Home > Consumer Reviews > Celestron Nexstar 80GT 80mm Go-To Refractor Telescope

The only reason this product does not get five stars is due to the fact that it is still a "beginner" model and the customer should not expect to see crisp detail in far away novas or brilliant color in the gas bands of the Gas Giants. HOWEVER, for... this telescope is one of the best bargains currently on the market. For one, it bears the top name in the business: Celestron. This is not you Home Shopping Network bargain basement model. Secondly, it come equipped with a computerized database of pre-set star coordinates that (once aligned) the telescope can point itself to with the push of a button. Finally, although (as previously stated) you won't get to see images that look like pages out of Astronomy Magazine, you will clearly see at least 4 of Jupiters moons, the rings of Saturn, the Orion Nebula, and a host of other objects that the average stargazer misses out on. On top of all of this, this telescope is mind-boggling easy to assemble. If it takes you more than 5 minutes out of the box to have it up and running, then you should probably consider a tutor of some sort. All in all, the 80 GT is a spectacular buy.

I just got this scope and its wonderfull. I didn't think the telesope would be very accurate, boy was I wrong. Out of 35 objects I asked it to "go to", it missed only one. And that one was just outsid the field of view. Even though its 3.1 inches, many objects appeard bright and detailed. It also tracked the objects perfectly. This is a very good scope. Anyone who has an interest in astronomy should get this scope. Its well worth the money.

I've wanted a telescope for years, and finally decided to get one this Christmas. I bought the Celestron Nexstar 80 based on what I deemed as a good compromise between optical capabilities and ease of use. For the most part, I'm very happy with the purchase.

Setup could not be easier. I was ready to rumble in minutes.

Being a pure beginner, I needed the GOTO functions to help get me started. Within five minutes of bringing the scope outside, I was checking out Saturn's rings and scoping out Jupiter. I even managed to find the Orion Nebula. And I had no idea how to find these things without the scope's help. Now, after only a few days, I can find them on my own - which saves lots of battery life.

There are some annoying design problems. As many other reviews have noted, the battery pack is a pain. The connection to the scope slides out far too easily, dumping alignment. Also, the wiring on the battery pack itself is fairly fragile. As soon as you break the scope out of the box, you should Velcro or tape the battery pack to the motorized mount (not the tripod legs). This will save you some disappointment.

I was also disappointed in the readability of the hand controller. As the text scrolls by, it's very difficult to read. Don't fret too much about this, though. After you align it once or twice - you won't need to read the display that often, anyway.

Lastly, while I have found the optics very good, I would recommend purchasing a 6mm and/or 4mm eyepiece right off the bat when you order your scope. The 25mm and 10mm eyepieces that come with the kit are great, but you're going to want more magnification the first time you look at Jupiter, Saturn, etc. And while you're buying an additional eyepiece, grab a moon filter and a solar filter as well. My daughter loves looking at the moon with the telescope, but it's so bright that it destroys your night vision for ten minutes without the filter.

Overall, I'm very happy with the telescope. I have really enjoyed it, and look forward to exploring the night sky for years to come. Who knows, maybe this is the first of more telescopes in my future.

This little scope is so cute, you will just "fall in love" with it! It arrived in just two days from the warehouse, and last night I tested it out on the moon.
The views of the crators on the moon were excellent and very bright, with no unwanted "red or blue light fringes" appearing around the edge - (as is sometimes seen in refractors).
Of course the image it gives does not match what I have seen with my 6-inch f8 reflector, but that can be expected.

WARNING, you will "get hooked" on this little refractor with its wide field of view! Also, they finally made a finder scope that is easy to use - and the "red dot" invention is fantastic!
I am able to line it up to a distant object and keep my glasses on!

I recommend the use of a 17 mm eyepiece which gives about 23 power. With the use of an erecting image diagonal mirror, this scope may be used as an excellent spoting scope. (Otherwise, with the star diagonal, the image is upright, but a sign will appear to read backwards. The reason for the use of the star diagonal is to give brighter images when observing at night).

The alignment feature may be "by-passed" and the hand control
can still me used manually - (I was glad for that!) In the next couple of months (weather permiting) I hope to learn how to align it to the stars, and use the GOTO feature!

The Celestron CD rom (that comes with this telescope) called "The Sky" is fantastic! It is like having a small planetarium on your PC! You can "see" how the stars rise in the east, and then see them again setting in the west!

Here are some things I like about this product:
- easy to assemble, lightweight, and very mobile
- sturdy tripod
- great auto goto feature and easy to calliberate. Can find stars, messier objects, etc, in a matter of minutes. Very cool and slick feature
- decent quality eye pieces
- RS-232 connection is a little tricky, you may need assistance from Celestron to get started there.

Here are some things I don't like about this product
- the hand controller wirings and the batter wirings can get all caught up if you are not careful.
- it does not have enough magnification and aperture to see detail of celestial objects other than the moon. It is a great spotter type telescope which may supplement your high powerered manual telescope to cut down time in finding objects
- check all the parts before you setup the telescope, I received damaged, missing parts and had to get replacements
- I was able to find a number of deep sky objects in the sky with this telescope but could not see much detail other than bright dot(s), still it is pretty neat to locate these objects at the touch of a button

Another Recommendation
Buy the Dobsonion from Orion. It costs the same amount of money (about [$$$]), it doesn't have the auto goto features like Celestrons, but you get a lot more viewing power i.e. focal length of 1200 mm vs. 400 mm, aperture of 150 mm vs. 80 mm, better view finder etc.

Andy