Search  for anything...

Celestron – StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Telescope – Works with StarSense App to Help You Find Stars, Planets & More – 102mm Refractor – iPhone/Android Compatible

  • Based on 1,010 reviews
Condition: New
Checking for product changes
$419.00 Why this price?
Save $50.95 was $469.95

Buy Now, Pay Later


As low as / mo
  • – Up to 36-month term with PayTomorrow
  • – No impact on credit
  • – Instant approval decision
  • – Secure and straightforward checkout

Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout. Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, PayTomorrow, Affirm, Afterpay, Apple Pay, and PayPal. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Selected Option

Free shipping on this product

30-day refund/replacement

To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.


Availability: In Stock.
Fulfilled by Amazon

Arrives Sunday, Nov 24
Order within 1 hour and 25 seconds
Available payment plans shown during checkout

Style: Starsense Explorer DX 102


Features

  • UNLEASH THE POWER OF YOUR SMARTPHONE: Let your iPhone or Android phone take you on a guided tour of the night skyno telescope experience required. Just follow the arrows to locate stars, planets and more.
  • PATENTED STARSENSE SKY RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY: This one-of-a-kind telescope uses patented, award-winning StarSense sky recognition technology and your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate its position in real time.
  • STARSENSE EXPLORER APP: The app generates a list of the best objects to view based on your exact time and location. View planets, brighter nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters from the city PLUS fainter, deep sky objects from darker sites.
  • EASY TO SET UP AND USE: Manual altazimuth mount with smooth, dual-axis slow-motion controls makes it easy to follow the on-screen arrows to your desired target. When the bullseye turns green, its ready to view in the telescopes eyepiece.
  • HIGH-QUALITY 102MM REFRACTOR: Fully coated glass optics provide bright, sharp, clear views of craters on the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and deep sky objects like the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and Pleiades Open Star Cluster.
  • UNBEATABLE WARRANTY and SUPPORT: Buy with confidence from Celestron, a leading telescope brand in California since 1960. Your purchase includes a 2-Year US Warranty and unlimited support from our team of US-based experts.

Description

Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. 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. After aligning your phone to the telescope’s optics (a quick, 2-minute procedure), StarSense Explorer generates a list of celestial objects currently visible. Make your selection and arrows appear onscreen, guiding you as you to move the telescope. When the object is ready to view, the bullseye turns green. 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. Patented StarSense Sky Recognition 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. 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.

Brand: Celestron


Model Name: StarSense Explorer DX 102


Optical Tube Length: 812.8 Millimeters


Eye Piece Lens Description: 25mm and 10mm eyepieces


Objective Lens Diameter: 102 Millimeters


Telescope Mount Description: Altazimuth Mount


Product Dimensions: 30"D x 32"W x 50"H


Focus Type: Manual Focus


Power Source: Manual


Finderscope: StarPointer™ red dot finderscope


Product Dimensions: 38.98 x 16.93 x 8.98 inches


Item Weight: 14.08 pounds


Item model number: 22460


Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included)


Date First Available: January 6, 2020


Manufacturer: Celestron


Country of Origin: China


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Sunday, Nov 24

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

  • Klarna Financing
  • Affirm Pay in 4
  • Affirm Financing
  • Afterpay Financing
  • PayTomorrow Financing
  • Financing through Apple Pay
Leasing options through Acima may also be available during checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Top Amazon Reviews


