Stellar Shots. With a large 8-inch aperture and excellent light-gathering ability, the Celestron NexStar 8SE 203mm f/10 telescope is essential for your next night sky outing. This is a powerful Schmidt-Cassegrain-style scope that maintains the classic 1970s design that revolutionized backyard astronomy in the 1970s, but has been updated for the modern digital era. Get observing right away thanks to a database of over 40,000 celestial objects that the NextStar 8SE can find automatically.

Camera Compatibility. To capture celestial photos and videos, you will need a T-Mount adapter that fits the camera you plan to use:

• Canon EF
• Canon RF
• Nikon F
• Nikon Z
• Sony E

Photographing objects is entirely optional. This telescope is great for observing right out of the box. The T-Mount adapters are available separately. Also available separately is the Celestron Flexible Dew Shield DX, which is essential for prevent condensation from reaching the front corrector plate of the optical tube.

Star Power. Inside Celestron’s signature “orange tube” is an aperture large enough for some of the faintest objects, including Saturn’s rings, the cloud bands on Jupiter, and the Great Red Spot. For closer objects, you’ll pick up awesome detail, such as the Moon’s craters. Supporting all of this is a unique, patented single-fork arm mount to keep the whole thing as portable as possible. Dual-axis servo motors in the mount allow for precise tracking with almost zero vibration.

Included Support. Along with the telescope and mount, you get a stainless steel tripod with a tray attached to hold things like eyepieces and filters. You also get an AC adapter but you can always power the telescope with eight AA batteries (batteries not included) if AC power isn’t nearby. The eyepiece has a 1.25-inch barrel and 25mm focal length which produces 81x magnification. You also get a 1.25-inch, 90-degree eyepiece that offers much better comfort when observing at or near the zenith (essentially for viewing directly above you). That’s not all – included in this kit is a Moon filter for when it’s a particularly bright night, a high-contrast, light-pollution-cutting filter, and the SkyPortal Wi-Fi module for converting a smart device into a controller.