Hi Everyone! We are getting a lot of questions regarding how to choose a star if you are not familiar with any star names.. 1: We highly recommend you try the "Sky Align" process - This process asks you to simply point to three bright stars! No knowledge of the star names are necessary. The internal database will determine which bright stars you are pointing at by looking at the distance you move your scope from one star to the next! 2: We also highly recommend using a star atlas - something like Stellarium on your smartphone is extremely helpful and is an app I (Teagan) personally use for both visual and astrophotography on a daily basis! Hope this helps!
Thank you for making such a clear video for visual learners. I had no issue with audio volume-you didn’t use any obnoxious background music, you just showed what needed to be done. Nice.
Thanks for the refresher! After my 8se has been in storage for about 5 years, I've now retired, got plenty of time evening for observing (yea, no more "school nights!), and looking forward to getting back into observing the night sky.
This is really cool. I'm considering a new telescope and I've not purchased a new one since 1997 and it was a 6" Cassegrain, but no computer, no fancy mount and just basic old tripod. It was alot of fun and I used it to view the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and some galaxies. But man this would be cool to have this bigger scope with computer star finder. Great tutorial, I'm totally pumped for getting one now. thank you
Yeah, I never liked the drop to such a slow motor speed after hitting the [enter] button, so I center it in the eyepiece and quickly press enter and align - just as you did in the video. I believe that’s a much better and easier (not to mention quicker) way to do it. Saves having to chase stars as they move away from center and field of view. Nice presentation. I have this model myself, and am enjoying it. Always looking at other scopes, too! Can’t have just one. 😃
The core question that has been asked of many manufacturers... you're selling a piece of equipment that has to be powered... "why do you not add $30 to the price and include a power supply?"
I agree with you . . . but, I guess the reason would be that people use the scope in remote locations, national parks, camping sites, where they don't have the ability to plug the scope in. What do you do then? That's where the 8 AA batteries come in.
@@jongroubert4203 When Meade repaired/replaced my LX85 EQ mount they included a 50ft 12V DC power cord with cigarette lighter plug-in. Not a normal thing but I mentioned the power issue when e-mailing them about the mount.
hello i am new to telescopes and it looks simple to use i was just wondering, when you want to align it to a star, how do you know where the star is in the sky?
Great question. The hand controller will suggest a star for you to align with. We recommend using a program like Stellarium or SkySafari to look for the location of the star in the night sky. Usually, it'll be a bright star like Vega, Altair, or Deneb.
Quick addendum to our answer earlier: in the video we mention the "two star alignment" method which doesn't choose a star for you, so you'll need to manually identify a star using a program like Stellarium to pick a pair of stars that you can view from your location.
Hello, I have a question. I’m new to all this and was wondering if I have to point my telescope north to begin? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Good info here in video. One caution: In my first attempt, I set the OTA approximately "in the middle" of its rail. Later, as I slewed the scope toward a star at zenith, the eyepiece bumped the top of the tripod/motor section. Now, rewatching the video, appears I may have gotten (doubtful) idea of "middle" from video.
@MaxedWayOut not exactly, there are slew limits that the user might need to adjust for their scope. About the balance, look at the vixen rail attached to the OTA. In or about the center, there might be a dimple in the rail to mark center. Align with the center of the dovetail and you're good. I have an older refractor model, the mark should be the same or similar.
Audio is extremely quiet. Good video otherwise, thanks. As far as I know, bright object alignment doesn't need one to know which star is which. Just point at a bright dot and go. I'm not sure which alignment method this is but Celestron makes a special point that it's user friendly. I don't know Arcturus from Rigel yet.
Hello, thank you so much for the video. I am barely starting my astronomy journey and I’m trying to get my first telescope. I really liked the Celestron NexStar 8SE, but I really want to get into Astrophotography. Would you recommend this telescope for a beginner that is trying to get to asltrophotograpy?
Is there a recommended position for the OTA on the dovetail? Centered? Balanced? Doesn't matter? Asking because last night I had to mount the OTA near the back of the dovetail so the diagonal could fit under the motor when viewing objects straight up. Does this position affect the accuracy of the star alignment? Because it was way off after aligning. Thanks for the help! Good video too!
Hello Sam, we'd love to help you out with this. We'd strongly recommend reaching out to the product advisors via the "email us" link on our website, as they'll have the best information on how to balance your OTA: www.highpointscientific.com/email-us
Great walkthrough. Just one question as a complete novice....when you are asked to select the stars for alignment, does the telescope go-to the star you chose? or do you have to know where it is and find it manually? If the latter then that's me stumped straight away!!! I won't know where those stars are to find them!!
With the two star alignment you do have to slew the scope to stars you know. There are other alignment options where you point the scope at any three bright stars you see and the scope will figure out what stars they are and align itself.
