Celestron STARSENSE EXPLORER DX 5″ Telescope

Unleash the power of your smartphone to take you on a guided tour of the night sky—no telescope experience required.
Award-winning and patent-pending StarSense sky recognition technology uses your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate its position in real time. Check phone compatibility here.
StarSense Explorer app automatically generates a list of objects currently visible. View planets, brighter nebulae and galaxies, star clusters, and double stars from the city. Or take your telescope to darker skies to view faint, deep sky objects.
Manual altazimuth mount with smooth, dual-axis slow-motion controls makes it easy to follow the on-screen arrows to your desired target. When the bullseye turns green, it’s ready to view in the telescope’s eyepiece.
5” Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube with StarBright XLT coatings and enough light gathering ability to view all the best celestial objects.
Includes 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, StarSense smartphone dock, a red dot finderscope (in case you want to use the telescope without your phone), an erect image diagonal, and a sturdy, full-height tripod.

Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. StarSense Explorer is ideal for beginners thanks to the app’s user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It’s like having your own personal tour guide of the night sky.
Dock, Launch, Explore

Leave complicated star charts, imprecise planetarium apps, and computerized mounts behind. With StarSense Explorer, locating objects has never been easier, faster, or more accurate. Within minutes of setting up the telescope, you’ll be navigating the sky with confidence. Simply place your phone in the unique StarSense dock and launch the StarSense Explorer app. After aligning your phone to the telescope’s optics (a quick, 2-minute procedure), StarSense Explorer generates a list of celestial objects currently visible. Make your selection and arrows appear onscreen, guiding you as you to move the telescope. When the object is ready to view, the bullseye turns green.

Smartphone Compatibility

StarSense Explorer works with most modern smartphones, including iPhone 6 and up and most devices running Android 7.1.2 or later manufactured since 2016. For a complete compatibility list, click here.

Patent-Pending StarSense Sky Recognition Technology

StarSense Explorer uses patent-pending technology and your smartphone to determine exactly where the telescope is pointed in the night sky. A Lost in Space Algorithm (LISA), like the ones satellites use in orbit to correctly reorient themselves, helps the app match star patterns it detects overhead to its internal database.

While other astronomy apps may claim that they can help you find objects, they rely exclusively on the phone’s gyros and accelerometers, which aren’t as accurate as LISA technology. No other app can accurately tell you when your target is visible in the eyepiece.

High Quality Altazimuth Mount with Slow Motion Control

An ultra-stable altazimuth mount provides a sturdy foundation for StarSense Explorer DX. Slip clutches and geared slow motion controls in both axes help you move the telescope smoothly and zero in your target. As celestial objects appear to drift across the night sky, you’ll be able to follow them with just a turn of the knobs. It’s all anchored by an adjustable, full-height tripod.

Dazzling Views with High Quality Optics

With a large 5” Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube—Celestron’s tried-and-true optical design for over 50 years—this telescope has enough light gathering ability to bring out impressive detail in celestial objects while remaining compact and lightweight. You can expect sharp, bright views of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, its cloud bands and Great Red Spot, the rings of Saturn, the trapezium in the Orion Nebula, and the beautiful Pleaides Open Star Cluster.

All air-to-glass surfaces are coated with our StarBright XLT optical coatings to visibly increase contrast and light transmission for brighter deep space views. With StarBright XLT, you’ll be able to discern subtle details while viewing the Moon and planets as well as faint galaxies and nebulae. For more information about our patented StarBright XLT coatings, visit here.

Perfect for the City or Dark Sky Sites

Even if you live in a light polluted city location, StarSense Explorer is advanced enough to be able to pick out Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, the Orion Nebula, double stars, and a few more of the most famous celestial objects.

But if you can take the telescope to an even slightly darker location, more objects will become visible. With this 5” Schmidt-Cassegrain and relatively dark skies, the Andromeda Galaxy, Hercules Open Star Cluster, and so many more are easily within your reach.

Specifications

OPTICAL TUBE INFO:
Optical Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain
Aperture: 125mm (5″)
Focal Length: 1250mm
Focal Ratio: f/10
Focal Length of Eyepiece 1: 25mm (50x)
Focal Length of Eyepiece 2: 10mm (150x)
Barlow Lens: None
Finderscope: StarPointer™ red dot finderscope
Star Diagonal: Erect image 90° (1.25″)
Optical Tube: Aluminum
Highest Useful Magnification: 295x
Lowest Useful Magnification: 18x
Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 13
Resolution (Rayleigh): 1.11 arc seconds
Resolution (Dawes): 0.93 arc seconds
Light Gathering Power (Compared to human eye): 329x
Secondary Mirror Obstruction: 51mm (2.0″)
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Diameter: 16.6%
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Area: 40%
Optical Coatings: StarBright XLT
Optical Tube Length: 330mm (13″)
Optical Tube Diameter: 171.45mm (6.75″)
Optical Tube Weight: 2.26 kg
Dovetail: CG-5 Dovetail Bar
Mount Type: Manual Alt-Azimuth
Height adjustment range (includes mount and tripod): Aluminum, 1320.8mm (52″) max height
Tripod Leg Diameter: 31.75mm (1.25″) steel
Accessory Tray: Yes
Tripod Weight: 1.72 kg
Slew Speeds: Manual
GPS: Uses phone’s GPS
Dovetail Compatibility: CG-5
Power Requirements: None (Recommend PowerTank Glow to keep phone charged while using app)
Alignment Procedures: Use StarSense Explorer app
Software: StarSense Explorer app | SkyPortal app | Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition Software
Total Kit Weight: 4.08 kg

Solar Warning:

Never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye or with an optic (unless you have the proper solar filter). Permanent and irreversible eye damage may result.
Never use your optic to project an image of the Sun onto any surface. Internal heat build-up can damage the optic and any accessories attached to it.
Never leave your optic unsupervised. Make sure an adult who is familiar with the correct operating procedures is with your optic at all times, especially when children are present.

What’s in the box
Telescope tube
Mount/tripod (preassembled)
25mm & 10mm eyepieces
Erect image diagonal
StarPointer finderscope
Accessory tray
StarSense Explorer phone dock