  • So easy to use!
Style: Starsense Explorer DX 5"
As I approached a milestone birthday (I won’t tell you which milestone though), I found myself wanting to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a nice telescope. After much deliberation, I decided to treat myself to the Celestron StarSense Explorer 5". It felt like a nod to that starry-eyed kid within me, yearning to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. All my research and effort paid off…and hopefully it helps others out there too. (This scope rocks, go for it!!) Given the budget I had in mind, I quickly stumbled into the world of electronic telescopes with motors and little remote controls that steer themselves to things in the sky. I must have watched 30 YouTube videos on these types of scopes. While they seemed cool, I got the impression that I would be spending more time fumbling with the electronics than actually enjoying the stars. I have enough stress in my real life, and I wanted this scope to be simple and hassle free to use, just grab and go. No fumbling looking for batteries or doing a long set up process. The Celestron StarSense Explorer 5" caught my attention because it promised to be a telescope that didn't require a PhD to operate. Instead of a robotic telescope that steers itself to objects, you place your phone into the dock and move the telescope yourself. It made big promises of being equally as accurate as the electronic version, but simpler because you are moving it manually. There are a lot of StarSense models to choose from, but for me, the 5” is the best blend of quality and “grab and go” I was looking for. I live on a few acres of land, and I didn’t want to have to haul a large and bulky Dobsonian out to my astronomy spot. This 5” is the largest one that is still more of a traditional telescope. It also has the sturdier base and fancier controls compared to the budget models. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the telescope’s sleek and sturdy construction. It looks good enough to keep assembled near my back door so it’s always ready when I am. I actually followed the instruction manual step by step (not normal for me) and found that setting it up was a breeze. After a certain point, I didn’t need the manual because the app guided me through matching up the telescope with my phone. This was the part I was most nervous about, but it honestly took less than 5 minutes. And now that I have done it before, it takes me about 20 seconds. One feature that really got me excited was the smartphone app. I have some familiarity with the big constellations and brighter stars in the sky but I’m no expert by any means. So having the phone was like a cheat code to help me find things I am sure I could not find on my own. With the app, finding things with my scope became as easy as ordering a pizza. There’s even an audio feature to listen to info about what you are looking at. I like to pop in my earbuds and listen as I look in the eyepiece. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the real highlight—the views. From the rings of Saturn to the tiniest little galaxies and star clusters, each observation left me in awe. Although I am not in the middle of the city, there’s still some light pollution from the town and neighboring medium sized city. The scope cut through all that light pollution. I could see things in the eyepiece when it looked to my naked eye that there was nothing there. Of course, no product is without its imperfections. The main limitation I have with this scope is that I can’t do celestial photography. You need one of the electronic ones to track the sky so you can hook up a camera. But that’s a small price to pay for the simplicity of the StarSense Explorer. And I still have gotten some pretty great images of the moon by just holding my phone up to the eyepiece. I honestly have been using this scope regularly for months now, and now with warmer weather coming I am looking forward to a summer of stargazing every chance I get. In conclusion, the Celestron StarSense Explorer 5" is a solid choice for anyone looking to dip their toes into the world of stargazing. It's simple enough for beginners like me to use, yet powerful enough to keep things interesting and keep you coming back night after night. So go ahead, treat yourself to a little slice of the cosmos…you won't regret it. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024 by DogLover

