Celestron is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, names in the telescope industry, with a huge range of telescopes to suit the casual observer or the professional astrophotographer. Amazon's early Black Friday deals are delivering some good deals across telescopes, and we have spotted this one on the Celestron Nexstar 6SE, with $160 off the retail price. It has a 6-inch (150mm) aperture and a compact Schmidt-Cassegrain optical design for sharp views at a lighter weight.
You can get the Celestron Nexstar 6SE telescope on sale for $1039 from Amazon.
Gemma currently works for the European Space Agency on content, communications and outreach, and was formerly the content director of Space.com, Live Science, science and space magazines How It Works and All About Space, history magazines All About History and History of War, as well as Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) kids education brand Future Genius. She is the author of several books, including "Quantum Physics in Minutes", "Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual to the Large Hadron Collider" and "Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual to the Milky Way". She holds a degree in physical sciences, a Master’s in astrophysics and a PhD in computational astrophysics. She was elected as a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2011. She has covered stories and features for publications such as Physics World, Astronomy Now and Astrobiology Magazine.
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In our full Celestron Nexstar 6SE review, we were impressed with the optical quality of this telescope. It comes with a single 25mm Plössl eyepiece, which allows 60x magnification. However, we would advise purchasing an extra set of telescope eyepieces if you want to observe a range of different celestial objects. That being said, we are impressed with the Starbright XLT coatings on the optics, which delivered crisp views of everything we observed.
During our testing, we observed a range of different celestial objects. The Orion Nebula (M42) was crisp, and we found that coated optics helped ensure every stellar member was bright and clear. Jupiter appeared as a bright disk with its moons on the left side of the giant, appearing as sharp points of light. All of our observations were clear of chromatic aberration — or color fringing — so this helped give a realistic view of all of our targets.
The Celestron Nexstar 6SE is a telescope that we are confident will grow with the beginner astronomer or make a good addition to a seasoned night sky watcher's existing kit. As you become more confident with adding new eyepieces, filters and red dot finders, the telescope will become more and more functional for different targets. It will also suit those observers who want to start doing astrophotography, as it has excellent long-term tracking and can be used with a mirrorless camera or astrocam, provided you have a T-adapter.
Key features: Schmidt-Cassegrain optical design, 6-inch (150mm) aperture, 59-inch (1500mm) focal length, f/10 focal ratio, highest useful magnification 250x, computerized single fork arm alt-azimuth (go-to) mount type, 21 lbs (9.5 kg) total kit weight, 40,000 object celestial database (via NexStar+ hand control)
Product launched: June 2005
Price history: This is the cheapest the Celestron Nexstar 6SE has been since March, when it was $919. Since then, it has been fluctuating above $1044. This deal brings it down to $1039.
Price comparison: Amazon: $1039 | BHPhotoVideo: $1039 | Adorama: $1039
Reviews consensus: We thought the Celestron Nexstar 6SE was a great lightweight telescope for beginner and advanced stargazers alike. We found the image quality superb and the go-to technology a helpful way to navigate the night sky.
Space: ★★★★½ | Digital Camera World: ★★★★½ | T3: ★★★★
✅ Buy it if: You want a lightweight telescope with sharp views and easy go-to object tracking, with room to grow with add-on eyepieces and a T-ring for astrophotography.
❌ Don't buy it if: You only shoot deep-sky photography. The Celestron Nexstar 6SE only has a 6-inch aperture, and you need a bigger aperture on your telescope for deep space objects.
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