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Celestron

CELESTRON StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Telescope – Works with StarSense App to Help You Find Stars, Planets & More – 130mm Newtonian Reflector – iPhone/Android Compatible

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Availability: In Stock.
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Arrives Saturday, Dec 28
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Style: Starsense Explorer DX 130


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 & 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 & 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 130MM NEWTONIAN REFLECTOR: The 5" primary mirror features highly reflective coatings and enough light gathering ability to view craters on the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and deep sky objects like the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and Pleiades Open Star Cluster.

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 130


Optical Tube Length: 635 Millimeters


Eye Piece Lens Description: 25mm and 10mm eyepieces


Objective Lens Diameter: 1.3E+2 Millimeters


Telescope Mount Description: Altazimuth Mount


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


Focus Type: Manual Focus


Power Source: Manual Operation Without External Power Source


Finderscope: StarPointer™ red dot finderscope


Product Dimensions: 30 x 32 x 50 inches


Item Weight: 18 pounds


Item model number: 22461


Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included)


Date First Available: January 6, 2020


Manufacturer: Celestron Acquisition LLC


Country of Origin: China


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Saturday, Dec 28

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.

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Top Amazon Reviews

    • The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a Fantastic Beginner Telescope!!!
Style: Starsense Explorer DX 130
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
Review Image by asset4364 asset4364
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
    • "Holy crap! It works!"
Style: Starsense Explorer DX 130
"Holy crap! It works!" That was my reaction when I looked into the eyepiece and saw the Andromeda galaxy perfectly centered in the eyepiece. I have to admit, when I saw this I was skeptical. I have some advanced equipment and use digital setting circles on a heavy duty push-to mount with a big telescope for most of my observing. I have to say that I am completely impressed. This package provides the same functionality as a setup with digital setting circles but without the encoders, cables, and control boxes. I would love to see Celestron sell the phone bracket separately as it would be a great alternative to a lot of the very expensive Digital Setting Circle packages out there right now. App The app does exactly what Celestron says it does and does it well. Setup is really as easy as in the videos and it just works. The SkyTour app is a great place to start for a new observer. For the beginner, there's enough to keep you busy for a long time. A way to add custom or additional catalogs aligned with some of Astronomical League Observing Programs would be a great feature. The app installation on your device is tied to the physical purchased item via a code on a card packaged with the item. Tripod & Mount The tripod is solid enough for the largest telescope it's packaged with, which is the 130 mm Newtonian. It's powder coated which is a nice touch and adds durability. No complaints from me on the tripod, but set your expectations accordingly. The mount that is packaged with the 130 mm Newtonian is solid and smooth and the slow motion controls work well to do the fine adjustments to center an object in the eyepiece. The phone bracket on the side of the mount is easy to adjust and intuitive and fits my iPhone 11 with room to spare. Telescope The 130 mm Newtonian in this package is the same optical tube in the Celestron 130 SLT. It's a great telescope with good optics and a good focuser for casual observing. The mirrors were aligned correctly out of the box and collimation (the process of aligning the two mirrors) wasn't necessary. I really enjoy using this particular telescope because it's small and portable and it pulls in enough light to see a lot of deep sky objects. Using it Astrophotography is one of my hobbies and once everything is set up and the exposures are clicking away and the imaging rig is doing it's thing, I like to observe. I don't like to bring out a few extra big hunks of aluminum because that's just more equipment I have to tear down at the end of the night. This has become my new favorite observing telescope while I'm imaging. On the first night I used this telescope, I was at Jon Wood Astronomy Field near Atlanta on a full moon night testing some changes to my imaging equipment. With the full moon in place, I was able to observe the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31), the Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33), the Double Cluster (Caldwell 14 in the app), Comet C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS), Bode's Nebula (Messier 81 and Messier 82), The Eskimo Nebula (Caldwell 39 in the app), Hubble's Variable Nebula (Caldwell 46 in the app), open clusters in and near Auriga Messier 35, 36, and 37, and Messier 94 - a nice spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. Conclusion The Celestron SkyTour 130 is a great telescope for a beginner to get started with and advanced enough to keep a long time observer like me occupied. It's portable, can be set up and taken down quickly and easily, and is lightweight enough that a young girl or boy can handle it with minimal supervision. This telescope is a good alternative to a computerized goto telescope that requires a power supply, is less portable, and requires more skill to use. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020 by SteveDotNet
    • 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

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