Celestron's new NexStar Evolution 8 8" f/10 go-to Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope brings amateur astronomy into the wireless 21st century of smart phones, iPads, and tablets.
This NexStar Evolution 8 telescope is an advanced 8" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with integrated WiFi. If you own a smart phone or tablet, that means you are not tethered to your scope by a hand control on a coiled cord. A simple tap on your phone or tablet and you have complete operational control of your Evolution 8 - even if you are standing many feet away from the scope.
Simply connect your smart phone or tablet to your NexStar Evolution's built-in wireless network, and you can explore the universe with Celestron's mobile app for iOS and Android. The app has a database of over 120,000 celestial objects for you to explore, including a specially selected list of 220 of the best deep sky and solar system objects that you will come back to enjoy again and again.
You can use the app's planetarium interface to view the night sky in real time or to display a list of the best celestial objects that are visible to you based on your time and location. You can then have your Evolution 8 slew to the object of your choice at speeds of up to four degrees per second, center it precisely in the eyepiece field, and then track it flawlessly while you observe and enjoy at your leisure. In addition, Celestron's proprietary SkyAlign alignment procedure is built right into the Celestron mobile app, so you can have your scope set up and ready to observe within minutes. (If you don't have a wireless device, or your smart phone or tablet runs out of juice in the field, a conventional hand control is included so you can still enjoy your scope.)
Celestron engineers designed the NexStar Evolution 8 based on years of customer feedback. Its upgraded single fork arm design offers many thoughtful features that combine to provide you the best possible experience out under the stars. For example, forget about buying boxes of AA batteries to power the scope, or a bulky external battery pack. For the first time ever on a consumer telescope, the NexStar Evolution 8 includes its own built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. You can enjoy stargazing for up to 10 hours on a single charge, then recharge it at home using the supplied AC adapter. You can even use your NexStar Evolution's built-in USB charge port to top off the other devices in your life that need to stay powered on during an observing session.
Large, ergonomic handles make setting up your NexStar Evolution 8 quick and painless. With a total weight of only 40.6 lbs, the Evolution 8 is easy to transport, whether it's out to the backyard for a quick half hour of observing or away on an all-night observing session at a distant dark sky site. The adjustable height stainless steel tripod features lines etched on the legs to help you achieve a level, uniform height for your telescope without guesswork.
Manual clutches in both altitude and azimuth give you the flexibility to manually point the telescope when it is powered off.
You get two quality Plössl eyepieces, a 40mm and 13mm, to give you observing options right out of the box. If you expand your eyepiece collection, you can store up to seven eyepieces in the two accessory trays, one on the tripod and one on the telescope drive base. An adjustable brightness red LED in the fork arm casts a soft red glow onto the accessory tray in the base to make it easier to select a different eyepiece while observing.
If you're interested in astroimaging, the 8" NexStar Evolution 8 is an excellent and very affordable way to get started. It's the only fork-mounted telescope in its price range that offers precision worm gears, along with improved motors, for precise speed control and low periodic error. With the NexStar Evolution's good tracking accuracy, you can capture images of deep-sky objects like the Orion Nebula by simply attaching your DSLR camera. As you progress in the hobby of astroimaging, you can add an optional wedge for longer exposures to bring out faint and hidden details in your astrophotos.
Celestron's time-tested Schmidt-Cassegrain optics and industry-standard StarBright XLT optical coatings give you the bright, sharp views Celestron is famous for - making the Evolution 8 a great choice for visual observers and budding astroimagers alike.
The NexStar Evolution 8 includes built-in WiFi for cordless operation, a StarPointer red dot finderscope, two 1.25" Plössl eyepieces (51x and 156x), a 1.25" prism star diagonal, an AC adapter for powering the scope and recharging the built-in battery, a computer hand control, and a stainless steel adjustable height tripod with accessory tray.
