Celestron - Astro - Refractor Telescopes

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Celestron is not only known for their high-tech Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, but also for their range of good quality and supremely affordable telescopes which we have compiled under the name of "Celestron Astro".

Telescopes of this line are not overloaded with high-tech gimmicks. Instead, they offer an excellent value for money, good optics and solid mechanics.

All Celestron refractors in this presentation have multi-coated optics for excellent contrast.

The ED80 is based on the well known Synta / Orion / Skywatcher ED80, but has a more compact tube and a rack and pinion focuser that can handle somewhat heavier loads. This makes the Celestron ED80 superbly suited for astro-imaging.


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Refractor Presentations
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ED - Refractor
80mm Aperture
600mm Focal Length
high image definition and sharpness
Powerseeker 80
80mm Aperture
900mm Focal Length
A great entry-level telescope
Achromat
102mm Aperture
1000mm Focal Length
A versatile medium size refractor
Achromat
150mm Aperture
1200mm Focal Length
Affordable large aperture refractor


Astro ED Refractor 80/600mm



ED Refractor 80/600mm with optional finderscope, erecting prism and eyepiece

Celestron ED Refractor ... Aperture 80mm ... Focal Length 600mm

On the search for a most versatile and powerful instrument with particular focus on portability a compact ED refractor always was among the top options, only the relatively high price often stood in the way - until now!

Advantages of a compact ED refractor:
- extremely portable because of the short tube. The telescope is fully suited for airline travelling.
- sharp and contrasty images on the moon and planets. False colour (the major contrast killer in a normal achromatic refractor) is drastically reduced.
- excellently suited for CCD imaging and digital imaging
- wonderful rich-field observations are possible with the short focal length of this telescope. 2" accessories are recommended.
- the refractor resembles a powerful telephoto lens for astronomical as well as classical photography - focal length 600mm, focal ratio f/7.5

Specifications:

Aperture / Focal Length / f-ratio Aperture 80mm / Focal length 600mm / Focal ratio f/7.5
Coating Fully multi-coated objective - every optical surface features a multi-coating
Optical design Air-spaced doublet. One lens element is made of ED ("Extra low Dispersion") glass for much enhanced colour correction
Tube - mechanical assembly The objective lens cell is machined aluminium. The tube is baffled to suppress stray light and enhance contrast
Tube length Complete with dewcap the tube is approx. 55cm long.


Compact Tube
:
Most of today's Chinese made ED refractors share the same tube design. It is very functional, but unnecessarily large and heavy. Celestron has chosen to use a different, more compact tube. This makes the Celestron ED80 even better suited for travelling!

Massive Rack and Pinion 2" Focuser
:
The other major difference between the Celestron ED 80 and other 80mm ED refractors is the Rack and Pinion focuser. Other than more simple rack and pinion focusers it is practically free of shifting. The advantage of a rack and pinion focuser over a Crayford design focuser is the load that you can put on it. A Crayford is only held by friction - once your accessories become too heavy the focuser will start moving on its own accord. A rack and pinion focuser like the one on this telescope is able to hold up to 2-3 kgs of accessories without that problem. This is particularly important for astro-imaging.

Scope of Delivery:
Celestron ED80 optical tube, 2" rack and pinion focuser with 1.25" adaptor, tube ring
In addition (except OTA variant): erecting prism 45°, 25mm Plossl eyepiece, 6x30 erect image finderscope


Recommended Mounts: (Just click on the images for details)
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Adaptation for various mounts:

Included in the scope of delivery is a tube ring with camera tripod adaptation and dovetail plate

The dovetail plate fits various equatorial and other mounts like the Vixen GP, TS Astro-5 DX, Synta EQ mounts, Celestron ADM and CAM, ...

TS Astro-5 DX
A very sturdy and supremely affordable equatorial mount. Lots of power reserves. Even suited for astro-imaging
Vixen Porta Mount
A superb, easy to use, lightweight alt-azimuth mount with slow-motion controls
An excellent grab-and-go mount.
Prices and availability: Please see our new Online Shop
Recommended Accessories
Here you can find accessories that are important and helpful for almost any telescope. Cleaning tools, filters, star charts, ...