Great video. When inserting the optical tube into the fork arm along the dovetail, is there an optimal position along the dovetail you should clamp your tube? Say, should it be more to the center or as far back as you can?
Love the video. Thanks for sharing. I live in Cincinnati. Would like to get one. I have s 26 mm super plossel and some other eyepieces and a barlow lows I used with and meade ETX. Will those work on this?
I don't understand why we need an adapter. I just purchased this telescope as a Christmas gift for my family. We often take our telescope when we go camping. Does this telescope require electricity to work? That would make it very limiting to use.
Awsome video man! But, can you help me hook up my laptop to my Celestron 8SE (and do I need with Ascom)? The videos I've seen are several years old and not helpful. I want to be able to see the image on my computer if possible? Thanks, Joey
You should be able to connect to Celestron's PWI program with a Mini USB 2.0 cable (male type A to male Mini-B). The adapter for which can be found on the bottom of the hand controller.
This is my dream to buy a telescope and study astronomical phenomena, stars,planets, galxies and so on. Because it is too costly (2 lakh). Not in my range. I love astrophysics and astronomy,because it is so interesting. I am watching telescope buying unboxing videos for my pleasure. I am a teenager from middle class family. This telescope isn't in my range to buy it 😔😅. BTW this is a nice video of unboxing it.
Great set up video, when I have completed my session for the night, do I have to do this again the next night? or do I leave it switched on 24/7? I don't seem have a option to put it to sleep and come back to it.
Would you recommend the 6se or 8se? Right now I have the sky watcher az GTi 127 and I’m not having good luck with the telescope finding objects. It will get me there, but it is way off. I’ve contacted sky watcher they told me to try a few things but with no luck.
I have one question how are you supposed to know which star is which and where it is on the sky because how am I supposed to know which star I’m looking at
I just rented this telescope and I have zero knowledge in general. For the alignment where you selected two stars you may know. What if you don't know any ? Thanks.
The easiest way to do this is to make sure the first star you pick is bright (Vega, Arcturus, Sirius). It'll appear almost overwhelmingly bright when compared to the other stars.
Hello! Great video, you explained almost everything I wanted to know! I do have a question though: After setting up the hand controller for the first time (such as entering your location, date, time, etc), does it save your settings? And if so, can you go back and change them? Thanks!
Great vid bro! one question though do i need to align the telescope every single time i use it? like if i were to use it tonight then use it tomorrow would i have to realign the telescope? thanks
After setting up, first you want to perform a star alignment. Once the telescope is aligned, you can select deep sky objects to view. For example Messier 31. Once selected, the scope will automatically move towards Messier 31. Then you can view it through your eyepiece!
Doesn’t work, every time I align both stars it says alignment failed. I also calibrated the Star pointer during the day time just like the video says. I love the Celestron 8SE, as a beginner, but what’s the use if I can’t get it to properly function. I’ve had the telescope for 3 years now and I’ve never been able to successfully align it. If I want to look at planets I use the Star pointer, but again I want to use the telescope at full capacity and I just can’t seem to get it done right.
Hopefully we can offer some insight! Are you providing your time and date at the beginning of each viewing session? You can either choose your specific city or you can enter your coordinates. If this is incorrect, or if the date on the hand controller is wrong, you will not be able to properly align! We recommend starting there - let us know if you have in fact tried this! You may have to update your firmware as well.
@@highpointscientific Thank you for responding in such a timely matter. I appreciate it. I did enter the correct date and time into the handheld device, along with my local city. I did not know I could update the firmware, so how would I do that? I will try to align the telescope again once the weather clears. I recently purchased a 3x Barlow lease along with an adapter for my camera, and I was able to look at Jupiter the other night. As much as I want to align the telescope, I must say that it still gets the job done, but obviously, it’s very tedious having to get the target back in frame to capture photos.
If i have the scope aligned and I select Saturn. The scope goes to Saturn but it is not quite centered or even a ways off form center. If I adjust the scope using the controller and make Saturn center will the scope then assume I center4ed it and keep it centered as it tracks it or will it allow it to get out of center?
Hey this might be a stupid question or i might've missed it, but will the 8se track the stars and if so how long will it follow before you need to recenter?
I have a question i live in downtown and i bought this recently i wanna watch the universe from my high-rise balcony… most of the time i dont see any star with my naked eyes including-today this could be because of light pollution in downtown… will i be able to ever use my telescope?? I am worried that this telescope requires star alignment all the time and I am worried if I am unable to see the stars with my naked eye can I just check my night sky phone app to see where is what star and then just point the telescope towards it even though my naked eyes can’t see anything??? Sorry i am total novice but I really want to learn this hobby please help
Hello, thanks for reaching out. What part of the sky are you observing? You should be able to see at least a few stars from even the most light polluted of cities, such as Capella, Sirius, et cetera.
