Is the Celestron NexStar 8SE good for beginners?

Yes, for observing and for the Moon and the planets. The GoTo mount finds and tracks the targets for you, and the tube, mount, tripod, finder and eyepiece all come in one box.

Can I do astrophotography with the NexStar 8SE?

Yes, of the Moon and the planets: my captures on this page were made through it with a ZWO ASI585MC planetary camera. The alt-azimuth fork arm cannot follow the sky's rotation, so long exposures of nebulae and galaxies need a wedge or a different mount.

How heavy is the NexStar 8SE?

Celestron gives 5.4 kg for the optical tube and 14.51 kg for the whole kit, with a 4.08 kg tripod. It comes on its own GoTo fork arm, so there is no mount to choose.

What comes in the box with the NexStar 8SE?

The optical tube, the single fork arm GoTo mount and steel tripod, the NexStar+ hand control, a StarPointer red dot finder and a 25 mm eyepiece giving 81x.

The same mount and the same kind of kit. The 8SE has 203 mm of aperture against 150 mm, so brighter, finer views of the Moon and the planets, for a higher price and a heavier tube.

On 8 AA batteries, not included, or a 12 V DC supply of 750 mA, tip positive.

What have I not tested on the NexStar 8SE?

My captures through the NexStar 8SE are of the Moon, Jupiter and Mars. I have no deep-sky captures or measurements of my own through it, and I have not fitted a wedge or a focal reducer.

Celestron NexStar 8SE review: 8 inches for the Moon and planets

Where does it rank on my leaderboard

Nine of the 39 telescopes on my board, against price
Rank	Telescope	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	Askar 50P	95 out of 100	£299
2	Askar SQA106	93 out of 100	£3,395
8	Askar SQA130	86 out of 100	£4,695
11	Celestron NexStar 8SE	83 out of 100	£1,615
14	Askar 71F	81 out of 100	£599
21	ZWO FF110	73 out of 100	£1,499
33	Altair 60EDF	50 out of 100	£499
38	Orion SkyQuest XX16g	28 out of 100	£3,299
39	Celestron AstroMaster LT 76	13 out of 100	£200

Contents

01 Where does it rank on my leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 The Moon and the planets
04 Should you buy it?
05 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 83/100

Reviewed 2 Nov 2026 Updated 2 Nov 2026

Rank: #11 of 39 telescopes
Verdict: Damon recommends

Written by Damon Scotting 3 min read

Buy it if

You want the Moon and the planets big and bright, at the eyepiece or on video.
You want everything in one box: tube, GoTo mount, tripod and hand control.
You want more aperture than the 6SE without moving to a separate mount.

Skip it if

You want long exposures of galaxies and nebulae: the alt-azimuth fork arm cannot follow the sky's rotation.
You want the most aperture for the money and do not need GoTo.

Eight inches of Schmidt-Cassegrain at 2,032 mm is a focal length made for the Moon and the planets, and my own captures through the NexStar 8SE, with a ZWO ASI585MC on the back, show it: Plato and the Alps on the Moon in crisp detail, Jupiter turning with its belts and moons, and Mars with its polar cap. It comes as one kit, tube, GoTo mount, tripod and hand control, with over 40,000 objects in the database. The single fork arm is alt-azimuth, so it is at its best on short planetary videos and at the eyepiece rather than on long deep-sky exposures.

Specifications and features

Against the telescopes I have reviewed

Compare with

Celestron NexStar 8SE reviewed #11 of 39	Celestron NexStar 6SE #23 of 39	Celestron 8" EdgeHD #4 of 39
Recorded UK price	£1,615	£1,199	£1,999
Stars for Your Buck	83/100	72/100	90/100
Aperture	203 mm	150 mm	203.2 mm (8 in)
Focal length	2,032 mm	1,500 mm	2,032 mm
Focal ratio	f/10	f/10	f/10
Optical design	Schmidt-Cassegrain, StarBright XLT coatings	Schmidt-Cassegrain	EdgeHD aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain
Image circle	not recorded	1 inch	APS-C sensors with the 0.7x reducer
Back focus	not recorded	127 mm from rear baffle tube lock ring, native f/10	105 mm with the 0.7x reducer
Focuser	Manual rear focus knob	Manual rear focus knob	Moving primary mirror with mirror clutches
Weight	5.4 kg tube; 14.51 kg kit	3.6 kg tube; 12.7 kg kit	6.35 kg (14 lb) optical tube
Length	not recorded	406 mm	432 mm (17 in)
Mount	Computerised alt-azimuth single fork arm, 40,000+ objects	Computerised alt-azimuth single fork arm, 40,000+ objects	not recorded
Eyepieces supplied	25 mm (81x)	25 mm (60x)	not recorded
Dew shield	Not supplied	Not supplied	not included
Highest useful magnification	480x	not recorded	not recorded
Resolution	0.57 arc seconds (Dawes), 0.69 (Rayleigh)	not recorded	not recorded
Power	8 AA batteries (not included) or 12 V DC, 750 mA	not recorded	not recorded
In the box	Tube, SE mount and steel tripod, StarPointer finder, NexStar+ hand control, 25 mm eyepiece	Tube, SE mount and tripod, accessory tray, StarPointer finder, NexStar+ hand control, 25 mm eyepiece, 1.25 in diagonal	40 mm Plossl 1.25 in eyepiece, 9x50 finderscope, 1.25 in star diagonal, CGE dovetail bar

