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Celestron Telescopes and Accessories: The Lineup, Line by Line

By Marisol Ortega · The bench — telescopes and scale models · Updated Oct 2026

A Celestron telescope can be a 70 mm Travel Scope or an 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain on a GoTo mount. The brand covers almost every kind of telescope and most of the parts that go with one. This page sorts the line by what tells the models apart: aperture, optical design and mount. I sorted it the way I sort a survey file, by type first and size second. It took two notebook pages and one pencil.

On Amazon US
125 models · checked weekly
Listed
Telescope & astrophotography tripods, Telescope filters, Telescope eyepieces, Barlow lenses, Astronomy binoculars, Finderscopes, Telescopes, Solar telescopes & solar filters, Telescope mounts, Telescope cases & bags, Astronomy cameras, Telescope phone adapters, Smart & digital telescopes

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Celestron on Amazon US

125 models

What Celestron makes

Celestron telescopes cover nearly every type our telescope section tracks. In our Amazon US data the brand has 125 live listings across thirteen product types:

That's a long table. Celestron's About page traces the brand's standing back to Tom Johnson's C8, and the Schmidt-Cassegrain is still the backbone of the upper half of the line. The grid above shows every Celestron listing we track; the notes below explain how the lines differ.

Celestron telescope lines, from small to large

Travel Scope and FirstScope: the grab-and-go end

The Travel Scope 70 and Travel Scope 80 are small refractors. Both listings include 20 mm and 10 mm eyepieces, and the 80 adds a smartphone adapter. The FirstScope Signature Series Moon is a tabletop Dobsonian, meaning a small reflector on a simple swivel base that sits on a table.

These suit a kid, a cabin shelf or a first look at the Moon. Skip them if you want detail on planets; 70 or 80 mm of aperture is the floor of the range.

AstroMaster and PowerSeeker: classic first telescopes

These are the entry-level lines with manual mounts. The AstroMaster 70AZ and 90AZ are achromatic refractors on alt-az mounts, which move up-down and left-right like a camera tripod. The AstroMaster 114EQ and 130EQ are Newtonian reflectors; the 114EQ listing names a manual equatorial mount. The PowerSeeker 114EQ is a 114 mm Newtonian on a manual equatorial mount, with 20 mm and 4 mm eyepieces and a 3x Barlow listed.

An equatorial mount is aligned with Earth's axis so one slow motion follows the stars. It's a good mount once you've learned it. It asks for patience on night one. If that sounds like a hurdle, the AZ versions are the gentler start.

StarSense Explorer: phone-guided, hand-pushed

StarSense Explorer models use a phone dock and an app that tells you where to push the tube. The motors are your arms. Our data lists the LT 80AZ and DX 102AZ refractors, the LT 114AZ reflector, the 114AZ tabletop Dobsonian, the DX 6" SCT at 152 mm and the 8" Dobsonian at 203 mm. All are marked "app push-to (phone dock)" and none are GoTo.

This line suits someone who wants help finding objects without batteries driving the mount. Skip it if nobody in the house will lend a phone to the telescope for an evening.

NexStar SLT, Astro Fi and NexStar SE: computerized GoTo

GoTo means a motorized mount that finds objects from a database. The NexStar 102SLT is a 102 mm refractor, the NexStar 127SLT a 127 mm Maksutov-Cassegrain, and the Astro Fi 102 a 102 mm Maksutov with WiFi app control. The 114LCM is a GoTo Newtonian with 25 mm and 9 mm eyepieces listed.

The NexStar SE family puts Schmidt-Cassegrain tubes on a single fork arm: the 5SE at 127 mm, the 6SE at 152 mm and the 8SE at 203 mm. Several 8SE and 6SE listings are bundles with the SkyPortal WiFi module, a phone adapter or an eyepiece kit, so read the listing title before you compare.

The NexStar Evolution 8 is a 203 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain with WiFi app GoTo listed.

CGEM II and CGX: big tubes on heavy mounts

At the top, the CGEM II 11" SCT and CGX 11" pair a 279 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain with a computerized equatorial GoTo mount. The mounts are also sold alone: CGEM II with a 40 lb payload listed, CGX with 55 lb, and the Advanced VX with 30 lb. The CG-4 is a manual German equatorial mount with a 20 lb payload and its tripod.

