---
product_id: 180272478
title: "StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ App-Enabled Telescope – 130mm Newtonian Reflector with Smartphone Dock & StarSense App – iPhone & Android Compatible – Easy-to-Use for Beginners"
brand: "celestron"
price: "VT272930"
currency: VUV
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
category: "Celestron"
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/180272478-starsense-explorer-dx-130az-app-enabled-telescope-130mm-newtonian-reflector
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# Smartphone-powered navigation 130mm Newtonian reflector aperture Manual altazimuth mount with slow-motion controls StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ App-Enabled Telescope – 130mm Newtonian Reflector with Smartphone Dock & StarSense App – iPhone & Android Compatible – Easy-to-Use for Beginners

**Brand:** celestron
**Price:** VT272930
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🌌 Unlock the Universe with Just a Tap — Your Personal Star Navigator Awaits!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ App-Enabled Telescope – 130mm Newtonian Reflector with Smartphone Dock & StarSense App – iPhone & Android Compatible – Easy-to-Use for Beginners by celestron
- **How much does it cost?** VT272930 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/180272478-starsense-explorer-dx-130az-app-enabled-telescope-130mm-newtonian-reflector)

## Best For

- celestron enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted celestron brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Powerful 130mm Aperture:** Experience bright, sharp views of planets, nebulae, and galaxies that keep you exploring night after night.
- • **Trusted Brand & Support:** Backed by Celestron’s 2-year US warranty and expert customer service for worry-free stargazing.
- • **Curated Night Sky Targets:** Instantly access the best celestial objects based on your location and time—never miss a cosmic highlight.
- • **Precision Manual Tracking:** Smooth dual-axis slow-motion controls let you fine-tune your view with professional accuracy.
- • **Effortless Stargazing with Your Phone:** Dock your smartphone and let the StarSense app guide you to the cosmos—no astronomy degree required.

## Overview

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a beginner-friendly, app-enabled 130mm Newtonian reflector telescope that uses patented sky recognition technology to guide users via smartphone. Featuring a manual altazimuth mount with slow-motion controls, it delivers bright, detailed views of planets, star clusters, and deep-sky objects. Compatible with iPhone and Android, it offers curated nightly targets and comes with a 2-year US warranty, making it the perfect gateway for millennials seeking an effortless yet powerful stargazing experience.

## Description

Celestron’s StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time, making stargazing easier than ever. Perfect for beginners, this app-enabled telescope lets you dock your phone, launch the app, and follow on-screen arrows to planets, stars, galaxies, and more. Unlike other astronomy apps that rely solely on gyroscopes, StarSense uses patented sky recognition technology and a Lost in Space Algorithm (LISA)—like the sophisticated location systems used by satellites—to deliver accurate, real-time guidance. Simply align your phone with the telescope optics, and within minutes, you’ll be exploring with confidence. The app automatically generates a list of the best objects to view based on your exact time and location. Choose one and navigate there by following the on-screen arrows. When the bullseye turns green, your target is ready in the eyepiece. The high-quality 130mm Newtonian reflector with highly reflective coatings provides bright, detailed views of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and deep-sky favorites like the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy. Includes two eyepieces (10mm and 25mm), a red dot finderscope, a full-height tripod, and a StarSense smartphone dock. StarSense Explorer works with most modern smartphones; it is compatible with Android 12 and later, as well as iOS 18 and newer, including iPhone XR and newer models.

