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The Celestron NexStar 102SLT Refractor Telescope is on the smaller side of the NexStar lineup but largely avoids the pitfalls that doomed the 90SLT design. Classic Refractor Optics Everything in the database? No way, Jose. Before you go getting all excited about a 4,000 celestial objects database, remember you are using a 4″ telescope here. We’re talking about a limiting stellar magnitude of around 12 here, so objects much fainter than about magnitude 10 or 11 under average skies are about as good as you’re going to get. However, if you ask it to go to an object, it says it’s there and you don’t see it? Try looking at the on-screen data. Chances are you’re trying for something that is beyond this sweet little telescope’s grasp. The only mildly challenging step is aligning the telescope. But with the built-in SkyAlign alignment technology and StarPointer Finderscope, even that is a piece of cake.
Optically the telescope is well up to standard for a short-focus achromatic refractor and is well-suited to deep-sky observing. The eyepieces supplied, although in lightweight plastic barrels, are of good optical quality. Boosting the magnification using a Celestron 2x Barlow lens revealed false color in lunar and planetary images, so this is not an ideal high-power or planetary instrument. The erect-image diagonal (which is necessary to allow the instrument to focus) introduces very little distortion, only marginally noticeable on a star image using a magnification of 130x. Should you buy the Celestron StarSense DX 102AZ? 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. The images will generally be sharper because misalignment isn’t very common with the refractor lens found within.
Accessories Included
Celestron’s innovative NexStar Star Location Telescope (SLT) has been a customer favorite for years thanks to its unique combination of high-quality optics, a user-friendly computerised interface, and a sturdy single fork arm mount. I'm not made of money but over the last 5 yrs i have slowly built up to my ultimate scope (Celestron 8SE). This is ok though because the total cost of my other 3 scopes combined is about 600 euro.
If you want to try your hand at stargazing over the darkened ocean shore or from the top of a hill you hiked to for the night, this would be a great companion. Not only is it a durable refractor scope but it comes with the Celestron database and SkyAlign tech so you can explore unfamiliar skies.
Starry Night Software
The camera views the sky through a mirror, enabling you to view the phone’s screen at a convenient angle. The StarSense app displays the camera’s view of the night sky, using a time exposure if necessary so it may take some seconds to appear or refresh. The method of alignment is to aim the telescope at a chosen object — which is where the red-dot finder comes in handy — and then move the red crosswires on the app to the same object shown on the phone view. You can zoom in for better precision. Not everyone has a great vantage point for stargazing, but this telescope is fully capable of going to those dark sky locations and then showing you the items worth seeing automatically. This is bolstered by the Sky Tour feature of the included database of celestial objects. Does anyone have any practical experience of any of the above – what do you think of them? Have you used a combination of the above scopes – how did they compare?
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