Celestron Nexstar 5SE Computerized Telescope

125mm Schmidt-Cassegrain Optics with StarBright XLT Coatings

The heart of the 5SE is its 125mm (4.92") aperture Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system, which gathers 329 times more light than the unaided eye. This design packs a long 1250mm focal length into a compact 13" optical tube, 6 lbs in weight. Resolution is 0.93 arc seconds (Dawes) and 1.11 arc seconds (Rayleigh), with a highest useful magnification of 295x and a lowest of 18x.

StarBright XLT is Celestron's coating system, built from three parts: enhanced multi-layer mirror coatings of aluminum, SiO2 and TiO2, with reflectivity fairly flat across the spectrum for both imaging and visual use; multi-layer anti-reflective coatings of magnesium fluoride and hafnium dioxide; and water white glass instead of soda lime glass for the corrector. Water white glass transmits about 90.5% of light uncoated, 3.5% more than soda lime glass, and reaches an average transmission of 97.4% with the StarBright XLT anti-reflective coatings.

The limiting stellar magnitude is 13. The 5SE's five-inch aperture shows Saturn's rings, the cloud bands on Jupiter and geographic features on the surface of the Moon, and from a dark-sky site hundreds of pinpoint stars in the Hercules Globular Cluster and the spiral arms of the Whirlpool Galaxy.

NexStar+ Controller: 38,181 Objects with SkyAlign Technology

The NexStar SE mount is engineered for both precision and ease of use. At its core is the NexStar+ hand controller, which contains a database of 38,181 celestial objects. DC servo motors slew at nine speeds up to 3° per second and track at sidereal, solar and lunar rates, in Alt-Az, EQ North and EQ South modes. Celestron's patented single fork arm mount is designed to be portable and quick to set up, and the NexStar SE breaks down into several lightweight, compact pieces that are easy to transport, even in small vehicles. The mount has fully enclosed motors and optical encoders for position location, and the NexStar+ hand control sits in the side of the fork arm.

SkyAlign makes alignment as easy as 1-2-3: center three bright objects in the eyepiece and press ALIGN. Beginners can take a Sky Tour, which finds the most interesting objects currently visible and slews to each one. Optional accessories include StarSense AutoAlign, which makes the NexStar SE align itself, and SkySync, which provides GPS coordinates.

Portable GoTo System: A 23 lb Kit with a 10 lb Capacity

The system has a total kit weight of just 23 lbs and breaks down into three manageable components for transport: the 6 lb optical tube, the 7 lb mount head, and the 10 lb tripod. The NexStar SE breaks down into lightweight, compact pieces that are easy to transport, even in small vehicles.

The mount carries 10 lbs (4.54 kg). The tripod has 1.5" stainless steel legs, and with the mount the height range is 939.8mm to 1397mm (37" to 55"). The NexStar 5SE runs on eight AA batteries (not included) in the compartment at the center of the base, or on 12 VDC at 750 mA from an optional 12V AC adapter or car battery adapter.

Visual Observing: Resolving Detail Down to 0.93 Arc Seconds

With its 1250mm focal length, the NexStar 5SE is a powerful visual instrument. The included 25mm eyepiece gives 50x (1250mm / 25mm), and the highest useful magnification is 295x.

Focusing moves the primary mirror, which slides on the primary baffle tube; the focus knob sits on the rear cell just below the star diagonal, and it takes about 30 turns to go from close focus to infinity. Make the final focus turn counterclockwise so the mirror moves against gravity, which minimizes any mirror shift, and start on a bright object such as the Moon or a planet, since out-of-focus stars are very diffuse.

The secondary obstruction is 51mm (2.0"), 40% by diameter and 16.6% by area. The rear cell has the SCT (2"-24tpi) male thread with the visual back included.

Astrophotography: Built-In Wedge for EQ North & EQ South Tracking

The steel tripod has a built-in equatorial wedge tilt plate with a latitude adjustment rod. It lets you track long exposures, and the hand control offers EQ North and EQ South alignments for it. The 5SE is a perfect choice for exploring astroimaging, and one of the Celestron NexImage cameras suits the Moon and planets. There is no autoguide port.

The NexStar+ hand control's mini USB port (cable not included) links to a PC for telescope control and for firmware updates with Celestron Firmware Manager (CFM). Celestron includes Starry Night Special Edition and the SkyPortal app.