Review: The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a Fantastic Beginner Telescope!!! - I’ve been observing the night sky with telescopes for 35 years, have owned almost 20 different telescopes and have been asked many times for suggestions by people looking to buy a “starter” telescope. When I heard about the new Celestron StarSense Explorer line of telescopes, I was super intrigued and decided I’d purchase one to try out. Spending $399 on anything is a lot to spend. Spending $399 on a telescope, is relatively inexpensive compared to most telescopes on the market and certainly is within the price range of other beginner telescopes. So, what did I think of the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ? The short answer is, as an entry level telescope, I loved it! If you want to know why, read further. I’ll start by saying the telescope was well packed. It came in an attractive box with the components packed in smaller boxes inside. All of it was packed within a standard shipping box. The instructions made assembly very smooth although I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that I have assembled a lot of telescopes. I went into it though trying to have the perspective of someone who is new to telescopes. Having said that, I did jump to one conclusion that I was happy to be wrong about. The StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ and 130AZ telescopes have slow motion controls for moving the telescope left and right as well as up and down. Every slow-motion control I’ve ever seen attaches to the mount using visible small thumb screws. The slow-motion controls for the DX telescopes use sunken Allen head screws that are not readily visible. This is in no way a negative. I’m simply mentioning it for anyone else like me that would expect to see the typical thumb screws. Unboxing everything and assembling the telescope took less than 30 minutes. The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a 5.1” diameter reflecting telescope on an alt-azimuth mount with an adjustable height tripod. It comes with two entry level eyepieces; a 25mm that provides 26x and a 10mm that provides 65x. It also comes with a Celestron StarPointer red dot finder. The StarPointer is very similar to the finders I use on my more expensive and more sophisticated telescopes. It makes pointing the telescope at the targets you know the location of without using the StarSense app, very easy. It does need to be aligned with the telescope which can be done quite easily when you follow the included instructions. In my opinion, the real strength of the Celestron StarSense Explorer line of telescopes is the StarSense app. Using this app on your smartphone, coupled with this quality beginner telescope, makes finding objects in the night sky an almost effortless pleasure. The StarSense app walks you through aligning the night sky in the app with where the telescope is pointed. Once the two are aligned, click on the StarSense icon at the bottom of the screen on your smartphone, pick an object you want to look at and the app will guide you to move the scope manually to the chosen object. It does this with great accuracy which I’ll touch on later. It also provides a description, observing tips, and data for each object while standing at the telescope. StarSense is a very intuitive and informative app. I chose the Celestron Explorer DX 130AZ because it has the largest aperture in this new line of telescopes. The aperture of a telescope is the real power of the telescope. The larger the aperture, the more light it will collect, and the brighter objects will be. A 130mm (5.1”) telescope is enough aperture to keep an avid observer busy for years. Don’t get hung up on the advertised magnification of a telescope. After many years of using large 18” and 25” reflecting telescopes that required step ladders and stools to look through, I do all my observing with 4”, 5” and 6” refracting telescopes nowadays. During my first night out with the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX I observed 20 different objects including the planet Venus, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades Star Cluster, four galaxies (M65, M66, M81, M82), and quite a few various other open star clusters. I used the StarSense app to guide me to each object. When using the supplied 25mm eyepiece, every object was placed in the center of the field of view. I was super impressed by just how accurate it was! I currently have a couple different expensive computerized GoTo telescope mounts that automatically slew whatever telescope I have on them to the selected object. The StarSense app pointed the DX 130AZ telescope with more consistent accuracy than I have experienced with my GoTo telescope mounts. Optically, stars were sharp, and objects appeared as I would expect when observing from my front yard with more than one streetlight keeping my eyes from being adapted to the dark. To truly experience the potential of any telescope, observe from the darkest location you can and let your eyes adapt to the dark. Use a red flashlight if possible. Also, take advantage of the night vision mode in the StarSense app. Doing so will tint your smartphone screen red, which will help your eyes stay adapted to the dark. In summary, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is surprisingly enjoyable and easy to use. This is the most fun I’ve had with any telescope in its price range and in my opinion, it has the potential to change astronomy for beginners in a very positive way. What a fun way to be introduced to the universe! I can only imagine how different my early years under the stars would have been if I had this telescope coupled with a smartphone and the StarSense app. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to start their journey into amateur astronomy!
