Great to hear!

Let us know..please..ticks all my boxes too

Worth it ??

hows it been?

Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed the video!

Costco I selling the 80az for like $169, considering it to do what you mentioned. If it doesn’t work out I could just screw it back on the original scope, Costco has a great return policy.

I bought the Starsense Explorer LT 70 AZ, removed the Cellphone holder, 3d printed a base for the finderscope shoe and mounted it on my 10inch dobsonian. Gave the LT 70 AZ away for free without Cellholder and Code ;) Works perfectly

@@scuba5k I've been thinking the same thing. I'd just need to adapt the mount to fit a 12" truss dob's secondary optical tube.

@@scuba5k I just saw Costco has an Explore Scientific 10inch DOB for 599

@@scuba5kI did exactly that and it worked great.

Glad it was helpful!

Glad we could help! Clear skies!

I'm in the exact same situation! Although it might be cloudy when I go in September:( how did you install the collimation knobs?

looking forward to hearing your feedback. I'm thinking of getting this too, and wondering if the app really does work.

Hey! I have bought the same telescope and have used only the 25mm eyepiece that came with it. Would you recommend which eyepiece should i get for planetary viewing? I am looking at 6mm, 10mm and 13mm. I don't want buy all these at once. Thanks!

If you feel comfortable taking it all the way up a mountain, a 10" would be great!

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed them

The 10" does gather about 45% more light than the 8" when it comes to lower mag. objects. Thanks!

We'd recommend an 8" if weight and light pollution are limiting factors. A 10" won't be that dramatic of a step-up if you are struggling with light pollution, especially if you are more likely to bring the 8" outside on a frequent basis.

Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed it!

This is a good point. Thanks for bringing it up.

Unfortunately, the phone mount cannot be purchased separately.

I think you should have problem with your phone. I had the same problem which was solved when I replaced my Xiaomi phone to a Samsung.

PushToCam or FinderCam?

You can sit on a chair

There is a nearly 50% increase in light gathering capability between an 8" and a 10" version of this scope. As far as an eyepiece with a variable zoom, something like this might interest you: www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-8-24-mm-1-25-zoom-eyepiece-93230 Clear skies!

@@highpointscientific thank you so much for the quick reply! Do you by any chance have a video on how to calibrate the mirror on the Dobsonian? You shows the device but you didn’t show us how to do that here.

​@@highpointscientific Far better getting the Baader 8-24mm zoom. It's far superior.

An 8" dob would represent a considerable upgrade in light gathering capability vs a 130mm (5") scope. However, the 8" dobsonian is also quite a bit more heavy!

Its added at the factory!

AP would be more optimal with tracking, even though it's not an equatorial mount.

If you are referring to the 130dx (5" mirror) - The difference will be substantial. 8" is A LOT greater in area than 5" - over 2.5x the light gathering power!

@@highpointscientific Thanks!!!

Hi There! Both scopes are great but the Apertura Series comes with better/more accessories and the base has a sturdier build for smoother movements and adjustments. The difference here is the StarSense application which is included with the Celestron Dobsonians. Additionally, The ad8 also with the Apertura Absolute Warranty.

Hello Charles. Both scopes would be a good choice. A 10" scope represents a fairly decent increase in light gathering capability and increased resolution. However, if you live in a light polluted zone, you may not notice much of an increase in the views through a 10". Clear skies.

To answer your question regarding astrophotography, some astrophotography is possible with an 8" or 10" dob, but you may run into problems with reaching prime focus (check out our article on Astrophotography with a Dobsonian: www.highpointscientific.com/astronomy-hub/post/astro-photography-guides/astrophotography-with-a-dobsonian-telescope). If you're looking to get into astrophotography eventually, we'd recommend an 8SE or Nexstar SE mount, which can also be used in equatorial mode with a wedge.

Hello Phillip. The 8" and 10" StarSense should optically be similar to any other 8 or 10" dobsonian.

The Celestron StarSense uses your smartphone as a digital camera by platesolving with a mirror. The major difference between this StarSense & the one on the DX 130AZ, for example, is that the way they're attached is completely different. This StarSense dock also can be adjusted to align your smartphone's camera over the eyepiece.

The StarSense Explorer....basically uses your smartphone as the digital camera in the StarSense system and is designed for select manual (push to) telescopes. The mount and your phone replace the dedicated camera on the go-to systems using the StarSense Camera and app.

