Celestron StarSense Explorer 130mm Tabletop Dobsonian

Product Description

The 130mm aperture Tabletop Dobsonian telescope with StarSense Explorer, the first Tabletop Dobsonian that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real-time. This 130mm aperture Celestron StarSense Explorer is ideal for beginners, thanks to the app's user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It's like having your own personal tour guide of the night sky.

Dock, Launch, Explore
Leave complicated star charts, imprecise planetarium apps, and computerized mounts behind. With StarSense Explorer, locating objects has never been easier, faster, or more accurate. Within minutes of setting up the telescope, you'll be navigating the sky with confidence. Simply place your phone in the unique StarSense dock and launch the StarSense Explorer app.

Patented StarSense Sky Recognition App Technology
StarSense Explorer uses patented technology and your smartphone to determine exactly where the telescope is pointed in the night sky. A Lost in Space Algorithm (LISA), like the ones satellites use in orbit to correctly orient themselves, helps the app match star patterns it detects overhead to its internal database.

Smartphone Compatibility
StarSense Explorer works with most modern smartphones, including iPhone 6 and up and most devices running Android 7.1.2 or later manufactured since 2016. For a complete compatibility list, Click here.

While other astronomy apps may claim that they can help you find objects, they rely exclusively on the phone's gyros and accelerometers, which aren't as accurate as LISA technology. No other app can accurately tell you when your target is visible in the eyepiece.

After aligning your phone to the telescope's optics (a quick and easy procedure), StarSense Explorer generates a list of celestial objects currently visible. Make your selection and arrows appear on-screen, guiding you as you move the telescope. When the object is ready to view in the eyepiece, the bullseye turns green. As you observe, listen to hundreds of audio descriptions and view detailed information about thousands of objects within the app’s robust database.

High-Quality Altazimuth Dobsonian
The stable Tabletop Dobsonian base provides a sturdy foundation for StarSense Explorer. The tabletop base is compact, lightweight, and easy to transport, making it perfect for travel. The base’s low-profile makes accessing the eyepiece easier for some observers (especially children). You can also place the base on a stable platform, like a table or hood of a car to raise it to a comfortable viewing height. Consider adding the optional tripod for even more viewing options. Teflon bearings provide smooth motion in both altitude and azimuth. The integrated altitude "brake" system allows you to adjust the tension along the altitude axis to ensure the smoothest motion even with slight imbalances. As celestial objects appear to drift across the night sky, you'll be able to follow them easily. The optical tube connects to the base via tube rings and a dovetail bar. It’s easy to adjust the tube’s position in the rings so the focuser is in the most ergonomic viewing position. The base features an eyepiece rack to keep your extra eyepiece(s) close at hand.

Excellent Optics
With a 130mm (5.1”) parabolic primary mirror, this telescope has enough light gathering ability to bring out detail in celestial objects. You can expect sharp, bright views of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, its cloud bands and Great Red Spot, the rings of Saturn, the trapezium in the Orion Nebula, and the beautiful Pleiades Open Star Cluster. You'll be able to discern subtle details while viewing the Moon and planets, as well as faint galaxies and nebulae. This telescope features a 1.25” rack-and-pinion focuser that accepts 1.25” eyepieces and dust covers for the front of the tube and the focuser.

Specifications
Optical Design: Newtonian Reflector
Aperture: 130mm (5.12")
Focal Length: 650mm (25.6")
Focal Ratio: f/5
Focal Length of Eyepiece 1: 25mm (0.98")
Magnification of Eyepiece 1: 26x
Focal Length of Eyepiece 2: 10mm (0.39")
Magnification of Eyepiece 2: 65x
Highest Useful Magnification: 307x
Lowest Useful Magnification: 19x
Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 13.1
Light Gathering Power: 345x as compared to the human eye
Optical Coatings: Aluminum with SiO2 overcoat
Mirror Material: Standard optical glass for primary and secondary mirrors
Minor Axis of Secondary Mirror: 38mm (1.50")
Tube Material: Steel
Focuser: 1.25" rack-and-pinion
Finderscope: StarPointer™ red-dot finderscope
Resolution Rayleigh: 1.06 arcseconds
Resolution Dawes: 0.89 arcseconds
Optical Tube Dimensions: 615.95mm (24.25") long x 165.1mm (6.5") diameter
Optical Tube Weight: 8.2 lbs (3.72 kg)
Mount Type: Altazimuth Tabletop Dobsonian base
Base Material: Particle board with melamine surfaces and edge trim, CARB compliant
Base Dimensions: 482.6mm x 482.6mm x 419.1mm (19" 19" x 16.5")
Base Weight: 11 lbs (4.99 kg)
Slew Speeds: Manual
Software: Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition Software and StarSense Explorer App
Total Telescope Kit Weight: 19.2 lbs (8.71 kg)

Included Items:
Optical tube
Dobsonian Base
25mm and 10mm eyepiece
StarPointer™ red-dot finderscope
StarSense Explorer dock
StarSense Explorer unlock code
Eyepiece rack
Collimation Cap
Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition Software