Review: So easy to use! - As I approached a milestone birthday (I won’t tell you which milestone though), I found myself wanting to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a nice telescope. After much deliberation, I decided to treat myself to the Celestron StarSense Explorer 5". It felt like a nod to that starry-eyed kid within me, yearning to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. All my research and effort paid off…and hopefully it helps others out there too. (This scope rocks, go for it!!) Given the budget I had in mind, I quickly stumbled into the world of electronic telescopes with motors and little remote controls that steer themselves to things in the sky. I must have watched 30 YouTube videos on these types of scopes. While they seemed cool, I got the impression that I would be spending more time fumbling with the electronics than actually enjoying the stars. I have enough stress in my real life, and I wanted this scope to be simple and hassle free to use, just grab and go. No fumbling looking for batteries or doing a long set up process. The Celestron StarSense Explorer 5" caught my attention because it promised to be a telescope that didn't require a PhD to operate. Instead of a robotic telescope that steers itself to objects, you place your phone into the dock and move the telescope yourself. It made big promises of being equally as accurate as the electronic version, but simpler because you are moving it manually. There are a lot of StarSense models to choose from, but for me, the 5” is the best blend of quality and “grab and go” I was looking for. I live on a few acres of land, and I didn’t want to have to haul a large and bulky Dobsonian out to my astronomy spot. This 5” is the largest one that is still more of a traditional telescope. It also has the sturdier base and fancier controls compared to the budget models. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the telescope’s sleek and sturdy construction. It looks good enough to keep assembled near my back door so it’s always ready when I am. I actually followed the instruction manual step by step (not normal for me) and found that setting it up was a breeze. After a certain point, I didn’t need the manual because the app guided me through matching up the telescope with my phone. This was the part I was most nervous about, but it honestly took less than 5 minutes. And now that I have done it before, it takes me about 20 seconds. One feature that really got me excited was the smartphone app. I have some familiarity with the big constellations and brighter stars in the sky but I’m no expert by any means. So having the phone was like a cheat code to help me find things I am sure I could not find on my own. With the app, finding things with my scope became as easy as ordering a pizza. There’s even an audio feature to listen to info about what you are looking at. I like to pop in my earbuds and listen as I look in the eyepiece. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the real highlight—the views. From the rings of Saturn to the tiniest little galaxies and star clusters, each observation left me in awe. Although I am not in the middle of the city, there’s still some light pollution from the town and neighboring medium sized city. The scope cut through all that light pollution. I could see things in the eyepiece when it looked to my naked eye that there was nothing there. Of course, no product is without its imperfections. The main limitation I have with this scope is that I can’t do celestial photography. You need one of the electronic ones to track the sky so you can hook up a camera. But that’s a small price to pay for the simplicity of the StarSense Explorer. And I still have gotten some pretty great images of the moon by just holding my phone up to the eyepiece. I honestly have been using this scope regularly for months now, and now with warmer weather coming I am looking forward to a summer of stargazing every chance I get. In conclusion, the Celestron StarSense Explorer 5" is a solid choice for anyone looking to dip their toes into the world of stargazing. It's simple enough for beginners like me to use, yet powerful enough to keep things interesting and keep you coming back night after night. So go ahead, treat yourself to a little slice of the cosmos…you won't regret it.