These suit an observer with a place to set up and a plan to stay a while. Skip them for a first telescope; the weight alone decides how often it gets carried out.

Origin: the smart telescope

The Origin Intelligent Home Observatory lists 152 mm of aperture, GoTo and the Origin app. A smart telescope shows the sky on a screen instead of through an eyepiece. If that's the kind of stargazing you want, compare it on the astrophotography telescopes page.

Celestron eyepieces, Barlows and filters

Celestron sells eyepieces in several series. The listing names tell them apart:

Magnification is the telescope's focal length divided by the eyepiece's focal length. Celestron's eyepiece guide gives the highest useful magnification as about 60x per inch (25.4 mm) of aperture, and about 3.6x per inch as the lowest. Pick eyepieces that land between the two for your scope.

Here's my one opinion on this page. Don't buy the big accessory kit with the telescope. Use the eyepieces in the box for a month, notice which one you reach for, then buy one eyepiece near that focal length. A kit of 14 pieces is a guess about 14 nights you haven't had yet.

Filters follow the same logic. A Moon filter cuts glare on a bright Moon. The Oxygen III and UHC/LPR filters are for nebulae and light-polluted skies. The lunar and planetary set adds color filters. Check the barrel size, 1.25" or 2", against your focuser.

Celestron binoculars for the sky

SkyMaster binoculars run from 15x70 through 20x80 and 25x70 to 25x100, all listed as tripod adaptable. The SkyMaster Pro and Pro ED models come in 15x70 and 20x80. The Cometron 7x50 and UpClose G2 10x50 are Porro prism models. The SkyMaster Gemini 2x40 has a 24-degree field listed, which is a wide-field, low-power design.

Anything above about 10x shakes in the hand. The bigger SkyMasters need the tripod adapter they list. Our stargazing binoculars page explains the numbers.

Finders, phone adapters and the small parts

The StarPointer is a red dot finder: it projects a dot on a window so you can aim the tube like a sight. Polar finderscopes are listed for the CG-5 mount and for CGX and CGX-L; they help align an equatorial mount with the pole. If your mount isn't named in the listing, it isn't the part for you.

Phone adapters come in two families. NexGO adapters are listed as 2-axis, NexYZ as 3-axis, and several DX versions add a Bluetooth remote so you can take the photo without touching the phone. A 3-axis clamp has one more adjustment for lining the phone camera up with the eyepiece. It's a fiddly job either way. On a cold night, my fingers vote for fewer knobs.

The tripods and cases are model-specific too: a tripod for the StarSense Explorer tabletop Dobsonians, a heavy-duty tripod for the CPC 9.25" and 11", a carrying case for NexStar SE, Evolution, SCT and EdgeHD tubes, and 34" and 40" bags. The Vibration Suppression Pads go under tripod legs. On my driveway that matters more than I'd like to admit, because our driveway was poured before anyone asked a surveyor.

Celestron comparisons

NexStar 6SE vs 8SE

Both are Schmidt-Cassegrains on the same style of single-arm GoTo mount. The difference is the tube. The 6SE listing gives 152 mm (about 6.0 in) of aperture. The 8SE listings give 203 mm (about 8.0 in), and one lists 2032 mm of focal length at f/10. More aperture gathers more light, so faint objects get brighter. By Celestron's 60x-per-inch guide, the 8SE's highest useful magnification sits higher too. The cost is weight and size on the driveway.

Theo did the math out loud: "Six to eight is a third more in the name. Area goes with the square, so it's closer to 1.8 times the light." He wants partial credit for not using a calculator.

Celestron AstroMaster vs PowerSeeker

Both lines start beginners on manual mounts. In our data, the PowerSeeker 114EQ and AstroMaster 114EQ are both 114 mm Newtonians on manual equatorial mounts. The PowerSeeker listing includes 20 mm and 4 mm eyepieces and a 3x Barlow. The AstroMaster range adds alt-az refractors at 70 and 90 mm and a 130 mm Newtonian. If you want a manual alt-az mount, the AstroMaster AZ models are the ones that list it.

