We named the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ in our top 3 best beginner telescopes of all time, and we noticed that Amazon has a great deal on it during Black Friday.
Save over $180 on this beginner-friendly Celestron telescope This Black Friday and Cyber Monday, grab great deals at retail giant Amazon. The price of this great beginner’s telescope was originally $150 off and is now an additional $30 off.
Last year, we reviewed the StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ and gave it 4/5 stars, making it one of the most highly rated beginner scopes of all time. Perfect for novice astronomers, it pairs with the Celestron StarSense app to easily guide beginners around the night sky. Aside from some of the heavy lifting with the app, it’s also scalable for anyone who wants to learn more about space and get better at navigating with their eyes.
It comes with a red dot finder scope for manual starhopping and is fully equipped with everything stargazers need to start observing under the stars. Besides the finder scope, the box includes a 25mm and his 10mm eyepieces, a StarSense smartphone dock, and a stable full-height tripod.
For those who like to take astrophotography, basic astronomical images are achievable for hobbyists, but those who want to take long exposure images of astronomical objects should consider something like the Celestron NexStar 8SE, which is currently on sale for Black Friday. You may need to consider a powered telescope.
The great thing about this Celestron is that it has an ortho-azimuth mount, so it’s very easy to set up for beginners compared to the slightly more complex equatorial mounts that come with more advanced telescopes.
The optical quality of the StarSense DX 130AZ is excellent, and I really appreciated how lightweight the entire system was, making it easy to move around when I reviewed it last year. Like many reflecting telescopes, the mirrors must be collimated to get the most out of this beginner’s telescope. This can be achieved very easily by following the included instructions. I can’t stress enough how important this is if you want to get the most out of your DX 130AZ. This greatly affects the enjoyment of the telescope.
Main Specifications: This Newtonian reflector has a focal length of 650 mm and an aperture of 130 mm, giving this scope a focal ratio of f/5. The most useful magnification is 307x, which allows you to get fairly close to the object with good visibility depending on atmospheric clarity. The lowest effective magnification is 19x, and the total weight is 18 lbs (8.16 kg), which is pretty light overall for a setup like this.
consensus: Overall, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a great telescope for novice skywatchers. It’s also reasonably priced and you get a very capable system for your money. I also found it to be very user-friendly, even children as young as eight years old could start using it.
Purchase if: You’re a novice astronomer who wants to start stargazing and you need quality equipment, but also a little guidance that can be achieved through a smartphone app.
Please do not purchase if: The aim is to take things to the next level and start customizing your setup with quality eyepieces and take advantage of the more sophisticated equatorial mounts associated with more intermediate telescopes.
Alternative model: As mentioned above, we believe that Celestron NexStar 8SE Black Friday Telescope Sale Perfect if you’re into more advanced sky watching and need the best optics in a compact package.
Alternatively, you can choose a fully automated smart telescope that links with your phone or tablet. In that case, $1000 off Unistellar eVscope 2 Smart Telescope (currently $3899) From the Unistella website. This contract ends on his November 27th.
check us out Black Friday 2023 Sale Page For a roundup of the best discounts and deals, visit telescope, binoculars, camera, star projector, drone, Lego etc.