## Features

- SMARTPHONE-POWERED SKY TOUR: No experience needed! Just dock your phone, launch the StarSense Explorer app, and follow the on-screen arrows to locate stars, planets, nebulae, and more.
- PATENTED STARSENSE TECHNOLOGY: Unlike other astronomy apps, StarSense Explorer uses sky recognition technology to turn your phone into a celestial navigation system, analyzing star patterns overhead to pinpoint your telescope’s position.
- TONIGHT’S BEST TARGETS, INSTANTLY: The app generates a curated list of the top objects to see based on your time and location. See planets, bright nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters from the city—and even more from dark skies.
- SIMPLE SETUP, SMOOTH TRACKING: Features a manual altazimuth mount with dual-axis slow-motion controls. Follow the on-screen arrows to your target; when the bullseye turns green, you can view it clearly through the eyepiece.
- 130MM REFLECTOR WITH IMPRESSIVE VIEWS: The 5" Newtonian reflector with high-reflectivity coatings delivers sharp, vivid views of the Moon, planets like Jupiter and Saturn, and deep-sky favorites like the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy.
- UNBEATABLE WARRANTY & SUPPORT: Buy with confidence from Celestron, a leading telescope brand in California since 1960. Your purchase includes a 2-Year US Warranty and unlimited support from our team of US-based experts.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN | B083JRF1MH |
| Additional Features | Smartphone-powered sky tour, patented StarSense technology |
| Best Sellers Rank | #126 in Camera & Photo Products ( See Top 100 in Camera & Photo Products ) #12 in Telescope Refractors |
| Brand | Celestron |
| Built-In Media | 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, Accessory tray, Mount and tripod (preassembled), Optical tube, StarPointer finderscope |
| Coating | Glass mirrors coated with aluminum and SiO₂ |
| Compatible Devices | Smartphone |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,583 Reviews |
| Dawes Limit | 0.89 Arc Sec |
| Exit Pupil Diameter | 5.2 Millimeters |
| Eye Piece Lens Description | 25mm and 10mm eyepieces |
| Field Of View | 2 Degrees |
| Finderscope | StarPointer™ red dot finderscope |
| Focal Length Description | 650.0 millimeters |
| Focus Type | Manual Focus |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00050234224611 |
| Item Dimensions D x W x H | 30"D x 32"W x 50"H |
| Item Weight | 18 Pounds |
| Manufacturer | Celestron Acquisition LLC |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 22461 |
| Model Name | StarSense Explorer DX 130 |
| Model Number | 22461 |
| Mount | Altazimuth Mount |
| Number of Batteries | 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included) |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 130 Millimeters |
| Optical Tube Length | 635 Millimeters |
| Optical-Tube Length | 635 Millimeters |
| Power Source | Manual Operation Without External Power Source |
| Telescope Mount Description | Altazimuth Mount |
| UPC | 050234224611 |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Warranty Description | 2-YEAR WARRANTY |
| Zoom Ratio | 1 |

## Product Details

- **Brand:** Celestron
- **Eye Piece Lens Description:** 25mm and 10mm eyepieces
- **Finderscope:** StarPointer™ red dot finderscope
- **Focus Type:** Manual Focus
- **Model Name:** StarSense Explorer DX 130
- **Objective Lens Diameter:** 130 Millimeters
- **Optical Tube Length:** 635 Millimeters
- **Power Source:** Manual Operation Without External Power Source
- **Product Dimensions:** 30"D x 32"W x 50"H
- **Telescope Mount Description:** Altazimuth Mount

## Images

![StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ App-Enabled Telescope – 130mm Newtonian Reflector with Smartphone Dock & StarSense App – iPhone & Android Compatible – Easy-to-Use for Beginners - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61c8XP5UUiL.jpg)

## Available Options

This product comes in different **Style** options.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a Fantastic Beginner Telescope!!!
*by A***4 on March 23, 2020*