Celestron StarSense vs NexStar

StarSense Explorer models are pushed by hand while the phone app points the way. NexStar models are motorized GoTo. StarSense needs no mount power and has fewer parts to fail; NexStar finds and follows objects for you but needs batteries or a power supply. Apertures overlap: both lines list 102 mm refractors and 152 mm Schmidt-Cassegrains.

Celestron vs Sky-Watcher

Both makers cover refractors, reflectors, Dobsonians and GoTo mounts. In our data, Celestron leans on Schmidt-Cassegrains and phone-guided StarSense scopes, and has far more eyepieces and binoculars. Sky-Watcher leans on Dobsonians, collapsible Flextubes and equatorial mounts. Compare one model to one model by aperture, mount and what's in the box.

How to pick a Celestron telescope

  1. Decide where it lives. A closet near the door favors Travel Scope, AstroMaster AZ or a tabletop Dobsonian.
  2. Decide who points it. Hand-pointed, phone-guided StarSense, or motorized NexStar.
  3. Read the aperture. It sets how much light the scope gathers.
  4. Read the mount type. Alt-az is simple; equatorial asks for polar alignment.
  5. Read the bundle. Many listings add a WiFi module, phone adapter or eyepiece kit.

If you're unsure, the refractor telescopes page explains focal ratio, and best telescopes for planets sorts scopes by aperture across brands.

Sun safety

Never look at the Sun through a telescope, binoculars, a finder or a camera, or with your eyes, without a certified solar filter made for that purpose and fitted correctly. Eye damage can be instant and permanent.

The American Astronomical Society says the solar filter goes on the front of the telescope, never at the eyepiece end. Cap or remove the finderscope before you point at the Sun.

Pick the aperture you'll actually carry out the door. The eyepieces can wait for the second month.

Where Celestron shows up

Refractor Telescopes23Astrophotography Telescopes32Binoculars for Stargazing13Best Telescope for Kids: Small Scopes for Family Nights6Best Telescope to See Planets8Telescopes & StargazingSky-Watcher

Questions about Celestron

Is Celestron a good brand?

We don't hand out verdicts on brands. What the data shows: Celestron has 125 live listings in our Amazon US data, running from a 70 mm refractor to 279 mm Schmidt-Cassegrains, plus eyepieces, filters, finders, mounts and binoculars. Judge a single model by its aperture, mount and what's in the box, not by the name on the tube.

Where are Celestron telescopes made?

We couldn't confirm this from Celestron's own pages. Its About page doesn't say where the products are made. It does say orders ship from Torrance, California. Check the individual listing or the box if country of manufacture matters to you.

What is the difference between the NexStar 6SE and 8SE?

Aperture. Both are Schmidt-Cassegrains on a computerized GoTo mount. The 6SE listing gives 152 mm of aperture and the 8SE listings give 203 mm, with a 2032 mm focal length at f/10 on one listing. The bigger mirror gathers more light; it also adds weight to carry. See the comparison block above.

Which Celestron telescope is good for a beginner?

Start with the mount, not the name. AstroMaster AZ refractors and the StarSense Explorer line use manual alt-az mounts you point by hand; the StarSense models add a phone dock that tells you where to push. The tabletop Dobsonians are the simplest of all. Save the equatorial models for someone ready to learn polar alignment.

Where can I buy Celestron telescopes?

The grid above links to each Celestron listing on Amazon US with a Check price button. Our data has 125 live Celestron listings as of October 2026. Celestron's own site also sells direct. Bundles change often, so read the listing title for what's actually included.

Does Celestron make solar filters?

Yes. Our data lists EclipSmart solar filters made for specific scopes, such as the 127 mm and 130 mm reflectors and the AstroMaster 70, plus a universal version. A solar filter must match your scope and fit securely over the front of the tube. Read the listing for the exact fit before you buy.

Sources

  1. Celestron: About Us — accessed 2026-10-23
  2. Celestron: How to Determine Which Eyepieces to Use with Your Telescope — accessed 2026-10-23
  3. American Astronomical Society: Solar Filters for Optics — accessed 2026-10-23