Hello Roger, we'd love to help you out with this. We'd strongly recommend reaching out to the product advisors via the "email us" link on our website, as they'll have the best information on how to connect your PC to your NexStar Hand controller: www.highpointscientific.com/email-us
Okay what if my city isn’t included in the list when setting up? Can you advise how I can customise my coordinates? I’ve google long lat of my location, but the digits google give me have 2 extra digits than the slot on the telescope handheld allows..
@@highpointscientific Thanks for your reply! will try this and hopefully I can get ahead. One last question please, I moved houses and I removed the scope parts to avoid damage. Now I can’t remember what goes where, I’ve watched a few videos on RUclips but for some reason I can’t figure out why the 90° scope arm that comes with the telescope won’t lock back into place and keeps falling off, I feel I’m doing something terribly wrong. Is there a guide anywhere that can help with this?
This scope can take double A-batteries but we recommend a 3amp ac adapter which you can find here: www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-universal-2-amp-ac-adapter-ac2
I have a lot of UFOs fly over, will this track them? By UFOs I will see 11 to 20 solid lights sometimes a night. I see planes as in blinking lights but the solid lights is what I am after lol. I will use this for planets as well.
Hello! We'd be happy to help you out. Could you tell us more about your setup and how you're focusing? Are you trying to look through an eyepiece, or are you using a camera?
Follow the advice near the beginning about calibrating the red dot. Focus on a near object. When you do, take note of which direction you have to rotate the knob to focus in and out, and how much. Some planets take a finer touch. Start with the moon, then move on to Jupiter and Saturn and you will get a touch for it.
@@highpointscientific many thanks for that tried my 10mm could you tell me why it’s coming out blurred I’ve done what it says in your video aligning during the day getting it into focus your videos are great explains everything needed to know 🙂
@@greengekko-ps3hr There could be several reasons. The biggest one is that your atmospheric seeing and transparency may be poor, which is resulting in views not as clear. You may also have miscollimation in your optics.
@@greengekko-ps3hr You can tell if you are out of collimation if getting stars as close to in-focus as possible causes them to look "smeared" or teardrop-shaped - if so, would highly recommend a tribahtinov mask or a Duncan mask; allows you to do collimation fairly easily just by peering through the eyepiece at a bright star
There are two possible ways.. perhaps three. You can perform a "Bright star alignment" and manually point your telescope to three bright stars in the sky and the internal computer will determine which ones they are by their distance from each other in the sky. The second method would be solar system aligning. You can use the position of the planets and even the moon if it's out. The final recommendation is to download a night sky app like "Stellarium". These are fantastic tools!
It's a good choice! There's no such thing as the "best telescope for beginners" in our opinion, but the 8SE will be hard to beat as far as light gathering capability & ease of use.
Steve, you can find the star Altair in the constellation of Aquila. It's one of the three brightest stars in the "Summer Triangle" asterism. Unfortunately, right now Altair is behind the Sun. We'd strongly recommend a planetarium app or a Sky Atlas to help you out.
@@mohitastrophotography8499 What is your budget? Do you have a mount? Astrophotography can be a very expensive endeavor! A Newtonian would probably be a little better for wanting to do astrophotography and planetary work, however they usually have a higher degree of maintenance (such as collimation).
@@highpointscientific well i have around 1500 dollars. And no i dont have any mount . I have to build it from scratch but i am confuse what to buy . For camera i have a DSLR which is good.
@mohit astrophotography Having a camera will help. To be successful, we'd recommend considering the following: 1) A telescope, in your case likely a telescope with a focal length of 600-1200mm to be able to do both planetary & deep sky astrophotography. A Newtonian would be the most economical choice. Keep in mind that Newtonians also require precise collimation! 2) A barlow lens to be able to photograph the planets. This works by increasing the focal length, thus the amount of magnification in the image (a 2x barlow will increase a 600mm telescope to a 1200mm one, for example). As much magnification is possible as seeing allows for planetary work! 3) A guidescope/guide camera. This is necessary to take the long exposures needed DSOs as your mount will have some sort of periodic error to it, although not necessary for planetary imaging. 4) some sort of mount that can take the weight. At minimum, we'd recommend a mount like the Celestron AVX or a similar class, although a larger mount would be helpful. We hope this helps to narrow down your search!
@@highpointscientific would You recomend one of these over a manual mount for someone looking for ease of use and dont have much time to watch the sky or learn to use a telescope?
@@RaulAyanami In terms of sheer ease of use, a manual telescope would be better as you can setup basically within a few moments. A fully manual dobsonian, like our Apertura AD8, might be of interest to you. The only downside is that you'll need to track objects by hand. You'll also really need to take the time to understand where objects are located in the sky, learn the process of starhopping from one object to another, et cetera.