The TS Eyepiece and Accessory Case isn't just an assortment of randomly picked eyepieces, we have put a lot of thoughts into choosing a fine range of eyepieces that will work with nearly all telescopes. These great eyepieces are included in the TS eyepiece and accessory case:

- three excellent quality TS Super Plossl eyepieces
- one TS wide angle eyepiece
- our excellent TS Barlow lens (2x/1.5x)
- five carefully chosen TS colour filters and one grey moon filter (not just a cheap green filter)
- an adaptor for focal and eyepiece projection astro-imaging

All comes in a beautiful, foam-lined aluminium case .......... Link to further information

Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com



Celestron Refraktor 80/900mm - Powerseeker 80
A warmly recommended entry level telescope with very good optical quality



Celestron Powerseeker 80
Complete entry level telescope with basic accessories, EQ1 mount, tripod etc.

The Celestron Powerseeker 80 is an ideal choice as an entry-level telescope. It is already a great step ahead of the smaller 60mm refractors, but still very affordable. This is a telescope of a surprisingly good quality!
 
- the multi-coated lens offers about 78% more light gathering power compared with a 60mm telescope. More light-gathering power means brighter images!
- the tube and the focuser are made of metal, not plastic
- the accessories are the common 1.25" size, not the older 24.5mm.
- the telescope is ideal for astronomical observing, but can also be used for terrestrial observing.
- photography / astro-imaging is possible with this telescope, however then you need to put it on a larger mount.

Due to the low weight, its ease of use and the good image quality this Celestron refractor 80/900mm is warmly recommended as a first telescope. It is also a very good travel telescope for advanced amateurs.


1.25" Focuser
Made of metal, not plastic! The focuser accepts nearly all standard 1.25" accessories and even has a T2 thread for camera adaptation.
Multi-Coated Achromatic Lens
The Powerseeker 80 has a high quality, multi-coated achromatic lens (air-spaced doublet). The telescope shows only a very small amount of false colour, thus offering an excellent image sharpness and contrast.
Accessories
A complete set of accessories is included (except OTA version):
- 1.25" star diagonal
- KE20mm(45x)&SR4mm(225x) eyepieces
3x Barlow lens (please use only with the 20mm eyepiece)

Specifications and Accessories:

Aperture / Focal Length 80 mm / 900 mm
Focal Ratio f/11.25
Lens Type Fraunhofer air-spaced doublet
multi-coated
Tube Length approx. 88cm incl. dewcap
Tube Weight approx. 2.5kgs
Total Weight approx. 8.6kgs including EQ1 mount
Focuser 1.25" metal focuser with integrated T2 thread
Finderscope 5x24mm finder. The focuser has a quick release base that allows you to use larger finders as well.
Mount Connection via tube rings
Accessories not for OTA
- 1.25" star diagonal
- KE 20mm and SR 4mm eyepieces
- 3x Barlow lens (please use only with the 20mm eyepiece)
Prices and availability: Please see our new Online Shop
Recommended Accessories
Here you can find accessories that are important and helpful for almost any telescope. Cleaning tools, filters, star charts, ...

The TS Eyepiece and Accessory Case isn't just an assortment of randomly picked eyepieces, we have put a lot of thoughts into choosing a fine range of eyepieces that will work with nearly all telescopes. These great eyepieces are included in the TS eyepiece and accessory case:

- three excellent quality TS Super Plossl eyepieces
- one TS wide angle eyepiece
- our excellent TS Barlow lens (2x/1.5x)
- five carefully chosen TS colour filters and one grey moon filter (not just a cheap green filter)
- an adaptor for focal and eyepiece projection astro-imaging

All comes in a beautiful, foam-lined aluminium case .......... Link to further information

Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com



Celestron Refraktor 102/1000mm

A nice, versatile and affordable medium aperture refractor with good optics and mechanics
Aperture 102mm / Focal Length 1000mm




Celestron CER 1021 on the sturdy equatorial mount Astro-5 DX
for users who plan to use heavy accessories.

For many amateur astronomer's it has been a lifetime's dream to own a 4" refractor - such a telescope combines a generous 102mm of aperture with a correspondingly large light gathering power and resolution, a "refractor-like" image sharpness and with a total weight of only about 20kgs (3.5kgs for the tube assembly) a good portability. You probably won't even have to disassemble it for transport - just put it down and start observing!

Mechanical parts are very robust for ease of operation and maintenance.
 
It is our opinion that this refractor is the best choice in this price range. Even compared with other instruments on our website this telescope is particularly attractive.


Warmly Recommended For Beginners:
The CER 1021 is a win-win situation for beginners! You get robust and easy to use mechanics and optics that barely ever require collimation.

The telescope is a wonderful all purpose telescope that will perform very well on the planets and the moon as well as the deep sky objects.

Visual Use
102mm of aperture will allow joyful observations of the moon and the planets. You will see impressive details on Jupiter, Saturn and - with the proper filters - even on Mars. Moon is ripe with craters, ridges and countless other details. Looking at the moon through a telescope of this class feels as if you were actually there.

