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40% off Celestron Nexstar 6SE Telescope $1079.99 (Was $1799.99) @ Australian Geographic

880

Very cheap. Other telescopes also 40% off.

The Celestron NexStar 6SE is great for deep space viewing and astrophotography, and for beginners and experts alike.

150mm (6") Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
1500mm focal length
Computerised alt-azimuth mount
f/10 focal ratio
25mm (60x) eyepiece
2 year warranty
Celestron Item # 11068

You can stack it with the eBay 10% cashback deal + 7% off (eBay PRESS coupon) + ShopBack Ozbargain exclusive ($2 off). I'm a new ShopBack member so also got the $11 sign up bonus. Brought the overall price down to $890, free shipping (pending all the cashbacks of course).
Thanks https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/143709

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closed Comments

  • +6

    Beware!! This is an old model of the Nexstar, don’t expect to see anything more than a tiny Saturn.

    • What would be a better version?

      • +1

        Evolution 6 is the newer model. It comes with apps and quick locate etc etc

        https://www.bintel.com.au/product/celestron-nexstar-evolutio…

        I own a evolution 6, it is not that great in terms of what u can see. I would go for dobsonian if u don’t mind the size.

        https://www.bintel.com.au/product-category/telescopes/dobson…

        • I know next to nothing about telescopes, but is it possible to connect a camera to the Dobsonians? Or how does one take a picture of the image shown in viewfinder? And how to work out which is the "best" model of all those models. Many of them seem to have similar specs. Edit, nevermind I just watched a youtube about it! Still if you have any thoughts…

        • +3

          This model is still the latest version of the 6se, they haven't updated it. Yes there are other models.i also have the evolution 6 and this has the same optics as the evolution 6.i had a dobsonian 8 inch and while you can gather more light, It's not portable and mine wasn't a goto either so a lot more work.

        • EVO has been out since 2014? More of a different class than superseded…

          Surely can't get an EVO for $1k

          • +1

            @L0zBargain: I got an evo 6 for $900 2nd hand. They are 2100 new. Glad I got our but for this price and cheaper as shown on Ebay with the coupons and cash back is a great price..860..
            See the last post..

    • Any recommendations for one in a similar price range that would be superior/more recent?

      • +3

        It doubtful that the new version would suddenly give you a large saturn with the same optics configuration. More likely its got integrated wifi connector so you can control it with your ipad. Eg secondary features. Worth being aware of but not neccessary a deal breaker.

        This is a very solid telescope I wuoldnt dismiss it.
        Small limitation is that it is using a AZ mount which means its fine for observation but not for deep sky photography. On the plus this mount has a goto controller which is quite neat so you can plug in a star your looking for and it will show it to you. (providing you manually calibrate to begin with of course).

        This telescope would be great for beginners interested in observing moon, planets larger nebula's. You could see the moons on jupiter and jupiter as a smallish dot (same with Saturn). You should be able to see saturns rings. but no detail on them.

        • You can also add a wedge ( or make one diy) to make it an equatorial mount

    • +5

      Beware!! This is an old model of the Nexstar, don’t expect to see anything more than a tiny Saturn.

      Firstly it isn't an older model, it's still current. Also you get what you pay for and how much you want to invest. Yeah, if you want to see a BIG Saturn you pay BIG dollars. It's still a hobbyist telescope but is still good and you will get a clear picture of Saturn and many many other celestial objects

    • I have virtually no knowledge in astronomy, I went to an observatory at Dubbo NSW last year, viewing through one of their much larger telescopes in its own observatory, the Saturn appeared tiny. So you say you can still see a tiny Saturn with this Celestron telescope, hey that's not too bad at all I reckon.

      • This scope is better for deep space objects (DSOs), as is mentioned in the description.

        For cheaper (than this style or other style Scopes) planetary viewing you will want a Dobsonian scope.

        • Like the Blackhole?

          • +3

            @edfoo: The Black hole shown recently was part of m87. It's part of the Markarians chain.

            Here is a photo taken of Markarians chain with this telescope:

            https://www.cloudynights.com/gallery/image/59468-markarians-…

            So, in a way, yes.

            But also in another way, take a photo of the sky anywhere there's going to be a black hole in it… Your just won't see it, but it'll be there.

            • +1

              @teereb: You know I was just kidding of course.
              Anyway that picture in that your link is actually quite impressive from this telescope.

              • +1

                @edfoo: Haha, yeah. I figured you were, but thought why not give a some what relevant and informative answer.

                As far as beginner scopes go, it's good. Not too deep a dive into Astro viewing, before it becomes out of hand expensive.

                Have a mate who's tripod was about $30,000…

    • You will not see anything different in a newer model 6" sct scope.. Optical design in scopes has barely changed for a century.