My Celestron that came with a NexStar base has ruined my nights of gazing 100% every single time. I would recommend NOT buying anything with a NexStar base. It's software is glitchy. Once you get a "No Response" code, your dead in the water. The base is motorized and is controlled by it's NexStar controller and you can no longer pan the telescope once it glitches "No Response", effectively ruining your night of star gazing. I personally would stay away completely anything with the words "NexStar" on it.
Why are there so many variations of recommended power adapters for the 8SE? I had a 12v 2a adapter. The Celestron Power Cell has 12v 3a and you recommend 12v 5a. I believe I saw a 4th recommendation but can't recall what it was. This is confusing. I need to order a new adapter but don't know which one is best. Is more current/amps better to prevent wear on the alignment motor/gears? Help!
Hi There! You are right in that there are several different types of power adapters that people use for the Nexstar Series of scopes. The 12v 2a, 12v 3a, and 12v 5a all work actually but The 12v 3a and the 12v 5a are the ones that we highly recommend. These provide enough amperage for the Nexstar to run efficiently without any sort of power supply issue!
Hi Everyone! We are getting a lot of questions regarding how to choose a star if you are not familiar with any star names..
1: We highly recommend you try the "Sky Align" process - This process asks you to simply point to three bright stars! No knowledge of the star names are necessary. The internal database will determine which bright stars you are pointing at by looking at the distance you move your scope from one star to the next!
2: We also highly recommend using a star atlas - something like Stellarium on your smartphone is extremely helpful and is an app I (Teagan) personally use for both visual and astrophotography on a daily basis!
Hope this helps!
Thank you for making such a clear video for visual learners. I had no issue with audio volume-you didn’t use any obnoxious background music, you just showed what needed to be done. Nice.
Thanks for the refresher! After my 8se has been in storage for about 5 years, I've now retired, got plenty of time evening for observing (yea, no more "school nights!), and looking forward to getting back into observing the night sky.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy using the 8SE again!
great tutorial. a lot less intimidating than the instruction manual. simple and precise. thanks
Crystal clear and no showboating. Many thanks...
Absolute gold of a tutorial. I have struggled for a while with my 6se, the instructions are useless; but this video was fantastic!!
This is really cool. I'm considering a new telescope and I've not purchased a new one since 1997 and it was a 6" Cassegrain, but no computer, no fancy mount and just basic old tripod. It was alot of fun and I used it to view the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and some galaxies. But man this would be cool to have this bigger scope with computer star finder. Great tutorial, I'm totally pumped for getting one now. thank you
Have had the NexStar 8SE for a bit in my office... this video has me now going up to use it tonight! Ty for making this. xx
Thank you so so much! That made my setup so easy!
Yeah, I never liked the drop to such a slow motor speed after hitting the [enter] button, so I center it in the eyepiece and quickly press enter and align - just as you did in the video. I believe that’s a much better and easier (not to mention quicker) way to do it. Saves having to chase stars as they move away from center and field of view. Nice presentation. I have this model myself, and am enjoying it. Always looking at other scopes, too! Can’t have just one. 😃
I take my one Telescope today 🙊🙊🙊🙊🙊🙊💛💛💛 I am from Saudi Arabia and i like this video so much😍 , Thank you 👍🏻
We hope you enjoy the telescope!
Just bought it… and bam! It’s pretty huge
We hope you enjoy!
Simply put, easy to understand, thanks.
Glad it helped!
Thanks my man 🤙🏾
The core question that has been asked of many manufacturers... you're selling a piece of equipment that has to be powered... "why do you not add $30 to the price and include a power supply?"
I agree with you . . . but, I guess the reason would be that people use the scope in remote locations, national parks, camping sites, where they don't have the ability to plug the scope in. What do you do then? That's where the 8 AA batteries come in.
@@jongroubert4203 When Meade repaired/replaced my LX85 EQ mount they included a 50ft 12V DC power cord with cigarette lighter plug-in. Not a normal thing but I mentioned the power issue when e-mailing them about the mount.
@@jongroubert4203 I could plug into my Tesla. I still want the power adapter.
Thank you so much for the lucid explanation...Great video👍
Thank you!
Great video, simple and clear ... better than the documentation that came with the telescope.
Did it work for you? I can’t seem to get the telescope to align.
U helped me sooo much about aligning the finderscope thx i actually subbed to u cuz of this
hello i am new to telescopes and it looks simple to use i was just wondering, when you want to align it to a star, how do you know where the star is in the sky?
We'd recommend downloading a star app on your phone like SkySafari to help figure out which star in the sky you're looking for!
@@highpointscientific thanks!
Great video. For a beginer, how would they know the location of star for scope alignment. Any suggestion.
Great question. The hand controller will suggest a star for you to align with. We recommend using a program like Stellarium or SkySafari to look for the location of the star in the night sky. Usually, it'll be a bright star like Vega, Altair, or Deneb.