Hello, the StarSense phone dock for the StarSense dobsonian is not designed for the Apertura AD8.

If you arent too worried about the StarSense technology that comes with the Celestron then yes, the Apertura would definitely be the way to go. You have superior build quality with the Apertura brand dobsonians - something that may leave you wanting more with the celestron dobsonian. The Apertura upgrades will really allow your Apertura dob to grow with you as your progress

Out of the box the StarSense technology will help find objects faster... but with the Apertura dob, you will need to learn the night sky a bit more using star atlases and maps like stellarium.. But soon enough you will accustomed to the night sky and where these objects are without the need for help from an app. At this point you now have the ability to find objects quickly AND you have a quality build with the Apertura dob.

Hi Kevin, It definitely can if you do not have the app's night vision mode enabled! We highly encourage it especially when viewing deep sky objects.

The 6se is a Schmidt- Cass design and is a bit smaller in aperture. The 6se is a fully computerized, goto system where as the StarSense is only a Push To system. The se series are great for planetary viewing as they offer a longer focal length. A given eyepiece will have more magnification on the 6se than on the 8" StarSense. Feel free to reach out to us via our website for more information on these scopes. They are both awesome and serve different purposes!

No tracking - it is just an object locator.

Hello, unfortunately taking astrophotography through this scope would set unrealistic expectations for the viewers. The reason for this is that long exposures reveal more detail than the human eye can ever see, even in the largest of telescopes. We thank you for the suggestion!

You could take a minute to 4 minutes exposure using SpiralCam.

I'm a zealous dark sky protector and experienced astronomer/photographer. We bought an 8" Starsense dob as an easy to use "grab and go" when we don't want to drag all the other telescopes and gear with us. The first thing on the StarSense app menu is a toggle switch to select "Night Vision" (red) mode if desired. That said, the "brightness" of the phone has not been an issue as there is hardly any light coming off of it when pointed at the dark sky and, even without selecting "Night Vision" it's not enough to affect night adapted vision. We've found that dimming the display on the phone is adequate and, for us, preferable to switching to Night Vision on the app.

@@frankmacleod9576Hi Frank, I hope it’s OK if I ask an un-related question a year down the road. Have you had any problems collimating the 8"? I’ve heard it’s a little different than most dobs. TIA.

Unfortunately a tablet would be too large for the smartphone adapter. Thanks!

Both are identical in terms of light gathering capability & resolution!

Not a bad idea in the future!

The first thing on the StarSense app menu is a toggle switch to select "Night Vision" (red) mode if desired. That said, the "brightness" of the phone has not been an issue as there is hardly any light coming off of it when pointed at the dark sky and, even without selecting "Night Vision" it's not enough to affect night adapted vision. We've found that dimming the display on the phone is adequate and, for us, preferable to switching to Night Vision on the app.

No it does not but the Apertura case used in the video does work well!

It doesn't have collimation knobs, but it does have collimation screws so it is fully adjustable. (They provide a cheap Philips screwdriver and allen wrench. I recommend using your own Philips as the cheap one doesn't really fit the screws. I meticulously collimated ours using a Hotech SCA Laser Collimator and the collimation has held through several "set up and take down" sessions. Bob's Knobs makes collimation knobs that will work with it on both the primary and secondary. Only caveat is that they advise against setting the scope down upright resting on the mirror lock knobs. I will probably put Bob's knobs on the secondary for a quick "center dot" but not mess with the primary too often. This scope was bought as a "grab and go", be something my wife could take to astronomy club public outreach events when I am not attending. Not too heavy or bulky but still capable and the StarSense app works great on her iPhone 13.

Thanks for the info. Wasn’t sure if Bob knobs would work with the primary. I have the Hotech laser as well. I’m very big on collimation. I’m pretty confident the whole mirror will have to be taken off the telescope to change the knobs out. If you try to do with the mirror still attach the spring may move and pop out in the tube. It’s not too difficult to do. Some do it to clean the mirror with distilled water

Yes, this can easily show beautiful views of the planets.

Unfortunately, we do not offer shipping to India at this time. Thank you!

We hope you can get your hands on one!

@@highpointscientific , maybe the next lifetime 😊

​@@kmichaelp4508😢

Regular Dobs are up near $700 now. This one is $800. Well worth it