Celestron Nexstar 6 SLT GOTO Telescope

Celestron’s innovative NexStar Star Location Telescope (SLT) has been a customer favorite for years thanks to its unique combination of high quality optics, user-friendly computerized interface and a sturdy single fork arm mount.

This telescope comes with a preassembled, adjustable stainless steel tripod, quick release fork arm, NexStar+ computerized hand control, 6” Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube, and lots of bonus accessories.

The entire telescope kit weighs in at just 18 pounds. The simple, no-tool assembly and fast SkyAlign alignment procedure will have you ready to observe in minutes. This makes NexStar 6SLT your perfect companion for impromptu observing sessions and all-night stargazing marathons alike.

Your NexStar 6SLT will reveal details of the lunar surface, Venus and its phases, the polar caps on Mars, Jupiter and its four moons, and Saturn with its rings plainly visible. It can also be used as a land-based spotting telescope for daytime and wildlife observations.

Schmidt-Cassegrain Optical Tube

The NexStar 6SLT comes with a 6” Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube, a great multi-use telescope with 1500 mm of focal length (f/10). The Celestron C6 is equipped with patented StarBright XLT coatings, which visibly increase contrast and bring out subtle detail on the Moon, planets, and faint nebulae. These coatings also increase light transmission for brighter deep space images.

The Celestron C6 strikes an excellent balance between portability, ease of use, light gathering ability and price.

The Mount & Technologies

Computerized Alt-Azimuth telescope – The NexStar SLT telescope features a single fork arm alt-azimuth mount, which allows the telescope to track the desired objects as they appear to move across the night sky. The mount sits on a pre-assembled, adjustable steel tripod.

NexStar+ Hand Control – This computerized hand control enables you to automatically slew to any of 4,000+ celestial objects with the push of a button. The NexStar+ database includes more than 600 galaxies, 300 clusters and dozens of beautiful binary stars. Not sure what to observe? Choose the Sky Tour feature and the NexStar+ hand control will automatically generate a list of all the best celestial objects currently visible based on your exact time and location.

SkyAlign Technology – Our proprietary SkyAlign alignment procedure makes setting up and using a computerized telescope faster and easier than ever before. Point the telescope at three bright objects in the sky, and the telescope can triangulate its position and locate any other object in the sky automatically. You don’t need to know the names of the stars—you can even pick the Moon or bright planets! For more information about our SkyAlign technology, visit here.

Power – Go anywhere! Feel free to enjoy your NexStar SLT in remote dark sky locations—it’s powered by 8 AA batteries (not included) or a PowerTank portable battery. The internal battery compartment provides power to the high precision servo motors for rigid low-vibration performance while eliminating cord wrap issues associated with external battery packs. You may also charge your telescope with a 12V AC adapter (sold separately).

Accessories Included

Your telescope includes a StarPointer red dot finderscope, a star diagonal, and two eyepieces (20mm and 9mm). The two eyepieces offer different magnifications for low or high powered observing. The star diagonal provides a right-side-up view and a more comfortable viewing angle when looking up at the sky. The StarPointer finderscope will help you quickly center an object in your eyepiece for easier observing.

NexStar 6SLT 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 Pro.

General Details:

High quality 6” (150mm) Schmidt Cassegrain optical tube
Fully computerized Altazimuth mount
Sturdy stainless steel tripod and accessory tray included
Includes a 20mm and 9mm eyepiece, a finderscope, a star diagonal, and a free download Starry Night Special Edition software
Specifications:

Optical Tube Info:
Optical Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain
Aperture:150mm (6")
Focal Length: 1500mm (59")
Focal Ratio: f/10
Focal Length of Eyepiece 1: 20mm (.78")
Magnification of Eyepiece 1: 75x
Focal Length of Eyepiece 2: 9mm (.35")
Magnification of Eyepiece 2: 167x
Finderscope: StarPointer Finderscope
Star Diagonal: 1.25" Star Diagonal
Optical Tube: Aluminum
Highest Useful Magnification: 354x
Lowest Useful Magnification: 21x
Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 13.4
Resolution (Rayleigh): .93 arc seconds
Resolution (Dawes): 0.77 arc seconds
Light Gathering Power (Compared to human eye): 459x
Secondary Mirror Obstruction: 55.88mm (2.2")
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Diameter: 37%
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Area: 14%
Optical Coatings: StarBright XLT
Optical Tube Length: 406.4mm (16")
Optical Tube Diameter: 181mm (7.1")
Optical Tube Weight: 8 lbs (3.6 kg)
Dovetail: Vixen/CG-5 Dovetail bar
Mount Info:
Mount Type: Computerized Altitude-Azimuth Single Fork Arm
Instrument load capacity: 8 lbs (3.6 kg)
Height adjustment range (includes mount and tripod): 762mm - 1270mm (30" - 50")
Tripod Leg Diameter: 31.75mm (1.25") Stainless steel
Mount Head Weight: 5 lbs (2.3kg)
Accessory Tray: Yes
Tripod Weight: 5 lbs (2.3kg)
Slew Speeds: 9 slew speeds - max speed 3°/second
Tracking Rates: Sidereal, Solar and Lunar
Tracking Modes: Alt-Az, EQ North and EQ South
GPS: N/A
Dovetail Compatibility: Vixen/CG-5 saddle plate
Number of Auxiliary ports: 1x Aux port | 1x hand control port (hand control can use either port)
Autoguide port: No
USB Port: Yes, Input on hand control
Power Requirements: 12 VDC - 8xAA Batteries (not included)
Motor Drive: DC Servo Motor
Alignment Procedures: SkyAlign, Auto 2-Star Align, 1-Star Align, 2-Star Align, Solar System Align
Periodic Error Correction: No
Computerized Hand Control: 1 Hand Control Port and 1 Aux Port
NexStar+ Database: Over 120,000 including 220 of the best deep sky and solar system objects
Software: Celestron's Starry Night Special Edition Software, SkyPortal App
Total Kit Weight: 18 lbs (8.2 kg)
Included Items: Optical Tube / Single Fork Arm Mount & Tripod / Accessory Tray / NexStar+ Hand Control / 20 mm & 9 mm eyepiece / StarPointer finderscope / Star Diagonal

Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

Are you interested in this product but would like to speak to someone with some more information? Simply fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

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