  • +1

    just checked the historical cheapest was $499 usd at us amazon IN 2014!

    • so good deal or not

      • +4

        Good deal for Australia
        telescopes are hideously expensive here.
        I bought mine back from the US at 1/3 the price of Australia but it was a total pain (imagine trying to bring an 8 inch CST as hand luggage and having american airlines trying to put it in cargo at each step of the journey) then having your tripod lost and getting it backweeks later.

        • Yes, sadly its not equipment you want in checked baggage… and they're mostly too big for hand carry…

          It has never ever been close to $499USD here.

          I bought one second hand about 3 years ago for $900!

          • @L0zBargain: I brought the Celestron EdgeHD8 back with an advanced VX mount. Really good but a pain to setup.

  • Still listed as current on the Celestron website and that price is a lot lower than other retailers I had been looking at.

    Seems okay as a good quality entry telescope, although by the reviews you would need to spend money on a power pack for an extended viewing session and other accessories if you wanted to take pics.

    Big question is would I really use it if I had to take it away from street lights to get a reasonable view? I suspect the interest would wane quickly, so even at this price I hesitate.

    • +2

      My dad has this, it folds up super easy. I could fit it into the boot of an mx-5

    • +1

      You can get a car adapter or ac adapter if using at home. You can also hook it up to a generic battery at a fraction of the cost. I did

    • I suspect the interest would wane quickly, so even at this price I hesitate.

      Absolutely. Go to club meets for a while to see if you really need to own one yourself.

  • +16

    I bought this shipped from the US 7 years ago. I think it cost me around $8-900 at the time, dollar was a lot better then.

    Used it heaps for a few months, now it comes out like once or twice a year. I'm still glad I've got it though. I always spend a couple of hours when I do use it.

    Saturn is incredible, I have seen the shadow of the rings on the planet. Jupiter you can see the moons plus the spot on the surface. The moon (earth's) detail is incredible.

    I've got nothing to compare it too, but you have to be realistic, it's not the Hubble.

    • +1

      I think you just helped sell a few.

      • +2

        On the other hand, I want the Hubble so this is now off the list.

    • +7

      how's it compared to p30pro

    • +6

      I have the Hubble. Good timing on a price match at Officeworks. Originally 4.7 billion US I got 5% off which is actually a tonne of cash saved. Free protective case as well in the 'Space Grey' colour.

  • Nice, almost in line with US price.

  • +2

    Can I see Uranus with this?

    • +3

      you have to start with the Moon first

    • +14

      Drop a mirror on the ground and you'll see Uranus

      • +3

        I'm not sure it's worth the 7 years of bad luck to see Uranus…

      • pop a squat and the details are amazing, you can really distinguish the surface features

      • -1

        Why did the lame, very unfunny follow up comment about dropping a mirror get 14+ votes while the original uranus comment got only 3?

        • Because in every discussion about planets you will surely see someone posting the same old lame, very unfunny joke about Uranus.

    • +1

      I will PM you my home address and you can drop by to view it XD

    • Yes you may considering you asked so nicely!

    • Just make sure you put on protective eye wear first.

  • Good deal. Hope Australian Geographic will do 40% off on 8SE in the near future.

  • +13

    For those interested difference between going to an 8 inch here are a couple of photos off my 8 Inch Celestron (little higher model with clarity around the edge than the 8SE)
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/erup57v0b87jpz2/E7D_0827.jpg?dl=0
    (With fixed SLR)

    Using a phone through an eye piece so probably closer to the 6 inch with a clarity hit.
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/5dvr0nbvqo4rjjc/IMG_0114.jpg?dl=0
    They look good. Single shot photos (you can do a lot better with photostacking).

    For example here is an image from the 6SE using photostacking
    https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/mysky/2014/…
    These are not easy so this is probably an unrealistic image quality for a home user.

    Here is a single shot from a Celestron 6SE as a more realistic shot from this telescope.
    https://live.staticflickr.com/8818/28231710906_c779fbb75b_b.…
    You can see the 8 Inch does make a clarity improvement

    Overall I think this is a good deal for the telescope in Australia.

    • Oh i should add going from the 6SE AzMount to my 8EdgeHD EQMount 4x the price. Its hard to justify the increased clarity for that jump. Thats why i think this is a good deal.

    • how can u achieve this by using photostacking ?

  • how abt 8se

  • +1

    I know nothing about telescopes, but would like to have a look at the moon, mars, Venus, anything else that can be seen with not much effort.

    Plenty of telescopes of eBay for $100-$200. Complete waste of time or would do the job?

    • +3

      Alot of those are real junk. Poor lenses making the image so blurry you can't see anything

    • Interested to know this as well. Would like to start out but want to spend under $500 am I being to unrealistic?

