Celestron Nexstar 80 HC Telescope

Rating:
Summary: WOW! This telescope is truly amazing!
Review: I just purchased this telescope from Amazon last week. With all of the rain (Ugh!) I had my first opportunity to try it out last night ...

WOW! I was amazed at how easy and FUN this little baby is to use. Now, I did my homework first. I spent hours on eBay, the astronomy sites, and I had the whole scoop. I had a cheap 2" reflector as a kid, and I remember vividly how IMPOSSIBLE it was to see anything other than the moon ... so now that I have kids of my own, I wanted to get something that would give us all more enjoyment than frustration, and the Celestron Nexstar 80HC does the trick!

Especially for the novices and amateurs in the crowd, this is a GREAT option. It is extremely easy to set-up and use, has great instructions, comes with some VERY useful PC software, and is affordable to boot!

For starters, ALL of the expert advice said to avoid those "department store" models like the plague! Celestron is a VERY respected brand name for serious amateurs, and their optics have a great reputation. I know a bit about lenses (having a photography degree) and I am impressed with this scope.

Second, the included parts and accessories give you EVERYTHING you need to get started. The tripod is nice and sturdy, all of the components seem well-made, and set-up is a breeze. Inside of thirty minutes you can be outside star-hopping!

I strongly considered getting one of those computer-controlled "Go-To" scopes (like the big brother of this model) with the automatic hand controls. But they cost considerably more money - and then I found that this model can be linked to your PC to provide EXACTLY the same functionality! The INCLUDED motorized mount and hand control make finding and tracking objects easy as pie, and the "Red-Dot" finder scope is pure genius. Using just your naked eye (I didn't even take off my glases!) you simply move the scope using the hand control until the little red LED light is super-imposed over the object (star, planet, etc) you want to view. BINGO! That object will be right inside the viewfinder. The brightness of the LED can even be adjusted to match fainter stars & planets.

As if that all weren't enough, this package came with TWO software products, the "Guidestar" software, which allows you to connect the telescope to your PC for fully automated control (the connector cable IS included!) and also Celestron's "The Sky" software which is like your "Atlas" to the heavens. I have been playing with it for three nights in a row ... you can set the software for your specific location and time (it can use the PC's internal clock) and then it will show you what is in your sky at ANY time of the day or night. A special mode called "Daytime Viewing" will show you a "real" view of the sky, as opposed to the traditional "star-charts" which can be somewhat confusing, especially for novices.

The first night, I popped the CD-ROM in, installed "The Sky" software, and inside of five minutes I was panning around a miniature replica of the stars & planets outside my window. I turned out the lights, and set the software to "Night Vision" mode (so as to allow my eyes to adjust to the dark) and picked out a few bright stars on the screen, noting approximately where they should be in the sky. I walked outside, looked up, and there it was ... I had found the star "Vega" ... and it only took me about five minutes. Just click on ANY object on the screen and it gives you all of the information you could want, name, location, rising/setting time, brightness (magnitude) and much more.

But the BEST part is, after I brought the telescope outside (I was too psyched to stop at this point) it took me less than five more minutes to have Vega in my eyepiece, gazing at my first star, flickering like a frosty diamond. After that, I browsed around to the moon and a few other objects. It really was AMAZINGLY easy. See an object in the sky, push the motor buttons to move the red dot into place, and turn the focusing knob ... that's about all there was to it.

Now, I am NOT an "astronomer", and I don't pretend that this review will impress the elitists in the crowd, but for us amateurs, you couldn't ASK for a telescope that is easier or more fun to use!... I'm telling you, don't waste your time with anything from the "Nature" stores at the mall, or the not-to-be-named "24-hr major one-stop retailer" down the street. Grab the Nexstar 80HC, and you will be waltzing through the stars on your very first night.