Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with the StarSense Explorer telescope — the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. StarSense Explorer is suitable for beginners thanks to the app's user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It's like your own guide to the night sky.

Dock, launch, explore

Forget complicated star charts, inaccurate planetarium apps and computerized stands. With Starsense Explorer, locating objects has never been easier, faster or more accurate. After a few minutes of setting up the telescope, you can navigate the sky with confidence. Place your phone in the unique StarSense dock and launch the Starsense Explorer app. When the phone is aligned with the telescope's optics (a quick 2-minute procedure), StarSense Explorer generates a list of the celestial bodies currently visible. Select a target and arrows will appear on the screen, guiding you to move the telescope. When the target is ready to be viewed, the sight will turn green.

Smartphone compatibility

StarSense Explorer works on most modern smartphones, including iPhone 6 and newer, and most devices running Android 7.1.2 or newer, manufactured since 2016. The complete compatibility list can be found here.

High quality Altazimuth tripod with slow motion control

The highly stable Altazimuth stand provides a solid base for the StarSense Explorer DX. Slide switches and retard controls on both axes help you move the scope smoothly and zero in on your target. As the celestial bodies drift across the night sky, you can follow them with just the movement of a knob. It is anchored by an adjustable, full-height stand.

Dazzling views with high-quality optics

Large 6-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube—Celestron's proven optical design for over 50 years—this telescope has enough light-gathering power to bring out impressive details in celestial bodies, while being compact and lightweight. You can expect crisp, clear views of Jupiter's four Galileo moons, its cloud bands and Great Red Spot, Saturn's rings, the trapezoidal cluster of the Orion Nebula, and the beautiful Pleiades open star cluster.

All glass surfaces in contact with air are coated with our StarBright XLT optical coatings to visibly increase contrast and light transmission for brighter deep space views. With the Starbright XLT, you can see subtle details when viewing the Moon and planets, as well as dim galaxies and nebulae. More information about our patented StarBright XLT coatings can be found here.

Perfect for the city or dark sky areas

Even if you live in a light-polluted city, Starsense Explorer is so advanced that it can pick up Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, the Orion Nebula, binary stars, and a few other famous celestial bodies.

But if the telescope can be taken to a slightly darker place, more objects will be visible. With this 6-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain and relatively dark skies, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Hercules Open Cluster, and more are all within easy reach.

The manual Altazimuth tripod with smooth, two-axis slow-motion controls makes it easy to follow the on-screen arrows to the desired target. When the sight turns green, it is ready to be viewed in the telescope eyepiece.
6-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube with StarBright XLT coatings and enough light-gathering power to see all the best celestial bodies
Includes 40mm and 10mm eyepieces, StarSense smartphone dock, red dot sight (if you want to use the scope without a phone), corner mirror, and sturdy full-height stand

Technical information

Focal distance (mm): 1500
Optical coating: StarBright XLT
Type of star telescope: Schmidt-Cassegrain
Telescope Aperture: f/10
Resolution (Rayleigh): 0.93 arc seconds
Resolution (Dawes): 0.77 arc seconds
Eyepiece 1 - Magnification: 38x
Eyepiece 2 - Magnification: 150x
Eyepiece 1 - Focal length: 40mm
Eyepiece 2 - Focal length: 10mm
Tripod mount type: Alt Azimuth
Maximum height (mm): 1321
Lens diameter (mm): 150