StarSense Explorer 8 Dobsonian Review: Does It Work?

Your phone reads the sky and points you at the target. The question is what it costs you.

Specifications

Specifications above come from Celestron's published specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• The plate solving genuinely works. The app photographs the sky through your phone, works out where the telescope is pointing and updates as you push, which is a different and more reliable thing than a phone compass app.
• No motors means no power, no alignment stars and nothing to go wrong in the cold.
• Eight inches of aperture is the classic all round amount: enough for real deep sky work, small enough to carry.
• The tonight's targets list solves the second beginner problem, which is not knowing what is worth looking at.

Where it falls short

• It depends on your phone. An old phone with a poor camera or a dying battery degrades the whole experience, and the dock does not fit every case.
• You are looking at a bright screen in the dark. Even with the app's red mode, that is at odds with dark adaptation, and dark adaptation is what lets you see faint detail.
• It does not track. The app points you at the target and the Earth then carries it out of the field, exactly as with any Dobsonian.
• The premium over a plain 8 inch Dobsonian buys finding assistance, not one photon of extra light.

What owners report

Published owner reports are unusually consistent that the technology does what it claims. The recurring praise is that people who had previously failed to find anything beyond the Moon started finding galaxies within an evening. The recurring criticism is phone related rather than telescope related: fit in the dock, screen brightness, and battery drain on cold nights.

The other consistent theme is that experienced observers do not need it. Several reports from people who bought it as a second telescope describe using the app for a few sessions and then reverting to the finderscope. That is worth knowing, because it tells you exactly who the premium is for.

Who it suits

• Beginners who want real aperture but have no intention of learning to star hop first.
• Anyone who observes in a light polluted sky where the guide stars for star hopping are simply not visible.
• Families and outreach, where handing someone a phone is easier than teaching a finder.

Who should skip it

• Observers who already find objects with a finderscope, who are paying for a feature they will stop using.
• Anyone with an old or fragile phone, since the system leans on the phone's camera and battery.
• Astrophotographers, because there is no tracking of any kind.

Alternatives worth considering

Keep reading

• GoTo vs manual telescope
• Tabletop Dobsonian vs GoTo telescope
• How to find objects in the night sky
• Sky-Watcher Classic 200 review
• StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ review
• How to deal with light pollution

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.