    • +1

      I had an Astromaster 70 for a while and although it was considerably cheaper it wasn't particularly good to look through and was not electronically controlled. This deal would give you a way better scope. If you buy cheap you'll get disappointed quite quickly.

      • Few hundred dollars = for kids or balcony of your apartment.
        A few refractors for $500 are ok but look for a known telescope brand.

        When you hit $1k then they start getting reasonable quality.

  • Some digital cameras can do the same things like telescopes you can also see planets wither the right zoom.
    I recommended Nikon p1000.

    • which one are you talking abt the only object I can see is moon by using my 60d with EF 300mm lens( about 480mm since 60d is APC-s)

      • +1

        P1000 far tele is equal to 3000mm, tracking is another thing though…

    • Lol so you are suggesting to spend more than $1500(plus lenses) on a camera to do the job of a $1000 telescope?

    • Not really the same. A telescope has a much bigger light gathering ability so you can distinguish more detail. Unless you have a 1500mm focal length on your camera with the same light gather ability your not going to get close to even the 6se. So even if the aperature is the same (eg with a multiplyer) you willl need to change the fstop back several stops to get the light. Then to top it off the camera's ccd would be limited in the arc width it can get, i suspect if you do the math you will find you have to expose for longer with less angle visible to get a similar shot. (the longer times will fo course cause issues with star movement unless you have a EQ mount with a star tracker doing corrections).

  • Love to have but can't afford it :(

  • +5

    Anyone looking for a great bang for buck telescope you can't go past something like an 8-10" Sky-watcher or Bintel dobsonian which can be had for around $550 for 8" and $800 for 10". You'll get better views than with the telescope listed in the original post simply because of its larger diameter which catches more light. I've got two 10" with half a dozen quality eyepieces and it's been a blast the past 4 years I've been viewing.

    Contact Astro Pete and Bintel for deals and for advice.

    Astro Pete: http://www.astroanarchy.com.au
    Bintel: https://www.bintel.com.au

    • Does your wife prefer the 8" or 10"? Asking for a friend.

      • Tell your friend with 10" Uranus is pretty much a sure thing. Heard from a friend.

      • +2

        Well we both have a 10" so no one gets to complain.

    • +2

      I have an 8" skywatcher dobsonian. It's way bigger than it sounds (that's what she said!). To put it into perspective, the tube won't fit in the boot of my car, and takes up the entire back seat (and that's the tube, not including the stand!). Plus it's pretty heavy and hard to move around. I probably should have gotten a collapsible dobsonian!

      • But it's only 112cm long, your car boot must be small. Are there any disadvantages to the collapsible version in terms of performance?

  • I just came here for comments…

  • What’s a good one if any that you can see good detail of Saturn without going stupid price.I’m guessing you won’t see much past Saturn?

    Also have the ability to use iPhone/ iPad. Auto find planets etc and take photos using iPad etc

    • +1

      this is good without a stupid price. just google "Celestron Nexstar 6SE" and hit the images tab and see if it suits you

      • +2

        Too many people see images and think they'll be able to see bright nebula and galaxies without realising they are huge telescopes or the Hubble or normal scopes but taken with exposures of hours at a time and stacked and processed.

      • Just did that but I’m seeing a different quality of photos on google of Jupiter, Saturn and even mars. Some are nice and clear like mars but then I see another mars photos and it’s kinda crap. Same with Jupiter and Saturn

        Can you link a photo of what it really would look like

  • Hi All, I know little to nothing about telescopes and wanting something to look at the moon/stars/planets from Rye (mornington peninsula in victoria). I read some comments about people taking these to very dark locations away from city lights. Is the peninsula a dark enough environment or would I need to take it inland?
    In order to take photos, do you need to purchase any additional mounts or anything with this model?
    Thanks all!

    • For photos of planets and moon this will work fine.

      • Thanks for reply. Will this only work if i take it to the middle of nowhere, or do you think it'll work around Mornington Peninsula? Cheers

        • +1

          of course, Mornington Peninsula is definitely a good place

    • You should consider joining an astro club. You can learn a lot with one of these. There is one up at Mt Martha. http://www.mpas.asn.au/

  • Apart from Saturn, can I see the Venus next door so I dont have to climb trees all the time?

  • +3

    FYI

    https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B000GUKTDM/ref=pd_luc_rh_crh_rh…
    Same price but currently 10% cash back so drops the price under $1k

    • How do you get the 10% cashback?

    • Thanks for that! Reading the reviews on amazon, most are for the 8SE and one commenter says that it produces ~78% more light that the 6SE. If that is true, would it be worth considering the 8SE or another brand with larger 8" capacity? Hard to know what to look for as a beginner wanting to have some fun looking at the sky and hopefully taking some great photos! Thanks :)

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