Celestron NexStar 114 SLT Computerized Telescope

Reader Reviews
I had always been interested in astronomy, but had never used a GOOD telescope. That all changed when I opened this up attached the tube to the tripod and headed outside! Setup takes just minutes and the alignment process is foolproof. I've used both Jupiter and the moon for alignment. The telescope gets pretty close to the objects you tell it to go to. I did find however that when it moves to certain objects it seems to take the long way most of the time and tangles the power cord and hand held cord around the base. So far looking at Jupiter is extraordinary! I have seen the cloud bands and up to four of its moons with just the 25mm lens and a Barlow 2X. The moon? Don't get me started clear as day and all of those wonderful craters seen to pop out at you! Wonderful. Still trying to get myself out at 2:30 am to see Mars and Venus. Maybe tonight! Looking at stars with this telescope seems to make them look brighter and looking at archturus (I think that's what its called) seems to yield a wonderful array of flashing colors I highly recommend getting Celestron's accessory kit with this telescope. With it comes lenses from 25mm to 4mm. The 4mm is great and makes Jupiter very big in the eyepiece, but the built in focusing knob in the eye piece becomes nearly impossible to use. I have yet to use any of the filters that come with the kit but I have read great things on what they do. There have been some complaints about the batteries going dead too fast. There is an AC adapter available from some other sellers on amazon, or if you have a lot of electronics lying around the house like I do I bet that here is a 12 volt adapter lying around just screaming USE ME! USE ME! and that will work fine. The only con I have -if it can be considered a con ;)- is the other night when i was really putting it through its paces a horrible stink came from the lateral drive box while it was moving to a new location. It did go away after a few minutes so maybe it was the gear lube heating up? Anyway it's still working perfectly and seems to be well built. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to start star gazing. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews function showYesNoCommunityResponse(uId,result,value) { var msgLayer = getElement("thanks" + uId); if ( result == "SUCCESS" ) { msgLayer.innerHTML = "Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.com readers and reviewers. Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."; } else { showVoteErrorResponse(msgLayer,result,value); } } Report this | Permalink Comment Comment 28 of 32 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Wouldn't buy Celestron again., June 16, 2009 By T. Duffin (Austin, TX) - (REAL NAME) I used this for the first time a couple of days ago, and after about 20 minutes of trying to align it to Polaris, and other stars, it failed. It moves pretty slow. I didn't try changing the slew rate at that time, it might have been better. Thankfully, the moon was visible shortly after, and did align properly. After having the computer move it to Jupiter, it stopped azimuth movement (right and left). It still moves up and down. I tried some troubleshooting, to no avail. Since it doesn't move without the computer, when it breaks, you can't use it. I emailed Celestron 2 times using the support form on their website, and haven't received a reply, not even a "we'll get with you shortly" email. I will be sending it back to Amazon when I can get it all packed back up. So, the telescope seems powerful enough, and was easy to use. Build quality is good. I was planning to get a T adapter for some Astrophotography, but I think I'll have to choose another manufacture. Unfortunately, Celestron doesn't appear to want to support their product. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Report this | Permalink Comment Comment 5.0 out of 5 stars Beginner Telescope, February 11, 2010 By Jason W. Angle - (REAL NAME) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) We bought this for our children a few months ago. Great way to get started into astronomy, has tons of additional components you can purchase to extend it's power, as well as photo equipment. No problems at all with it so far. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Report this | Permalink Comment Comment Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 5 customer reviews... var d16g_dclick_287949 = "amzn.us.dp.electronics;sz=300x250;u=132fb8e3174249fca3fd35cca4a38bb3;ord=1W4TXC33W3EH95TG8JTF;s=32;s=m1;s=m4;z=212;z=215;tile=1"; function collapseFrame_287949 () { var elem=document.getElementById('cachebust_287949_adcontent'); elem.style.visibility="hidden"; elem.style.display="none"; elem.style.height=0; elem.style.width=0; elem.style.margin=0; } function adOnload_287949 () { var frame_287949 = document.getElementById('cachebust_287949'); if( frame_287949.contentWindow ) { if( frame_287949.contentWindow.document ) { var iwin = frame_287949.contentWindow; if( typeof iwin.d16gCollapse !== "undefined" ) { collapseFrame_287949(); } else { var ib = iwin.document.body; if( ib && ib.innerHTML == "" ) { var oDoc = (frame_287949.contentWindow || frame_287949.contentDocument); if (oDoc.document) oDoc = oDoc.document; oDoc.write(''); } } } } } if(typeof amznJQ != 'undefined') { amznJQ.onCompletion('amznJQ.criticalFeature', function() { var divContainer = jQuery('#cachebust_287949_adcontent'); jQuery('#cachebust_287949_adcontent').children('div:first').after(' '); if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")