  • The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a Fantastic Beginner Telescope!!!
Style: Starsense Explorer DX 130
I’ve been observing the night sky with telescopes for 35 years, have owned almost 20 different telescopes and have been asked many times for suggestions by people looking to buy a “starter” telescope. When I heard about the new Celestron StarSense Explorer line of telescopes, I was super intrigued and decided I’d purchase one to try out. Spending $399 on anything is a lot to spend. Spending $399 on a telescope, is relatively inexpensive compared to most telescopes on the market and certainly is within the price range of other beginner telescopes. So, what did I think of the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ? The short answer is, as an entry level telescope, I loved it! If you want to know why, read further. I’ll start by saying the telescope was well packed. It came in an attractive box with the components packed in smaller boxes inside. All of it was packed within a standard shipping box. The instructions made assembly very smooth although I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that I have assembled a lot of telescopes. I went into it though trying to have the perspective of someone who is new to telescopes. Having said that, I did jump to one conclusion that I was happy to be wrong about. The StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ and 130AZ telescopes have slow motion controls for moving the telescope left and right as well as up and down. Every slow-motion control I’ve ever seen attaches to the mount using visible small thumb screws. The slow-motion controls for the DX telescopes use sunken Allen head screws that are not readily visible. This is in no way a negative. I’m simply mentioning it for anyone else like me that would expect to see the typical thumb screws. Unboxing everything and assembling the telescope took less than 30 minutes. The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a 5.1” diameter reflecting telescope on an alt-azimuth mount with an adjustable height tripod. It comes with two entry level eyepieces; a 25mm that provides 26x and a 10mm that provides 65x. It also comes with a Celestron StarPointer red dot finder. The StarPointer is very similar to the finders I use on my more expensive and more sophisticated telescopes. It makes pointing the telescope at the targets you know the location of without using the StarSense app, very easy. It does need to be aligned with the telescope which can be done quite easily when you follow the included instructions. In my opinion, the real strength of the Celestron StarSense Explorer line of telescopes is the StarSense app. Using this app on your smartphone, coupled with this quality beginner telescope, makes finding objects in the night sky an almost effortless pleasure. The StarSense app walks you through aligning the night sky in the app with where the telescope is pointed. Once the two are aligned, click on the StarSense icon at the bottom of the screen on your smartphone, pick an object you want to look at and the app will guide you to move the scope manually to the chosen object. It does this with great accuracy which I’ll touch on later. It also provides a description, observing tips, and data for each object while standing at the telescope. StarSense is a very intuitive and informative app. I chose the Celestron Explorer DX 130AZ because it has the largest aperture in this new line of telescopes. The aperture of a telescope is the real power of the telescope. The larger the aperture, the more light it will collect, and the brighter objects will be. A 130mm (5.1”) telescope is enough aperture to keep an avid observer busy for years. Don’t get hung up on the advertised magnification of a telescope. After many years of using large 18” and 25” reflecting telescopes that required step ladders and stools to look through, I do all my observing with 4”, 5” and 6” refracting telescopes nowadays. During my first night out with the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX I observed 20 different objects including the planet Venus, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades Star Cluster, four galaxies (M65, M66, M81, M82), and quite a few various other open star clusters. I used the StarSense app to guide me to each object. When using the supplied 25mm eyepiece, every object was placed in the center of the field of view. I was super impressed by just how accurate it was! I currently have a couple different expensive computerized GoTo telescope mounts that automatically slew whatever telescope I have on them to the selected object. The StarSense app pointed the DX 130AZ telescope with more consistent accuracy than I have experienced with my GoTo telescope mounts. Optically, stars were sharp, and objects appeared as I would expect when observing from my front yard with more than one streetlight keeping my eyes from being adapted to the dark. To truly experience the potential of any telescope, observe from the darkest location you can and let your eyes adapt to the dark. Use a red flashlight if possible. Also, take advantage of the night vision mode in the StarSense app. Doing so will tint your smartphone screen red, which will help your eyes stay adapted to the dark. In summary, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is surprisingly enjoyable and easy to use. This is the most fun I’ve had with any telescope in its price range and in my opinion, it has the potential to change astronomy for beginners in a very positive way. What a fun way to be introduced to the universe! I can only imagine how different my early years under the stars would have been if I had this telescope coupled with a smartphone and the StarSense app. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to start their journey into amateur astronomy! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2020 by asset4364 asset4364

  • Easy to put together and start using, but ..
Style: Starsense Explorer DX 130
First of all, the seller (Atlanta Hobby) was amazing and very responsive. They helped in getting a replacement for a part that arrived damaged. They deserve a full 5 stars. As for the telescope itself, it gets a lower score for the following reasons: Mount: My biggest complaint is the way the telescope is mounted, which is via a single plastic arm on one side. This seems to cause considerable vibration whenever you adjust the focus, or slightly change direction or even just touching the movement control arms! By the time the image settles down the object would have almost drifted out of view and position correction is needed, which again causes the scope to vibrate. This gives you a few seconds or less of steady viewing between corrections. Beside that the mount itself (legs) are good yet light to carry. StarSense: The concept is very cool and very easy to use. It has helped me in finding Neptune and some deep sky objects. Note that it needs a good view of the sky to find the position quickly, and darker skies are better. However it has few quirks. For example, the app doesn't account that the phone edge may not be reachable due to the phone holder edges, yet there are buttons placed at the bottom of the app. Also the search bar doesn't forgive typos, you need to enter the name correctly to be able to find it, not a big issue unless your fingers are cold. Am also surprised by the price point for this telescope. The StarSense technology can be modularized and attached to any telescope (say replace the viewfinder). Which means a larger customer base without the need for the large price increase over a regular Newtonian with the same optical specs! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2021 by Bashar Gharaibeh

Can't find a product?

Find it on Amazon first, then paste the link below.