Celestron - NexStar 114GT 500mm Computerized Newtonian Telescope - Black

It's a great begginer telescope for the price. You will need to buy a star chart though. You need to orient yourself the at least a few stars before you can really get it to work. But overall, it's defiantly worth the money. Great buy!

Pros: I have owned a few telescopes, and I even purchased a significantly more expensive one from Celestron before returning it for this telescope's predecessor (all that changed was the mount). I don't live in the desert so there is a limit on the magnification you want to try for, but I can achieve very good focus on Saturn, Jupiter, and even the Orion nebula with this scope, from the middle of the city. Again, the picture attached was taken using a normal point a shoot camera, with a $50 camera-eyepiece adapter. Cons/prudence: There is an inherent limit on what you can see, you'll find that after 125x most things become blurry, but honestly the viewing is best in my opinion around 90x anyways. Don't head out to the desert thinking you'll be able to see like hubble does. Keep in mind that the open tube leaves the mirror susceptible to dust, and the tube to spiders and cobwebs, so make sure and shut it up tight. Also, if you do decide to use one of those camera-eyepiece rigs that I mentioned, make sure and secure some tension on the part where the eyepiece enters the tube, because the weight of the rig + lens combos bends it down slightly. All in all this is a solid purchase and I am thoroughly impressed every time I break it out. I've had it for almost two years, and never regretted my purchase. Happy startgazing!

After about four days of use, the controller for the telescope stopped working (rendering the unit virtually useless). I emailed Celestron for help and have shipped the controller and mount off for a warranty repair. The process has taken about 2 weeks so far and I am not sure when I will get the equipment replaced. I like the features, but would have spent more for a more reliable unit. I hope this is an abnormal failure.

The pictures that I have attached were taken with my cell phone. The unit did not come with the bracket specify but there is a cell phone adapter available. I did not have either to achieve the pictures that I took very difficult to line the holes or lenses to get the pictures I took. One is over the moon and the other is Jupiter and five of it moons. Very fuzzy but without a Camera you could see the red eyes on Jupiter

I purchased this as a gift. This was their very first telescope, and was very easily assembled. It has the feel and features of something more complex, but it is very easily navigated and used. We love the option of attaching our camera to the telescope (with an added attachment) and taking photos of interstellar objects. We HIGHLY recommend, especially if you just want to test it out and look at the moon. Best recommendation I can make is; Find your local observatory or observatory club/group. They will know the best locations for viewing (Especially if you live in a highly populated area.) and when to go. Our local Cincinnati group has a wonderful lake side area that we visit during new moons. Your local chapter will also be more than welcoming and can help set up and explain any questions you have. Good Luck!

My family is able to see alot of cool things. Easy to Use once you learn how to align it. just search what you want to see and press the button, Work really well. Of course it's not a professional scope. so don't expect to be able to see everything. very good for closer objects like the moon and some close planets.

I love the details that can be seen and especially love that it is computerized. I've only had it a few weeks but I am anxious to learn everything that it will do. This is my first telescope. I ordered an AC adapter since it only came with the battery pack for power. The only drawback is that I read that the model has been discontinued so I worry about replacement parts if they are needed in the future and I'd love to add to what I already have rather than purchasing an entirely new scope.

It is an awesome telescope got it for my friend and she loves it. If you like to see the stars and locate what you are looking for this is the telescope to buy. You can also connect your camera, it is a little pricey but it is worth it.