Celestron Superior VX 8 Edge HD telescope: Elephantine review

 The Celestron Superior VX 8-shuffle EdgeHD is a flexible telescope machine for intermediate to developed beginner astronomers, but quiet diminutive and lightweight sufficient to transport with out problems for staring at out in the country. The 8-shuffle aperture is sufficient to glance and photograph all styles of celestial objects, and the computerized equatorial mount makes it straightforward to search out and observe them.

Optically, the EdgeHD machine is good, and, with acceptable accessories, it couples to all styles of cameras. Views of Saturn and Jupiter are dramatic; globular clusters are resolved into stars; the total Messier Objects are plainly considered; and with a well informed understand and a depressed country sky, galaxies are considered down to 12th magnitude. It is a telescope that you may per chance perhaps no longer outgrow.

Since this telescope is pitched to comparatively developed customers, we are reviewing it from that time of glance. The creator has been the use of a Celestron Superior VX 8 Edge HD as their foremost equipment since 2014 and is conscious of them successfully. As a lengthy-time member of the user community, the creator also is conscious of that they’re legitimate. 

Celestron Superior VX 8 Edge HD: Originate

• EdgeHD optical construct outperforms Schmidt-Cassegrain
• Lightweight, rugged computerized mount
• Interoperability — assorted telescopes, assorted mounts, customary accessories

The EdgeHD optical machine is the jewel in Celestron’s crown, an improved Schmidt-Cassegrain with extra lens facets, and even supposing the come is meant basically for images, we are able to eye it visually with an eyepiece.

The computerized mount combines Celestron’s NexStar firmware with a German-fashion equatorial mount whose foremost axis facets on the celestial pole. This provides precisely-oriented tracking for images and the ability to use assorted telescopes on the identical mount. Shall we embrace, our Superior VX mount with out problems carries a digital camera with a telephoto lens in place of the EdgeHD. The most modern model accepts each and each Vixen (slim) and Losmandy (wide) dovetails.

When put next to opponents, the Superior VX mount head is each and each gentle-weight and comparatively rugged, no longer with out problems broken or thrown out of adjustment. The telescope, mount head and tripod separate with out problems for transport.

The mount requires 12-14V DC energy, about 0.5 amp more often than not, as a lot as three or 4 amps momentarily when shifting the telescope immediate. We use a conveyable battery pack.

Celestron Superior VX 8 Edge HD: Efficiency

• Improbable optics
• Finds and tracks celestial objects reliably
• Extreme deep-sky images requires a better mount

All finest telescopes in the identical dimension class give same views, so this one is no longer a lot assorted from assorted successfully-made 6 to10-shuffle telescopes. When put next to aged Schmidt-Cassegrains, even supposing, we create ponder the EdgeHD is sharper, namely far from the guts of the field. 

The supplied 40mm eyepiece provides 50 energy, which appears to be like to be low but is finest for star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Celestron assumes you may per chance perhaps perhaps well capture more eyepieces and as such, we would counsel two more, round 20mm (100x current cause) and 10mm (200x for the moon and planets). In exceptionally regular air now we possess been ready to use a 5mm eyepiece (400x) on shut double stars. Excessive-quality eyepieces bring out essentially the most easy in this ravishing telescope, so create no longer skimp.

After objective setup, the mount finds celestial objects acceptably (successfully sufficient to salvage the object internal the field of a 20-mm eyepiece) and tracks them completely. You may per chance well well presumably additionally compile objects on the hand controller, a PC working Celestron’s PWI instrument, or quite quite a bit of assorted sky design applications corresponding to Stellarium. Astrophotographers will are wanting to build PEC coaching, as described in the handbook, for even smoother tracking.

Nonetheless, for lengthy exposures of nebulae and galaxies, with an autoguider and guidescope sending constant corrections to the mount, the Superior VX left me wanting (and at final shifting to) a heftier mount with more accurate gears and less backlash. That is easiest an field when the Superior VX is carrying a telescope this gigantic. It performs completely carrying a smaller telescope.

Celestron Superior VX 8 Edge HD: Efficiency

• Computer-aided setup task
• Immense views of all styles of celestial objects
• Wants more eyepieces (approx 20mm and 10mm)

For the explanation that Superior VX is an equatorial mount, the setup is higher than finest the identical outdated task of centering a pair of stars that the telescope automatically facets to. You furthermore mght favor to try its polar axis at Polaris, then refine the alignment by sighting stars and letting the mount’s pc disclose you the errors. This task, which Celestron calls ‘All-Star Polar Alignment’, is at hand and impressively finest, but you create favor to name intellectual stars. If the pc says to center Enif and as well you center Alpheratz, you may per chance perhaps perhaps well salvage unsuitable results. That is the foremost distinction between equatorial mounts and folk which may per chance perhaps perhaps well additionally be more beginner-pleasant.

Right here’s a ravishing telescope for viewing all styles of celestial objects. You may per chance well well presumably additionally additionally join a digital camera (smartphone, DSLR, mirrorless, or astrocamera) for images of the moon and, with care and ability, planets and deep-sky objects. Knowing to be one of essentially the most pleasant things now we possess done is to make a selection thousands of video frames of Jupiter, Saturn, or Mars with an mountainous video digital camera, then stack and sharpen them for a glance seriously higher than the human understand may per chance well well additionally salvage with the identical telescope.

Right here’s an expandable machine, taking many customary accessories, and as well you may per chance perhaps perhaps well want one or two higher-energy (shorter-focal-dimension) eyepieces at the moment.

Would possibly per chance well well additionally objective quiet I capture the Celestron Superior VX 8 Edge HD telescope?

Whenever that you may per chance perhaps additionally be a extreme beginner astronomer constructing a deep determining of each and each the sky and the telescope, then right here’s an appealing product. The telescope is as finest as that you may per chance perhaps additionally wish for in its dimension differ. The mount works successfully for every part excluding lengthy-exposure deep-sky images and there may per chance be kind of quite a bit of room for verbalize with customary accessories and even, if want warrants, a heftier mount.

If this product isn’t for you

In case your foremost interest is lengthy-exposure astrophotography, skip the Superior VX and salvage the identical telescope on a Celestron CGX or Losmandy GM8 mount (at an appreciably higher worth).

Whenever that you may per chance perhaps additionally be original to astronomy and never yet finest at recognizing stars, this may per chance perhaps perhaps well presumably additionally be somewhat a lot; you may per chance perhaps perhaps well be ready to salvage very same views with a Celestron 6 or 8-shuffle NexStar telescope on a fork-arm mount which is design more straightforward to help round and arrange.

Michael A. Covington started taking a peek at, and photographing, the night sky over half of a century in the past and has never stopped. By day, after a lengthy academic career on the University of Georgia’s Institute for Man made Intelligence, he is now doing AI overview and pattern in the monetary industry. He’s the creator of Digital SLR Astrophotography, Easy techniques to Exhaust a Computerized Telescope, Astrophotography for the Beginner, and numerous books and articles. He lives shut to Atlanta along with his valuable other, his daughter, and a varying number of cameras and telescopes.