I’ve been observing the night sky with telescopes for 35 years, have owned almost 20 different telescopes and have been asked many times for suggestions by people looking to buy a “starter” telescope. When I heard about the new Celestron StarSense Explorer line of telescopes, I was super intrigued and decided I’d purchase one to try out. Spending $399 on anything is a lot to spend. Spending $399 on a telescope, is relatively inexpensive compared to most telescopes on the market and certainly is within the price range of other beginner telescopes. So, what did I think of the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ? The short answer is, as an entry level telescope, I loved it! If you want to know why, read further. I’ll start by saying the telescope was well packed. It came in an attractive box with the components packed in smaller boxes inside. All of it was packed within a standard shipping box. The instructions made assembly very smooth although I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that I have assembled a lot of telescopes. I went into it though trying to have the perspective of someone who is new to telescopes. Having said that, I did jump to one conclusion that I was happy to be wrong about. The StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ and 130AZ telescopes have slow motion controls for moving the telescope left and right as well as up and down. Every slow-motion control I’ve ever seen attaches to the mount using visible small thumb screws. The slow-motion controls for the DX telescopes use sunken Allen head screws that are not readily visible. This is in no way a negative. I’m simply mentioning it for anyone else like me that would expect to see the typical thumb screws. Unboxing everything and assembling the telescope took less than 30 minutes. The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a 5.1” diameter reflecting telescope on an alt-azimuth mount with an adjustable height tripod. It comes with two entry level eyepieces; a 25mm that provides 26x and a 10mm that provides 65x. It also comes with a Celestron StarPointer red dot finder. The StarPointer is very similar to the finders I use on my more expensive and more sophisticated telescopes. It makes pointing the telescope at the targets you know the location of without using the StarSense app, very easy. It does need to be aligned with the telescope which can be done quite easily when you follow the included instructions. In my opinion, the real strength of the Celestron StarSense Explorer line of telescopes is the StarSense app. Using this app on your smartphone, coupled with this quality beginner telescope, makes finding objects in the night sky an almost effortless pleasure. The StarSense app walks you through aligning the night sky in the app with where the telescope is pointed. Once the two are aligned, click on the StarSense icon at the bottom of the screen on your smartphone, pick an object you want to look at and the app will guide you to move the scope manually to the chosen object. It does this with great accuracy which I’ll touch on later. It also provides a description, observing tips, and data for each object while standing at the telescope. StarSense is a very intuitive and informative app. I chose the Celestron Explorer DX 130AZ because it has the largest aperture in this new line of telescopes. The aperture of a telescope is the real power of the telescope. The larger the aperture, the more light it will collect, and the brighter objects will be. A 130mm (5.1”) telescope is enough aperture to keep an avid observer busy for years. Don’t get hung up on the advertised magnification of a telescope. After many years of using large 18” and 25” reflecting telescopes that required step ladders and stools to look through, I do all my observing with 4”, 5” and 6” refracting telescopes nowadays. During my first night out with the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX I observed 20 different objects including the planet Venus, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades Star Cluster, four galaxies (M65, M66, M81, M82), and quite a few various other open star clusters. I used the StarSense app to guide me to each object. When using the supplied 25mm eyepiece, every object was placed in the center of the field of view. I was super impressed by just how accurate it was! I currently have a couple different expensive computerized GoTo telescope mounts that automatically slew whatever telescope I have on them to the selected object. The StarSense app pointed the DX 130AZ telescope with more consistent accuracy than I have experienced with my GoTo telescope mounts. Optically, stars were sharp, and objects appeared as I would expect when observing from my front yard with more than one streetlight keeping my eyes from being adapted to the dark. To truly experience the potential of any telescope, observe from the darkest location you can and let your eyes adapt to the dark. Use a red flashlight if possible. Also, take advantage of the night vision mode in the StarSense app. Doing so will tint your smartphone screen red, which will help your eyes stay adapted to the dark. In summary, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is surprisingly enjoyable and easy to use. This is the most fun I’ve had with any telescope in its price range and in my opinion, it has the potential to change astronomy for beginners in a very positive way. What a fun way to be introduced to the universe! I can only imagine how different my early years under the stars would have been if I had this telescope coupled with a smartphone and the StarSense app. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to start their journey into amateur astronomy!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ So easy to use!
*by D***R on March 20, 2024*