At the same time 102mm are enough aperture for serious deep sky observing. Hundreds of deep-sky objects are within reach of this refractor. You can use nebular filters like the Baader UHC filter to enhance contrast.

The 2" focuser with its 1.25" adaptor allows you to use all conventional eyepieces and accessories.




Der Celestron CER 1021 on EQ-3
very good value for money and good stability for visual use.

Astro Imaging
The minimum requirement for astro-imaging is a motor drive. The EQ3 can be equipped with a dual axis motor drive. Then you will be able to take impressive images of the moon and the planets as well as a few other objects. You can even piggy-back mount your camera on one of the tube rings and guide the exposure with a reticle eyepiece through the main instrument.

For serious long-exposure astro-imaging we recommend to use a more massive astronomical mount, such as the TS Astro-5 or the Celestron CAM GoTo. With these mounts the entire world of astro-imaging lies in front of you.

Possible Magnifications:
Maximum useful magnification is approximately 200x. This is the theoretical limit for any telescope of this aperture - no matter which name is printed on the tube! Larger magnifications are theoretically possible, but will not reveal further details. On the contrary, too high magnifications tend to reduce the number of details you can see.

Beyond 100x we recommend a motor drive to automatically track the objects. Without a motor objects move out of the field of view very fast.

Specifications and Accessories

Aperture / Focal Length 102 mm / 1000 mm
Focal Ratio 1 : 9.8
Tube Length approx. 100cm incl. dewcap
Focuser 2" metal focuser with 1.25" adaptor with integrated T2 thread
Finderscope 6x30 quick release finderscope
Mount Connection via tube rings
Accessories not for OTA
- 1.25" star diagonal
- Plossl 20mm for 50x
Lens Type Fraunhofer air-spaced doublet
fully multi-coated
Lens Cell Metal - collimatable
Tube Weight approx. 3.5kgs


Further Information on the EQ-3 (German)
Equatorial Mount EQ-3

The standard mount for this refractor. The EQ-3 carries this telescope with good stability for visual and simple astrophotographical use.

The EQ-3 is easy to use and warmly recommended to beginners.
Prices and availability: Please see our new Online Shop
Recommended Accessories
Here you can find accessories that are important and helpful for almost any telescope. Cleaning tools, filters, star charts, ...

The TS Eyepiece and Accessory Case isn't just an assortment of randomly picked eyepieces, we have put a lot of thoughts into choosing a fine range of eyepieces that will work with nearly all telescopes. These great eyepieces are included in the TS eyepiece and accessory case:

- three excellent quality TS Super Plossl eyepieces
- one TS wide angle eyepiece
- our excellent TS Barlow lens (2x/1.5x)
- five carefully chosen TS colour filters and one grey moon filter (not just a cheap green filter)
- an adaptor for focal and eyepiece projection astro-imaging

All comes in a beautiful, foam-lined aluminium case .......... Link to further information

Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com


Further Information on the Celestron Refractor CER 1021
Achromatic Lens in Collimatable Cell

The objective lens is the central part of any refractor telescope. This is the detail where Celestron offers a particularly good performance that we find remarkable in this price range.
 
- The lens is fully multi-coated for high contrast, bright images.
- Precisely figured air-spaced doublet achromat (Fraunhofer design)
- Adjustable lens cell. This particular feature is not common in this class.
Even if the telescope is miscollimated after extended use it is easy to recollimate the telescope.
- The lens cell is made of metal, not plastic. This makes it more robust and less inclined to lose collimation.

These features allow you to get the maximum performance out of the 102mm aperture, within the limits of the achromatic design. False colour is comfortably inobstrusive because of the moderate focal ratio of f/10. This makes the telescope suitable for high quality planetary and lunar observing.


Metal Focuser

The focuser of the CER 1021 is well made. It is made of metal. Plastic would not be as stiff, meaning that the full image quality of the telescope would not be transmitted to the eye of the observer. The metal focuser keeps even heavy accessories steadily in position.

Unterschiedliches Zubehör ist anschließbar
Der Auszug bietet bereits in der Grundausstattung die Anschlußmöglichkeit für 2" Zubehör. Damit können Sie aus dem CER 1021 auch ein Großfeldgerät mit sehr guter Sternabbildung machen. Außerdem können Sie T-2 Zubehör und natürlich 1,25" Standardzubehör direkt adaptieren.

