NOTE:
- Click HERE to check if your smartphone model is compatible with StarSense Explorer App
- StarSense Explorer App is only workable at NIGHT and when the night sky is NOT cloudy
- The telescope may be used in full manual mode without smartphone or app if desired
- After-sales support is available via WhatsApp or Telegram to ensure you know how to use the product
- Optional on-site guidance by McGill Staff is available @$30 per trip. Surcharge applies for remote areas based on postal code. Call for details.
AWARD-WINNING MODEL, A GAMECHANGER IN APP-ASSISTED ASTRONOMY EQUIPMENT
Celestron 130mm f/5 Newtonian telescope with PARABOLIC primary mirror
Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyse 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.
- Unleash the power of your smartphone to take you on a guided tour of the night sky—no telescope experience required.
- Award-winning and patent-pending StarSense sky recognition technology uses your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate its position in real time.
- StarSense Explorer app automatically generates a list of objects currently visible. View planets, brighter nebulae and galaxies, star clusters, and double stars from the city. Or take your telescope to darker skies to view faint, deep sky objects.
- 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, it’s ready to view in the telescope’s eyepiece.
- 130mm (5”) Newtonian reflector with highly reflective coatings and enough light gathering ability to view all the best celestial objects.
- Includes 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, StarSense smartphone dock, a red dot finderscope (in case you want to use the telescope without your phone), and a sturdy, full-height tripod.
Dock, Launch, Explore
Leave complicated star charts, imprecise planetarium apps, and computerised 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. For a complete compatibility list, click here.
Patent-Pending StarSense Sky Recognition Technology
StarSense Explorer uses patent-pending 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.
High Quality Altazimuth Mount with Slow Motion Control
An ultra-stable altazimuth mount provides a sturdy foundation for StarSense Explorer DX. Slip clutches and geared slow motion controls in both axes help you move the telescope smoothly and zero in your target. As celestial objects appear to drift across the night sky, you’ll be able to follow them with just a few turns of the knobs. It’s all anchored by an adjustable, full-height tripod.
Dazzling Views with High Quality Optics
With a large 130mm (5”) objective lens, this telescope has enough light gathering ability to bring out impressive 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 beautiful Pleaides Open Star Cluster. Highly reflective coatings on both the primary and secondary mirror enhance the views even more.
Perfect for the City or Dark Sky Sites
Even if you live in a light polluted city location, StarSense Explorer is advanced enough to be able to pick out Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, the Orion Nebula, double stars, and a few more of the most famous celestial objects.
But if you can take the telescope to an even slightly darker location, more objects will become visible. With this 5” Newtonian and relatively dark skies, the Andromeda Galaxy, Hercules Open Star Cluster, and so many more are easily within your reach.
The entire telescope kit weighs just 18 pounds, so it’s perfectly portable and easy to bring on your next camping trip or to a remote observing site.
Everything You Need to Observe Immediately
When you unbox your new StarSense Explorer DX, you’ll find:
- 130mm Newtonian reflector optical tube
- StarSense dock for your smartphone
- Low powered (25mm) and high powered (10mm) eyepiece
- StarPointer red dot finderscope, perfect for using the telescope during the day or without the StarSense Explorer app
- Altazimuth mount with slow motion controls
- Full-height tripod with an accessory tray to keep you organised
Compatible Smartphones:
- Android 7.1.2 and higher manufactured in 2016 and later, with camera, gyro, and accelerometer
- iPhone 6 and newer
In the Box
- Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ 130mm f/5 AZ Reflector Telescope
- Mount & Tripod Assembly
- StarSense Explorer Phone Dock
- 1.25″ 25mm Eyepiece
- 1.25″ 10mm Eyepiece
- StarPointer Finderscope
Why you should get a telescope from a specialist telescope supplier such as McGill and not from any e-commerce website
It is normal to encounter issues during setup, such as cannot view images through the telescope, malfunctioning due to improper connections of certain parts, entering wrong information on the app, etc. These issues are usually due to user’s fault for lack of proper knowledge, not product’s fault. Fortunately most of the issues can be resolved by contacting McGill via a phone call or WhatsApp/Telegram. We also offer you various tips. Most important of all, you get a 1-Year to 3-Year Warranty (depending on product type and brand). You do not enjoy any special service or advantage if you order from a general e-commerce website in which some sellers do not even know what they sell!
Detailed user review:
Specifications
Optical Design | Newtonian Reflector |
Aperture | 130 mm / 5.1″ |
Focal Length | 650 mm |
Focal Ratio | f/5 |
Resolution | 10.7 Arcsec (Rayleigh) 0.89 Arcsec (Dawes) |
Focuser | Single-Speed Rack-and-Pinion |
Eyepiece Barrel Diameter | 1.25″ |
Diagonal | None |
Finderscope | Yes |
Mounting | Vixen Style |
Optical Tube Dimensions | 25 x 6.5″ / 63.5 x 16.5 cm |
Type | Manual; Alt-Azimuth Single Fork |
GoTo Capability | No |
Type | Adjustable, 2-Section |
Material of Tripod | Aluminum |
Weight | 8.8 lb / 4 kg (OTA) 9.2 lb / 4.2 kg (Mount/Tripod) 18 lb / 8.2 kg (Fully Assembled) |
Click HERE for related manuals and useful tips.
Included Accessories
- 25mm eyepiece produces a low 26x power for observing the moon, planets, deep-sky objects, and constellations
- 10mm high-magnification eyepiece yields 65x power for detailed views of the lunar surface and planetary features
- Unmagnified StarPointer finderscope places a simple red dot in the field of view to make alignment and star hopping navigation faster and easier