As I approached a milestone birthday (I won’t tell you which milestone though), I found myself wanting to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a nice telescope. After much deliberation, I decided to treat myself to the Celestron StarSense Explorer 5". It felt like a nod to that starry-eyed kid within me, yearning to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. All my research and effort paid off…and hopefully it helps others out there too. (This scope rocks, go for it!!) Given the budget I had in mind, I quickly stumbled into the world of electronic telescopes with motors and little remote controls that steer themselves to things in the sky. I must have watched 30 YouTube videos on these types of scopes. While they seemed cool, I got the impression that I would be spending more time fumbling with the electronics than actually enjoying the stars. I have enough stress in my real life, and I wanted this scope to be simple and hassle free to use, just grab and go. No fumbling looking for batteries or doing a long set up process. The Celestron StarSense Explorer 5" caught my attention because it promised to be a telescope that didn't require a PhD to operate. Instead of a robotic telescope that steers itself to objects, you place your phone into the dock and move the telescope yourself. It made big promises of being equally as accurate as the electronic version, but simpler because you are moving it manually. There are a lot of StarSense models to choose from, but for me, the 5” is the best blend of quality and “grab and go” I was looking for. I live on a few acres of land, and I didn’t want to have to haul a large and bulky Dobsonian out to my astronomy spot. This 5” is the largest one that is still more of a traditional telescope. It also has the sturdier base and fancier controls compared to the budget models. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the telescope’s sleek and sturdy construction. It looks good enough to keep assembled near my back door so it’s always ready when I am. I actually followed the instruction manual step by step (not normal for me) and found that setting it up was a breeze. After a certain point, I didn’t need the manual because the app guided me through matching up the telescope with my phone. This was the part I was most nervous about, but it honestly took less than 5 minutes. And now that I have done it before, it takes me about 20 seconds. One feature that really got me excited was the smartphone app. I have some familiarity with the big constellations and brighter stars in the sky but I’m no expert by any means. So having the phone was like a cheat code to help me find things I am sure I could not find on my own. With the app, finding things with my scope became as easy as ordering a pizza. There’s even an audio feature to listen to info about what you are looking at. I like to pop in my earbuds and listen as I look in the eyepiece. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the real highlight—the views. From the rings of Saturn to the tiniest little galaxies and star clusters, each observation left me in awe. Although I am not in the middle of the city, there’s still some light pollution from the town and neighboring medium sized city. The scope cut through all that light pollution. I could see things in the eyepiece when it looked to my naked eye that there was nothing there. Of course, no product is without its imperfections. The main limitation I have with this scope is that I can’t do celestial photography. You need one of the electronic ones to track the sky so you can hook up a camera. But that’s a small price to pay for the simplicity of the StarSense Explorer. And I still have gotten some pretty great images of the moon by just holding my phone up to the eyepiece. I honestly have been using this scope regularly for months now, and now with warmer weather coming I am looking forward to a summer of stargazing every chance I get. In conclusion, the Celestron StarSense Explorer 5" is a solid choice for anyone looking to dip their toes into the world of stargazing. It's simple enough for beginners like me to use, yet powerful enough to keep things interesting and keep you coming back night after night. So go ahead, treat yourself to a little slice of the cosmos…you won't regret it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ StarSense Explorer DX 5” Schmidt-Cassegrain - can this be a great beginner scope?
*by G***R on December 25, 2025*