Das Shifting ist einstellbar
Shifting nennt man das leichte Wackeln des Auszuges. Gerade bei Temperaturveränderungen kann das Innenrohr ins Wackeln kommen. Kein Problem bei diesem Auszug. Ziehen Sie einfach die kleinen Inbusschrauben vor- und hinter der Fixierungsschraube ein wenig an und schon ist das Shifting weg.

Fixierungsschraube für schweres Zubehör
Wenn Sie schweres Zubehör zuverlässig in Position halten wollen, brauchen Sie nur die Fixierungsschraube (Bild mitte) anziehen. Dann bewegt sich nichts mehr. Das ist wichtig für Astrofotografie.

Sucher und Rohrschellen

Die Rohrschellen sind aufklappbar und natürlich aus Metall. Eine der beiden Schellen bietet auch eine Möglichkeit, Kameras aufzusatteln. Fixiert wird die Position der Kamera dann durch eine Kunststoff - Mutter ( im Bild die rechte Schelle ).

Der optische 6x30 Sucher ist kein Billigteil aus Plastik, es ist ein kleiner vergüteter zwei linsiger Refraktor mit guter Sternabbildung. Die Schärfe wird durch Verdrehen des Objektives eingestellt.

Der Sucher kann binnen Sekunden zum Transport abgenommen werden. Auch der Sucherhalter ist natürlich aus Metall.

Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com




Refractor - Aperture 150mm / Focal Length 1200mm



Refractor 150/1200mm on Equatorial Mount Celestron CAM



Achromat 150/1200mm on CAM GoTo - with 40,000+ object database and automatic object positioning

Until recently 150mm aperture refractors have been reserved to observatories and a few really rich people. Chinese mass-production has attempted to change this for some time. Recently the production quality of the Chinese manufacturers has reached a very good level, while at the same time prices have remained much lower than would be possible for production within Europe.

The 150mm refractor with 1200mm focal length is at the upper limit of what can be called portable. The tube is some 125cm long and weighs about 12kgs.

Other than the shorter focal length rich field refractor this model is suited for all astronomical observations.

Visual Use:
This refractor is a high performance telescope for observations of objects within our solar system. Jupiter's moons become small discs of different size rather than just points of light. Mars reveals many details including its polar caps (filters are always recommended when viewing Mars). Moon is of course a particular highlight, with countless craters, ridges and other details that make you feel like you actually were there!

Outside our solar system 150mm aperture offer plenty of light for serious deep sky work. You can watch gas nebulae, globular clusters (dissolved into single stars) and many galaxies. We recommend to use 2" accessories for extended deep sky objects - you will then not only see the object itself, but also many surrounding stars for a more aesthetic image.

Astro-Imaging:
The telescope is suited both for planetary and lunar imaging (e.g. with a webcam) and long exposure deep sky imaging. We recommend to invest in a very sturdy mount to accomodate the heavy and long tube.

Specifications:
Aperture 150mm ... Focal Length 1200mm ... Focal Ratio f/8
Fraunhofer air-spaced doublet achromat
Tube length: Approx. 125cm
Tube weight: Approx. 12kgs


2" Focuser:
The 2" with its 1.25" adaptor allows you to use all common 1.25" and 2" eyepieces and accessories. A locking screw will fix the focuser in position for long exposure astro-imaging.

Recommended Magnifications:
30x to 300x. For magnifications beyond 150x you should use colour filters or the Baader Contrast Booster Filter to reduce false colour.

Accessories:
Powerful 8x50 quick release finderscope, 1.25" star diagonal, 20mm and 10mm Super Kellner eyepieces (diagonal and eyepieces not available with the OTA version)

Sturdy Mount for Astro-Imaging

The very sturdy EQ-6 is the perfect match for this telescope both for serious observers and for astro-imaging. It has plenty of power reserves for heavy accessories and a guide scope.

The EQ-6 can even be upgraded with GoTo
Further Information on the EQ-6
Prices and availability: Please see our new Online Shop
Recommended Accessories
Here you can find accessories that are important and helpful for almost any telescope. Cleaning tools, filters, star charts, ...

The TS Eyepiece and Accessory Case isn't just an assortment of randomly picked eyepieces, we have put a lot of thoughts into choosing a fine range of eyepieces that will work with nearly all telescopes. These great eyepieces are included in the TS eyepiece and accessory case:

- three excellent quality TS Super Plossl eyepieces
- one TS wide angle eyepiece
- our excellent TS Barlow lens (2x/1.5x)
- five carefully chosen TS colour filters and one grey moon filter (not just a cheap green filter)
- an adaptor for focal and eyepiece projection astro-imaging

All comes in a beautiful, foam-lined aluminium case .......... Link to further information

Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com



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