Quick addendum to our answer earlier: in the video we mention the "two star alignment" method which doesn't choose a star for you, so you'll need to manually identify a star using a program like Stellarium to pick a pair of stars that you can view from your location.
@@highpointscientific how do I know if I’ve aligned it properly? Thanks for the great video
great tutorial ty
Hello, I have a question. I’m new to all this and was wondering if I have to point my telescope north to begin? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
The sweet spot for this mount/motors is the 6” CST. If you want 8” get the Evolution.
Thanks for making that easy.. I just got my 8 and I didn't want to read that book!! Lol.
Good info here in video. One caution: In my first attempt, I set the OTA approximately "in the middle" of its rail. Later, as I slewed the scope toward a star at zenith, the eyepiece bumped the top of the tripod/motor section. Now, rewatching the video, appears I may have gotten (doubtful) idea of "middle" from video.
@MaxedWayOut not exactly, there are slew limits that the user might need to adjust for their scope. About the balance, look at the vixen rail attached to the OTA. In or about the center, there might be a dimple in the rail to mark center. Align with the center of the dovetail and you're good.
I have an older refractor model, the mark should be the same or similar.
Audio is extremely quiet. Good video otherwise, thanks. As far as I know, bright object alignment doesn't need one to know which star is which. Just point at a bright dot and go. I'm not sure which alignment method this is but Celestron makes a special point that it's user friendly. I don't know Arcturus from Rigel yet.
Sorry about that - appreciate your feedback.
It’s not quiet at all
Thank you for this video it is very helpful.
Very welcome, clear skies!
Hello, thank you so much for the video. I am barely starting my astronomy journey and I’m trying to get my first telescope. I really liked the Celestron NexStar 8SE, but I really want to get into Astrophotography. Would you recommend this telescope for a beginner that is trying to get to asltrophotograpy?
Thanks so much you are the only one that said, what kind of battery came with the finder scope. I wanted to order some in advance.
Thanks.
The mount head should be leveled. I rest my iPhone on top horizontal surface of mount head and center it X0,Y0. This is necessary for uneven ground.
Is there a recommended position for the OTA on the dovetail? Centered? Balanced? Doesn't matter?
Asking because last night I had to mount the OTA near the back of the dovetail so the diagonal could fit under the motor when viewing objects straight up.
Does this position affect the accuracy of the star alignment? Because it was way off after aligning.
Thanks for the help! Good video too!
Hello Sam, we'd love to help you out with this. We'd strongly recommend reaching out to the product advisors via the "email us" link on our website, as they'll have the best information on how to balance your OTA: www.highpointscientific.com/email-us
Great walkthrough. Just one question as a complete novice....when you are asked to select the stars for alignment, does the telescope go-to the star you chose? or do you have to know where it is and find it manually? If the latter then that's me stumped straight away!!! I won't know where those stars are to find them!!
With the two star alignment you do have to slew the scope to stars you know. There are other alignment options where you point the scope at any three bright stars you see and the scope will figure out what stars they are and align itself.
Great video. When inserting the optical tube into the fork arm along the dovetail, is there an optimal position along the dovetail you should clamp your tube? Say, should it be more to the center or as far back as you can?
Closer to the center & center of mass of the optical tube would be ideal.
So you have to have an outlet near by then?!? Wish you showed some imagines through it. Debating on buying one
Also I'm guessing you got to realign it every time you set it up, right?
Love the video. Thanks for sharing. I live in Cincinnati. Would like to get one. I have s 26 mm super plossel and some other eyepieces and a barlow lows I used with and meade ETX. Will those work on this?
Do you need to connect this to a computer for this to be setup? I spoke to someone and they said you need a computer?
Thanks for the info. Should this be the same on an older CPC 8?
I don't understand why we need an adapter. I just purchased this telescope as a Christmas gift for my family. We often take our telescope when we go camping. Does this telescope require electricity to work? That would make it very limiting to use.
It is just me or do you have to do the alignment part every time I turn it on again
I dont know about the star Altair, how do I align now?
So the last movement doesn’t have to up and to the right? I’ve tried for 3 months and haven’t been able to align my telescope.
I did a Skyline on my Celestron nexstar 8 se but it went the opposite way where should have went
Awsome video man! But, can you help me hook up my laptop to my Celestron 8SE (and do I need with Ascom)? The videos I've seen are several years old and not helpful. I want to be able to see the image on my computer if possible? Thanks, Joey
You should be able to connect to Celestron's PWI program with a Mini USB 2.0 cable (male type A to male Mini-B). The adapter for which can be found on the bottom of the hand controller.
How do you get it to track an object, or does it automatically start tracking when it finds an object?
This is my dream to buy a telescope and study astronomical phenomena, stars,planets, galxies and so on. Because it is too costly (2 lakh). Not in my range. I love astrophysics and astronomy,because it is so interesting. I am watching telescope buying unboxing videos for my pleasure. I am a teenager from middle class family. This telescope isn't in my range to buy it 😔😅. BTW this is a nice video of unboxing it.
