Celestron Nexstar 8 SE Telescope

Limited promotion while stocks last!

Celestron’s signature orange-tube telescope combines advanced features and excellent optics in one easy-to-use system, the NexStar 8SE. It’s the perfect choice for your first serious telescope, offering impressive views at an economical price.

Our Founder’s Vision, Reimagined for the 21st Century
In the 1970s, the classic Celestron 8 brought the hobby of astronomy to the masses and established Celestron as the world’s premier telescope maker. Our founder, Tom Johnson, invented Celestron’s proprietary method of producing Schmidt corrector plates for superior views and maximum portability. Johnson believed in creating high-quality optical instruments at an affordable price, and inspired a generation of amateur astronomers.

Four decades later, we’ve improved upon this design by adding cutting-edge features, while staying true to our founder’s intent.

Big Mirror, Small Price
With a full 8 inches of aperture, the 8SE reveals details in even the faintest celestial objects. With this much light-gathering ability, you’ll clearly observe Cassini’s Division in Saturn’s rings, the cloud bands on Jupiter, and the Great Red Spot. Beyond the solar system, your 8SE will show you hundreds of pinpoint stars in the Hercules Globular Cluster, the spiral arms of the Whirlpool Galaxy, and more. And don’t forget the Moon—you’ll see craters and geographic features like never before.

Revolutionary Single Fork Arm Mount
We know the best telescope is the one you will use most often. That’s why Celestron’s engineers created NexStar SE’s unique, patented single fork arm mount. It’s perfectly portable and makes setup quick and easy. What’s more, the NexStar SE breaks down into several lightweight and compact pieces, making it easy to transport, even in small vehicles. You’ll have no problem getting the NexStar SE to your favorite observing site, or setting it up quickly in your backyard.

Of course, it’s what’s inside the mount that really counts. Sturdy construction from high-quality components give NexStar SE the pointing and tracking accuracy needed to observe and follow your favorite targets with pushbutton ease. Use the included NexStar+ hand control to locate over 40,000 celestial objects, or take a Sky Tour and let your telescope show you the best objects currently visible.

Aligning your telescope is simple and painless, too, thanks to SkyAlign. This process makes alignment as easy as 1-2-3: just center three bright objects in your eyepiece and press ALIGN. For even easier alignment, attach our StarSense AutoAlign and your NexStar SE aligns itself!

Advanced Features Let the NexStar SE Grow with You
The NexStar SE is compatible with all the high-tech accessories advanced users love. Control your telescope using your iPhone or iPad with our SkyQ Link, or add GPS functionality with SkySync.

If you’re interested in astroimaging, the NexStar SE is Fastar-compatible for ultra-fast, wide field imaging. For planetary imaging, there’s no better choice than a NexStar 8SE paired with one of our Skyris cameras. From your first observing session and for years to come, the NexStar SE is your trusted companion.

OPTICAL TUBE INFO:
Optical Design Schmidt-Cassegrain
Aperture 203.2mm (8")
Focal Length 2032mm (80")
Focal Ratio f/10
Focal Length of Eyepiece 25mm (.98")
Magnification of Eyepiece 81x
Finderscope StarPointer
Star Diagonal 1.25" Star Diagonal
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 64mm (2.5")
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Diameter 31%
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Area 9.77%
Optical Coatings Starbright XLT
Optical Tube Length 432mm (17")
Optical Tube Diameter 232mm (9.1")
Optical Tube Weight 12 lbs (5.4 kg)
Dovetail Vixen / CG-5 Dovetail bar

MOUNT INFO:
Mount Type Computerized Altitude-Azimuth Single Fork Arm
Instrument load capacity 12 lbs (5.44 kg)
Height adjustment range (includes mount and tripod) 965.2mm - 1422.4mm (38" - 56")
Tripod leg diameter 50.8mm (2") Stainless Steel
Mount Head Weight 11 lbs (5 kg)
Accessory Tray Yes
Tripod Weight 9 lbs (4.08 kg)
Slew Speeds 9 slew speeds - max speed 5°/second
Tracking Rates Sidereal, Solar and Lunar
Tracking Modes Alt-Az, EQ North & EQ South
GPS N/A
Dovetail Compatibility Vixen / CG-5 dovetail
Number of Auxiliary ports 1x Aux port
Autoguide port Yes
USB port Yes, Hand Control input
Power Requirements 8-AA batteries (not included) | 12 VDC-750 mA (Tip positive)
Motor Drive DC servo motors
Alignment Procedures SkyAlign, 1-Star Align, 2-Star Align, Auto 2-Star Align, Solar System Align, EQ North / EQ South Alignment (EQ align requires an equatorial wedge)
Periodic Error Correction No
Computerized Hand Control Double line, 18 character Liquid Crystal Display with 19 fiber optic backlit LED buttons
NexStar+ Database 40,000 objects, 200 user defined programmable objects. Enhanced information on over 200 objects
Software Celestron's Starry Night Special Edition Software, SkyPortal App
Total Kit Weight 24 lbs (10.88 kg)

Included Items:
NexStar SE OTA | Single Fork Arm Mount | Tripod | Accessory Tray | Star Pointer Finderscope | NexStar+ Hand Control | 25mm eyepiece | 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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