The Astro Fi series of telescopes offers beginners telescopes with the same advanced electronics as Celestron's larger telescopes. Control is via tablet or smartphone - which is why a hand control box is not included.
SkyAlign - this telescope comes equipped with Celestron's SkyAlign technology. This means that you use the computer control to align the telescope in the night sky simply by moving to any three bright objects in the night sky in succession. This initialization of the computer control at the beginning of an observing session is also known as alignment.
SkyAlign does not need to know what these three bright stars are. It can even use planets. From the angles measured, the location, date and time, the computer then calculates the orientation of the current night sky at your observing location. Once you have completed this simple procedure at the beginning of your observing, you can use the computer control (GoTo) to observe the highlights visible on that night.
WiFi-ready - This telescope generates its own WLAN. This wireless network allows you to control the telescope with your smartphone or tablet. Celestron's free SkyPortal app is the control software for iPhone, iPad and Android. But SkyPortal is not only this, but also planetarium software that not only shows you the starry sky, but also provides a lot of background information about the astronomical objects - descriptions, illustrations and some audio content - in English.
The SkyPortal app also automatically supplies the computer control with the information required regarding - location (GPS), date and time.
The azimuthal single-arm mount is for taking smaller telescopes. It is easy to transport and quick to set up for use. Just attach the telescope to the mounting arm via its prism rail and you're ready to go. After the observing, you can use the handle to separate the optics from the mount and hence transport both conveniently and safely.
As the clamp is standardized for taking a prism rail, you can use it with a variety of different telescopes
The Schmidt-Cassegrain optics by Celestron:
Despite the long focal length of these telescopes, the OTA itself has a very short length, making the system a compact telescope which is extremely easy to transport. Light first hits an aspherically figured Schmidt corrector plate and is then thrown onto a spherical main mirror. This reflects the light back up, throwing it onto a secondary mirror which subsequently throws it back in the direction of main mirror. The light then passes through a central hole in the main mirror and into the focuser at the bottom of the OTA. Thus the system is closed and hence does not suffer from air turbulence which could degrade the image. Of course this also means that the system is optimally protected from dust. The Schmidt plate is multi-coated, ensuring bright images which do not suffer from stray light reflections.
This telescope provides a very good image, boasting high contrast and definition and provides a lot of pleasure when planetary observing. The Schmidt-Cassegrain design provides a good all-round system suitable for both observing and astrophotography and with an enormous range of optional accessories available. Using the bottom end of the OTA to look through means easy orientation. The system is also optimal for occasional terrestrial observing, e.g. birdwatching at close range. Celestron SC telescopes have an aperture ratio of around 1:10 which, so astrophotography is also very easily possible.
Main mirror focusing means a very large range of focus is made available, which allows virtually any common accessory to be used. Two pre-loaded ball bearings are used in the main mirror focus positioning mechanism in order to prevent 'mirror shift' - a typical problem when using simple bushings. The use of high quality materials such as CNC-milled aluminium components, cast steel and stainless steel guarantees extreme robustness with low weight. This means that a very heavy mount is unnecessary, not always the case for other telescope designs.
Features of the optics:
- long focal length with short OTA
- low weight aluminium OTA
- high quality XLT multi-coating
- closed system
- pre-loaded ball bearings for low mirror shift main mirror focusing
It not only matters which telescope you buy but also where you buy it. Our additional services:
- We are a leading telescope dealer and know the devices we sell. Our customer service team will gladly help you after your purchase if you have problems with assembly or operation.
- We provide a copy of the 80-page Telescope ABC beginners handbook with every telescope.