Great set up video, when I have completed my session for the night, do I have to do this again the next night? or do I leave it switched on 24/7? I don't seem have a option to put it to sleep and come back to it.
Thank you for the feedback! Yes, it is advised to input your date, time, location before each session
Would you recommend the 6se or 8se? Right now I have the sky watcher az GTi 127 and I’m not having good luck with the telescope finding objects. It will get me there, but it is way off. I’ve contacted sky watcher they told me to try a few things but with no luck.
I’m purchasing this scope. Aligning to planets is the same way?
I have one question how are you supposed to know which star is which and where it is on the sky because how am I supposed to know which star I’m looking at
I just rented this telescope and I have zero knowledge in general. For the alignment where you selected two stars you may know. What if you don't know any ? Thanks.
but doesn't the alignment process not only assumes you already know, but require you to know, where celestial bodies already are?
When setting up a 2 star alignment how do you know you have the correct star your looking for ?
The easiest way to do this is to make sure the first star you pick is bright (Vega, Arcturus, Sirius). It'll appear almost overwhelmingly bright when compared to the other stars.
How do I do this if I don't know what stars I am looking at
What if one is total noob. Do not know star names and their locations in the sky. How would one align? Is there another way to align
Ya think?..... wow
Nice - thx
You're welcome!
Hello! Great video, you explained almost everything I wanted to know! I do have a question though: After setting up the hand controller for the first time (such as entering your location, date, time, etc), does it save your settings? And if so, can you go back and change them? Thanks!
Yes, the settings will be saved and you can also go back and amend them, as needed.
@@highpointscientific perfect! Thank you very much!
Great vid bro! one question though do i need to align the telescope every single time i use it? like if i were to use it tonight then use it tomorrow would i have to realign the telescope? thanks
Hey Cole! Thanks for messaging us. We'd recommend realign the telescope every time you use it, especially if it is moved between observing sessions.
how do i know the name of the star im looking at or the other way around
Hi … do you need the AC connection even during actual observing? Does this not limit observation anywhere away from like your house?
You don't need an A/C connection for observing, the mount runs off 8 AA batteries as well.
Im guessing it can be used as a non goto telescope if you want to just star hop and also save battery lol
Once I click deep sky for example… what does the telescope do ? Does it prepare for that deep sky images ? I don’t get it … could you help me ..
After setting up, first you want to perform a star alignment. Once the telescope is aligned, you can select deep sky objects to view. For example Messier 31. Once selected, the scope will automatically move towards Messier 31. Then you can view it through your eyepiece!
Should your telescope be pointing towards the North before you do the star alignment?
The telescope doesn't need to be pointed north before the star alignment.
Doesn’t work, every time I align both stars it says alignment failed. I also calibrated the Star pointer during the day time just like the video says. I love the Celestron 8SE, as a beginner, but what’s the use if I can’t get it to properly function. I’ve had the telescope for 3 years now and I’ve never been able to successfully align it. If I want to look at planets I use the Star pointer, but again I want to use the telescope at full capacity and I just can’t seem to get it done right.
Hopefully we can offer some insight!
Are you providing your time and date at the beginning of each viewing session? You can either choose your specific city or you can enter your coordinates. If this is incorrect, or if the date on the hand controller is wrong, you will not be able to properly align!
We recommend starting there - let us know if you have in fact tried this! You may have to update your firmware as well.
@@highpointscientific Thank you for responding in such a timely matter. I appreciate it. I did enter the correct date and time into the handheld device, along with my local city. I did not know I could update the firmware, so how would I do that? I will try to align the telescope again once the weather clears. I recently purchased a 3x Barlow lease along with an adapter for my camera, and I was able to look at Jupiter the other night. As much as I want to align the telescope, I must say that it still gets the job done, but obviously, it’s very tedious having to get the target back in frame to capture photos.
We just bought one of your scopes...we are complete beginners..how do we know what stars are what for alignment??
We highly recommend using a Star Atlas app like Stellarium. These are extremally helpful in navigating the night sky.
🔴can the 8se also be used for VERY short distances, such as in urban city area
The 8SE is not well suited for short distances, you'd be better off with binoculars.
If i have the scope aligned and I select Saturn. The scope goes to Saturn but it is not quite centered or even a ways off form center. If I adjust the scope using the controller and make Saturn center will the scope then assume I center4ed it and keep it centered as it tracks it or will it allow it to get out of center?
It should remain centered once you make the adjustments. GoTo error does not usually result in tracking errors.
Hey this might be a stupid question or i might've missed it, but will the 8se track the stars and if so how long will it follow before you need to recenter?
The 8SE will track the stars for your entire observing session.