Let me start off by saying that if you are looking to use this rig for astrophotography then please forget it. If you want to do that be prepared to spend 4-5 times what this cost, and that’s just for the telescope and mount. If you want to do astrophotography at this price point, then buy one of the several ‘smart’ scopes in this price range. But if you want a small scope for beginning visual observing, read on.. Most people will tell beginners to get a 6 or 8 inch Dobsonian telescope and I would have to concur. I still use my 8 inch dob to this day and I will continue to use it because it’s the best bang for the buck when it comes to visual observation, but it can take up a bit of real estate in your home plus you have to move it in and out and put it in your car to head to dark skies, unless you live in dark skies in which case if you do, then go for a 10 inch dob haha. But in urban areas of bortle 7-8 you can see some nice stuff with a decent sized dob. Now Celestron does make a StarSense 8 and 10 inch dobsonian telescope and if you don’t own a telescope and you have the space in your home and you can tote them around, I would recommend either one of these as your first telescope. But I digress. The OTA: So this is pretty much Celestron’s C5 that has been in production since the 1970’s and was flown on the space shuttle back in the day. This one is f10 and is extremely serviceable, it came well collimated from the factory and has a solid feel and build quality to it. I bought this for the telescope since I was looking for a good ‘grab and go’ rig, something smaller and lighter than the dob to throw in the car. The focuser is spot on, visual back is typical Celestron SCT quality and of course you get serviceable eyepieces for a beginner scope, but all of this is easily upgraded especially if you already have some of these items in hand and if you don’t, what comes in the package will work and you can always upgrade at a later point. The main reason I ended up with this model was that I was in the market for a small SCT and with this years ‘Black Friday’ sales, I got this for a price I could not pass up. I’ve had a few clear nights since I bought this and took it in the yard along with my 8 inch dob and pointed them at the same objects and, using the same eyepiece did an A/B test between the two and I had a hard time telling the difference in visuals between them - the SCT does a great job gathering light in my light polluted sky. In short for what it is, I love this optical tube. StarSense: Now we come to it. So you can only get access to this app if you buy one of the telescopes in this line. There is a holder for your phone that’s on the mount for this model and after you download the app, you secure your phone to this holder and the app will help you align to the telescope. It’s easy to do and once done, the app will easily guide you through the sky. This is not a ‘go to’ mount, where the mount will move the telescope for you. Just follow the arrows on the phone screen to whatever object you selected by pushing the telescope, and once you find the object through the phone, if you did your due diligence with the alignment (again, pretty simple) the object will be in the eyepiece of the scope. I found it very intuitive and novel, and what a great way to start learning your way around the night sky. I’ve read that people have bought the cheapest scope in this series just for the StarSense and have figured out a way to rig the phone holder onto their much higher priced telescopes. Yeah, I’m not sure I would be willing to do that. But the app really works well and it’s been a lot of fun using it. The Mount: Here’s always the problem with beginner telescopes. They may give you a decent OTA (like this C5) but in order to save money they will give you a cheap mount. Yes the legs are some sort of stamped metal and can extend to a comfortable viewing height but the optical tube is held on by a plastic arm and it will shake with the slightest adjustment and that’s what you do not want. So I’ve seen that this mount is included in a lot of the StarSense line (except for the dobs, they are on a truly stable Dobsonian mount) but from what I can see, this mount is suited best for the 5” SCT. This mount is an Alt/Az mount (up/down, left right) which is fine for visual observation. Included in the mount are slow motion knobs which really help mitigate planetary drift and since these knobs are situated behind the mount and the visual of this small SCT is in the back, the knobs are decently situated and are easy to get to. On other models where you look into the side of the telescope these knobs are a joke as they are too far away to be of any use. Also don’t bother with any refractor telescope in this series, as they are nothing but junk scopes and will frustrate you. Bottom line: If you must get StarSense and you are new, or getting back into the hobby then I highly recommend either the DX 5” CST, or the 8 or 10 inch Dobsonian. Anything else will frustrate you. With the C5 you can easily upgrade and make a good scope even better, especially if you can get it for a good price. CSTs will always cost more than comparable dobs, but less than comparable refractors. To me if I were just starting in this hobby the C5 StarSense rig would really rock my world due to the size of the OTA and ease of use. I took two stars off due to the mount - but added one back due to the C5 and StarSense. Do as much research as you can and if possible reach out to a local astronomy club for some hands on experience before you spend any of your hard earned money. Try and figure out what you want in a telescope, what is really important to you because there is no one telescope that fits all. Just keep in mind, the best telescope is the one you use the most.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Celestron 22461 StarSense Explore DX 130 Newtonian Reflector Telescope with Smartphone App-Enabled Technology - Includes Two Eyepieces, Phone Dock and Height-Adjustable Tripod, Black
- Celestron Omni 1.25" 2X Barlow Lens, Multi, Model Number: 93326
- Celestron – Telescope Moon Filter – Eyepiece Accessory – Reduces Moon Glare and Enhances Lunar Crater Details – Great for Full Moon Observing – Works with Any Telescope That Accepts 1.25" Eyepieces

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**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/180272478-starsense-explorer-dx-130az-app-enabled-telescope-130mm-newtonian-reflector](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/180272478-starsense-explorer-dx-130az-app-enabled-telescope-130mm-newtonian-reflector)

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*Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu*
*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-06-06*