sure you've setup your location and the date/time correctly. This scope isn't weighted and is very light. This causes it to shake a LOT when you touch it (i.e. when you're focusing). It takes a few seconds for it to stabilize after any adjustment. Some people weight the tripod tray to add stability. The focuser could have a finer adjustment. It takes a very steady hand to get optimal focus. The scope doesn't come with a Barlow lens, which is a necessity for this scope. You'll want to get one right away. The scope does have a 2" eyepiece adapter, which is unusual and a really nice feature on a starter scope such as this. It's worth buying a 2" eyepiece for wide views. I didn't find the NexStar PC driver software very useful (after buying the $15 cable to use it). Instead, I downloaded a trial version of the pricey NexRemote software, which allowed me to operate the scope from my laptop much more easily. These caveats are all very minor, as this is a solid scope with better optics and software than the alternatives. In short, the scope was way better than cheap toy scopes I'd used and all reviews I read said it had great optics for the price with very few problems/annoyances. I got a great view of Jupiter and its moons the first night I used it. After I got the hang of it, I started checking out Messier Objects, including the brighter galaxies and nebulae, which are easily recognizable with this scope. I'm extremely pleased with it and I'm very glad I got this scope instead of comparable competing scopes, which all seem to have serious issues per the various reviews I've read.Customer Review: We are pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a gift for my daughter for her 13th birthday. We had it out last night for the second time for our first serious attempt at observation. Sky alignment is a snap and my daughter performed last night's alignment with me talking her through it. After the controller indicated a successful alignment, my daughter selected Saturn and the mount went to work and locked on to Saturn with minimal manual slewing to center the planet in the eyepiece. We swapped out eyepieces from 32mm all the way down to 4mm (the scope only comes with 25 & 9mm as advertised...we bought the 1.25" eypiece/filter/Barlow kit). At 25mm with a 2x Barlow the rings of Saturn barely began to emerge. But by the time we hit 4mm w/Barlow the rings were pronounced and crisp, the planet was resolved to a nice-sized disc, and as a bonus two of Saturn's moons were visible. The only difficulty in using this scope is in understanding and achieving collimation (alignment of the optics). I ordered the Celestron collimation eyepiece at the same time as the scope and other accessories. I am a manufacturing laser operater and deal with optics alignment several times on any work day. The instruction sheet included with the collimation eyepiece did little to instill confidence and I found myself alternately reviewing the instructions and staring through the pinhole of the eyepice for more than an hour before I started turning screws. I had to collimate the scope right out of the box as it shipped with loose primary mirror locking screws. One week later (yesterday) I found that both the primary and secondary mirrors had shifted and another collimation was necessary. The secondary mirror adjustments are very difficult compared to the primary which are quite easy after overcoming the initial anxiety. I was at it for quite a while again. I must have done well as indicated by such sharp focus on Saturn's rings and no perceptible wandering of stars during de-focusing. But you will have to collimate, so get a collimating eyepiece with this kind of telescope. Perhaps a laser-equipped collimator would make the process easier?Customer Review: nice scope, esp w 2inch eyepieces
Summary: 5 Stars
i have been watching the sky for a few months, and purchased this scope
through amazon, im in the middle of a large neighborhood, with trees and fences all around my back yard, that said, i have not had much luck w the go to function,it has taken me to saturn and the moon, but some targets will make it point at the ground. so i was kinda disappointed, then i ordered the 2inch eyepiece kit by celestron also from amazon, it is a huge difference, i was using a Galileo, the two scopes are not that much different, outside the motorized mount,and 2inch viewer.; so for watching the sky, this is a great scope, i must admit, i had thought maybe it would identify the stars im looking at, but now i realize that would be a tall order even for nasa, in new orleans, this scope shows the sky to be full of stars. i say this is a good deal and a good scope, not many scopes have the 2inch option, and celestron seems to get better and more reviews than ioptron, for beginners, telescopes like this will take sum time, but your patience will be rewarded(alton brown)
update, got the vixen 3856 3.5 eyepiece, ring of Saturn was huge, and the moon was awesome, very cool eyepiece, makes my scope seem new again.
9-9-09, finally found jupiter, with the vixen 3.5, it was very impressive, and its four moons were very bright, still enjoying the nexstar 130, looking into getting skyscout connect, which would connect my skyscout to the scope, making it gps, find a star with skyscout, and the scope w slew to the object w a touch of a button, for 99$ seems like the next step in my set up
Customer Review: Great Telescope
Summary: 5 Stars
First I bought the Celestron 130 SLT ( Christmas 2009)and the 60 SLT. It was so easy; I started ordering eyepieces, filters, ccd, SkyScout, Nexstar Connect, the PowerTank (17aH) power inverter and the solar filter. I will admit I expected to take deep space pictures but the mount is really only good for planetary Pictures. My Bad...the literature says as much!
The SkyScout hooked-up to the telescope is the bomb! They say in their literature that it will not slew the scope...wrong! It is great. In one night I had a "StarParty" with some friends who have never seen a real telescope. I looked like a pro: point the SkyScout, it orally tells what you are seeing and slews the scope to the object. We saw everything on the SkyTools III list for the night that was viewable: Moon, Saturn, Saturn's moons, Mercury, Venus, and took pictures. Someone would ask what is that, they would point with the SkyScout and away we would go. My friends never realized that this was the first time I had operated the SkyScout "Connected" to the SLT's. One said, this is better than that planetarium (referring to the Mark Smith Planetarium). Though they were indeed wrong, what they were actually saying, "this is great fun." I have a crowd anytime I go stargazing. What fun!
I am ordering the CGEM 1100 HDEdge because I am teaching Astronomy next year and I am teaching in Malawi this Summer and can see the Southern Constellations. I expect deep space pictures. I am certain I will!
Customer Review: This scope needs maintenance.
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this telescope about a month ago. It is easy to use and works well. The 2 lenses that come with the scope allow you to begin checking things out in the sky, but there are a few more things needed. 1- A filter kit (at least one filter for the moon. It's too bright to look at without one). 2- 2X Barlow Lens. This will double the magnification of the lenses you have.
Also, this scope needs maintenance. The mirrors must be perfectly collimated (lined-up) on an F5 scope. (The lower the focal ratio, the more precise the collimation must be, and F5 is low.) My scope needed collimating right out of the box. The scope does not have to be shaken hard to knock the mirrors off of angle or alignment. This requires tools and some mechanical ability. Get info online or visit local stores that sell reflector scopes. I paid $200 for my set of collimating tools (Sight Tube, Cheshire and Autocollimator). For this scope to work properly, this maintenance must be done regularly.
PS- This scope is a Newtonian Reflector type.