I have a question i live in downtown and i bought this recently i wanna watch the universe from my high-rise balcony… most of the time i dont see any star with my naked eyes including-today this could be because of light pollution in downtown… will i be able to ever use my telescope?? I am worried that this telescope requires star alignment all the time and I am worried if I am unable to see the stars with my naked eye can I just check my night sky phone app to see where is what star and then just point the telescope towards it even though my naked eyes can’t see anything??? Sorry i am total novice but I really want to learn this hobby please help
Hello, thanks for reaching out. What part of the sky are you observing? You should be able to see at least a few stars from even the most light polluted of cities, such as Capella, Sirius, et cetera.
Any help on figuring out how to use the pc to update the nexstar hand controller?
Hello Roger, we'd love to help you out with this. We'd strongly recommend reaching out to the product advisors via the "email us" link on our website, as they'll have the best information on how to connect your PC to your NexStar Hand controller: www.highpointscientific.com/email-us
I Want to buy a telescope
Between this 2 options .,,,Wich would you buy : Celestron Omni 150 mm XLT vs el Skywatcher 150 mm EQ3
Thanks
Both telescopes are good! They're both 150mm f/5, so the views through both would be identical.
Okay what if my city isn’t included in the list when setting up? Can you advise how I can customise my coordinates? I’ve google long lat of my location, but the digits google give me have 2 extra digits than the slot on the telescope handheld allows..
Try rounding up to the nearest two digits and make sure your coordinates are in dms (degrees, minutes, seconds). Example: +28°36′30.2″N, -80°36′15.6″W
@@highpointscientific Thanks for your reply! will try this and hopefully I can get ahead. One last question please, I moved houses and I removed the scope parts to avoid damage. Now I can’t remember what goes where, I’ve watched a few videos on RUclips but for some reason I can’t figure out why the 90° scope arm that comes with the telescope won’t lock back into place and keeps falling off, I feel I’m doing something terribly wrong. Is there a guide anywhere that can help with this?
Once you goto an object does it continue to track that object?
Hi Blang, yes it does!
What batteries would you recommend and can I get said batteries on Amazon?
This scope can take double A-batteries but we recommend a 3amp ac adapter which you can find here: www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-universal-2-amp-ac-adapter-ac2
@@highpointscientific Thank you!
How do you move it without aligning it?
You can move it without aligning it.
I have a lot of UFOs fly over, will this track them? By UFOs I will see 11 to 20 solid lights sometimes a night. I see planes as in blinking lights but the solid lights is what I am after lol. I will use this for planets as well.
Also I am using Google's and the Pentagons definition of UFO lol.
My 8se when I tried to get it aligned it keeps saying waiting for camera?
A camera shouldn't be involved unless you're using something like the StarSense AutoAlignment tool.
@@highpointscientific ok it says that too hiw do I get it out of that
Great information, but I am unable to focus. Can you help me?
Hello! We'd be happy to help you out. Could you tell us more about your setup and how you're focusing? Are you trying to look through an eyepiece, or are you using a camera?
@@highpointscientific Is there and email address that my friend can send their questions to?
@@constancejones5555 You can reach out to our product advisors via the "email us" form: www.highpointscientific.com/email-us
Follow the advice near the beginning about calibrating the red dot. Focus on a near object. When you do, take note of which direction you have to rotate the knob to focus in and out, and how much. Some planets take a finer touch. Start with the moon, then move on to Jupiter and Saturn and you will get a touch for it.
Hi I have just purchased this telescope could you tell me what’s the best eye piece to use to look at our planets many thanks
Hello! A good high powered eyepiece (
@@highpointscientific many thanks for that tried my 10mm could you tell me why it’s coming out blurred I’ve done what it says in your video aligning during the day getting it into focus your videos are great explains everything needed to know 🙂
@@greengekko-ps3hr There could be several reasons. The biggest one is that your atmospheric seeing and transparency may be poor, which is resulting in views not as clear. You may also have miscollimation in your optics.
@@highpointscientific miscollimation can I do that myself is so have you got a video I could watch many thanks
@@greengekko-ps3hr You can tell if you are out of collimation if getting stars as close to in-focus as possible causes them to look "smeared" or teardrop-shaped - if so, would highly recommend a tribahtinov mask or a Duncan mask; allows you to do collimation fairly easily just by peering through the eyepiece at a bright star
These are great scopes. I’d buy it without the mount.
Glad you didn't explain why you wouldn't buy the mount. It may have been too helpful
@@PafMedic it’s pretty costly in my opinion. Most people who are into photography will quickly outgrow it. It’s not terrible just not terribly good.
@@GavriloPewPew would you like my honest opinion of the mount? It’s not a very good one.
Do you have to align every time?
Every time you use it? Yes
How do you know which star to choose from when aligning? Say if you have no knowledge of the stars at all.