The Moon and the planets

The planets and the Moon

The Moon: Plato and the Alps

Gear: Celestron NexStar 8SE, ZWO ASI585MC

Jupiter turning

Gear: Celestron NexStar 8SE, ZWO ASI585MC

Mars turning

Gear: Celestron NexStar 8SE, ZWO ASI585MC

Should you buy it?

83/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

Lunar detail: my Moon capture shows Plato, the Alpine Valley and the mountains around them crisp to the edge.
Jupiter's belts and its moons, and Mars with its polar cap, in my own planetary timelapses with a ZWO ASI585MC.
A complete kit: tube, single fork arm GoTo mount, tripod, NexStar+ hand control, finder and eyepiece.
Over 40,000 objects in the GoTo database.
203 mm of aperture resolves down to 0.57 arc seconds (Dawes), against 0.77 for the 150 mm 6SE.

Cons

The single fork arm is alt-azimuth: long deep-sky exposures show field rotation without a wedge.
At f/10 and 2,032 mm the field is narrow: big nebulae and star fields do not fit.
No dew shield in the box, and an SCT's front corrector dews up on a damp night.
Batteries are not included: it takes 8 AA cells or a 12 V supply.

A whole GoTo kit with eight inches of aperture, and at its best on the Moon and the planets.

Who the NexStar 8SE is for

Moon and planet observer

Buy

Eight inches at f/10 is exactly the tool for craters, belts and polar caps.

Beginner who wants GoTo

Buy

Tube, mount, tripod and hand control come together; align it and it finds the targets for you.

Planetary video imager

Buy

My Jupiter and Mars timelapses came through this scope with a ZWO ASI585MC.

Deep-sky imager

Skip

An alt-azimuth fork arm and f/10 are the wrong tools for long exposures of nebulae.

Aperture on a budget

Skip

If you do not need GoTo, a Dobsonian gives more aperture for the money.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Seven questions, answered

Questions about the Celestron NexStar 8SE

Reviewed 2 November 2026 ·Updated 2 November 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Some shop links are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded

Is the Celestron NexStar 8SE good for beginners? Yes, for observing and for the Moon and the planets. The GoTo mount finds and tracks the targets for you, and the tube, mount, tripod, finder and eyepiece all come in one box. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Can I do astrophotography with the NexStar 8SE? Yes, of the Moon and the planets: my captures on this page were made through it with a ZWO ASI585MC planetary camera. The alt-azimuth fork arm cannot follow the sky's rotation, so long exposures of nebulae and galaxies need a wedge or a different mount.
How heavy is the NexStar 8SE? Celestron gives 5.4 kg for the optical tube and 14.51 kg for the whole kit, with a 4.08 kg tripod. It comes on its own GoTo fork arm, so there is no mount to choose. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
What comes in the box with the NexStar 8SE? The optical tube, the single fork arm GoTo mount and steel tripod, the NexStar+ hand control, a StarPointer red dot finder and a 25 mm eyepiece giving 81x. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
NexStar 8SE or 6SE? The same mount and the same kind of kit. The 8SE has 203 mm of aperture against 150 mm, so brighter, finer views of the Moon and the planets, for a higher price and a heavier tube. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
How does it run? On 8 AA batteries, not included, or a 12 V DC supply of 750 mA, tip positive. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
What have I not tested on the NexStar 8SE? My captures through the NexStar 8SE are of the Moon, Jupiter and Mars. I have no deep-sky captures or measurements of my own through it, and I have not fitted a wedge or a focal reducer.