There are two possible ways.. perhaps three.
You can perform a "Bright star alignment" and manually point your telescope to three bright stars in the sky and the internal computer will determine which ones they are by their distance from each other in the sky.
The second method would be solar system aligning. You can use the position of the planets and even the moon if it's out.
The final recommendation is to download a night sky app like "Stellarium". These are fantastic tools!
thank you! the instructions that came with it are not great
How to see MOON
After a quick two-star alignment, you should be able to select "Moon" under the solar system catalog.
Mine is still hopelessly lost, can even align off the moon and it has zero idea where anything else is
Hi there, please is the Celestron NexStar 8SE the best telescope for beginners? I really need an easy-to-use instrument for myself..
It's a good choice! There's no such thing as the "best telescope for beginners" in our opinion, but the 8SE will be hard to beat as far as light gathering capability & ease of use.
You lost me at the end. I slowed down your video several times. How do I find the star Altair?
Steve, you can find the star Altair in the constellation of Aquila. It's one of the three brightest stars in the "Summer Triangle" asterism. Unfortunately, right now Altair is behind the Sun. We'd strongly recommend a planetarium app or a Sky Atlas to help you out.
The scope is decent but the mount shakes like a tumble dryer.
🌞🌞💓
he's so cute
Cut it out mom.
Precio $.
$1600-$2000
i'm a dumbass so what should i do if i cant identify stars? I'd probably select the wrong one lmfao
Suggest me a telescope which can do both deepsky photography and planetary photography??
Hello! We'd be happy to help with your selection. You're likely looking for a Newtonian or some sort of Cassegrain telescope.
@@highpointscientific okay and which one would you suggest? As i have a tight budget 😅
@@mohitastrophotography8499 What is your budget? Do you have a mount? Astrophotography can be a very expensive endeavor! A Newtonian would probably be a little better for wanting to do astrophotography and planetary work, however they usually have a higher degree of maintenance (such as collimation).
@@highpointscientific well i have around 1500 dollars. And no i dont have any mount . I have to build it from scratch but i am confuse what to buy . For camera i have a DSLR which is good.
@mohit astrophotography Having a camera will help. To be successful, we'd recommend considering the following:
1) A telescope, in your case likely a telescope with a focal length of 600-1200mm to be able to do both planetary & deep sky astrophotography. A Newtonian would be the most economical choice. Keep in mind that Newtonians also require precise collimation!
2) A barlow lens to be able to photograph the planets. This works by increasing the focal length, thus the amount of magnification in the image (a 2x barlow will increase a 600mm telescope to a 1200mm one, for example). As much magnification is possible as seeing allows for planetary work!
3) A guidescope/guide camera. This is necessary to take the long exposures needed DSOs as your mount will have some sort of periodic error to it, although not necessary for planetary imaging.
4) some sort of mount that can take the weight. At minimum, we'd recommend a mount like the Celestron AVX or a similar class, although a larger mount would be helpful.
We hope this helps to narrow down your search!
I was absolutely loving video until you started naming the stars you align to. Beginners will not no this. Anyway great information thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
this need to be done Everytime?
Yes, anytime you move the telescope this alignment process needs to be done.
even the data entry?
@@RaulAyanami Your location can stay the same, but the time, date, et cetera all need to be updated for the night of observing.
@@highpointscientific would You recomend one of these over a manual mount for someone looking for ease of use and dont have much time to watch the sky or learn to use a telescope?
@@RaulAyanami In terms of sheer ease of use, a manual telescope would be better as you can setup basically within a few moments. A fully manual dobsonian, like our Apertura AD8, might be of interest to you. The only downside is that you'll need to track objects by hand. You'll also really need to take the time to understand where objects are located in the sky, learn the process of starhopping from one object to another, et cetera.
My Celestron that came with a NexStar base has ruined my nights of gazing 100% every single time. I would recommend NOT buying anything with a NexStar base. It's software is glitchy. Once you get a "No Response" code, your dead in the water. The base is motorized and is controlled by it's NexStar controller and you can no longer pan the telescope once it glitches "No Response", effectively ruining your night of star gazing. I personally would stay away completely anything with the words "NexStar" on it.
Only in ohio
Why are there so many variations of recommended power adapters for the 8SE? I had a 12v 2a adapter. The Celestron Power Cell has 12v 3a and you recommend 12v 5a. I believe I saw a 4th recommendation but can't recall what it was.
This is confusing. I need to order a new adapter but don't know which one is best. Is more current/amps better to prevent wear on the alignment motor/gears? Help!
Hi There! You are right in that there are several different types of power adapters that people use for the Nexstar Series of scopes. The 12v 2a, 12v 3a, and 12v 5a all work actually but The 12v 3a and the 12v 5a are the ones that we highly recommend. These provide enough amperage for the Nexstar to run efficiently without any sort of power supply issue!