Celestron 6" SCT optical tube, CG5/AVX dovetail

$749.00

Availability: More on the way

This 6" SCT optical tube has advanced Starbright XLT multicoatings for Celestron's brightest images ever.
Our Product #: C6SOTA
Celestron Product #: 91010-XLT
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Product Description

The Celestron C8 was the first Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope available to amateur astronomers. This 6" f/10 Celestron optical tube is the direct, but much improved, descendent of that original astronomical triumph. For many people, the 6" aperture of this optical tube is a little like Goldilocks and the Three Bears - it's not too big, it's not too small, it's just right! The rugged aluminum optical tube is only 16" long and weighs only 9 lbs., making it easy to transport and set up. An optional focal reducer (#8325) is available to bring the focal ratio down to a fast f/6.3 for CCD and 35mm photography.

Advanced StarBright XLT multicoatings are standard equipment. This coatings package includes high reflectivity multilayer aluminum mirrors enhanced with titanium dioxide for high reflectivity, plus a unique combination of magnesium fluoride and hafnium dioxide antireflection coatings on both sides of the Schmidt corrector lens. The corrector lens itself is made of high transmission water white float glass instead of conventional soda lime glass (which has 3.5% lower transmission) used in other telescopes.

StarBright XLT multicoatings visibly increase the contrast on subtle lunar, planetary, and nebula details when compared with a scope with standard multicoatings. They also give you higher light transmission for brighter deep space images and shorter exposure times during CCD and 35mm photography. Across the total visual/photographic spectrum from 400nm to 750nm, independent laboratory tests show the new Starbright XLT coatings are 16% brighter overall than even the original industry-standard Starbright multicoatings.

The optical tube comes with a 6 x 30mm straight-through achromatic finderscope and mounting bracket. The finder has a wide 7° field of view. It focuses by loosening the trim ring behind the objective lens cell, screwing the lens cell in or out to focus, and tightening the trim ring to lock in the correct focus. Also included is a removable 1.25" visual back that holds visual and photographic accessories such as a star diagonal, tele-extender, etc. A 1.25" prism type star diagonal is also standard, as is a 1.25" 25mm Plössl eyepiece. This eyepiece provides a magnification of 60x, with a 0.83° field that's two-thirds wider than the full Moon.

A 1.75" wide dovetail slide bar runs the length of the tube for mounting the optical tube on a Celestron AVX or any German equatorial mount that has a Vixen style saddle plate. Optional split mounting rings are also available to put the tube on another mount of the buyer's choosing. Dust covers for the optics complete the supplied accessories.

Tech Details

Aperture 6"
Focal Length 1500mm
Focal Ratio f/10
Heaviest Single Component 9 lbs.
Highest Useful Magnification 300x
Weight 9 lbs.
Resolution 0.76 arc seconds
Visual Limiting Magnitude 13.4
Warranty 2 years

Reviews

Review by:
The Celestron C6 has proved to be my favorite all-around telescope. It may not be the absolute best at any one thing, but it gives good views of just about everything and is lightweight with reasonable cool-down times. I have used with EQ and ALT-AZ goto mounts, as well, a manual ALT-AZ. Without a doubt, it the best value of all the telescopes that I own! (Posted on 10/31/2019)
Review by:
I have had an old C8 scope (orange tube) and I now own a 4" Nexstar SE. This is a perfect "middle" scope that works well on my AVX with a ZWO b&w camera autoguider. It's lightweight enough to easy to port about. Good for astroimaging and visual use, too. (Posted on 9/9/2019)
Review by:
I originally got the c6 as a reintroduction into astronomy and looking back on it I found it fell into a crack between smaller more portable units, (up to c5) and the larger more capable planetary SCT models. It finds itself firmly in a position that leaves it too slow and too narrow for wide field targets, as well as hamstrung by a necessarily narrow center tube which leads to reflection issues when used with a focal reducer...and at the same time a bit short and small for planetary, leading to dim low contrast views of a tiny saturn, even at f30+. That doesn't stop me from grabbing it from time to time as it is very well made, compact and fast. It's a bit too heavy for uncounterweighted weighted light weight mounts, including the Celestron heavy duty HD alt-az I started with. If I had it to do over I would have used that money to buy a reasonably sized ED refractor instead. (Posted on 8/26/2019)
Review by:
For the money you cannot beat the views and versatility you get from this scope. This works as a grab-and-go scope with a manual mount (Twilight I) or you can do some amazing astrophotography with it on an AVX and a DSLR. Add the celestron reducer and you can increase your FOV. If you are on a budget, this is one of the best scope options out there. (Posted on 7/29/2019)
Review by:
Fantastically convenient for its size and superb value for the price. I have mine on a Twilight 1 mount. You can carry it as a single unit, so very portable. (Posted on 7/27/2019)
Review by:
This Celestron 6" SCT optical tube is an excellent scope for any small mount. It is light and sturdy so it will travel well. The planetary views are awesome! (Posted on 11/9/2018)
Review by:
My particular C6 was from an Evolution package. To be honest I was suspecting the capability of a C6 for my need, and I bought the package only for the mount as I had three 8" SCTs at that time.

But I was totally surprised after the first lite viewing Jupiter. It cooled quickly with a mild initial temperature delta (15° F) without any active force cooling. I could push the magnification to 250x with cyclops viewing and 200x with binoviewing, and I was particularly impressed by the sharpness and contrast. Given almost 38% CO, and only 6" full aperture, I could discern a lot of surface details.

To summary: C6 could be the very best balance on aperture and portability/cooling/easy of use. Pairing with a mount like Celestron Evo or Nexstar SE, one can indeed enjoy the GnG and still have the fun to peek into some DSOs.

Highly recommend! (Posted on 11/9/2018)
Review by:
This is my first big telescope. Previously owned 70mm refractor (Celestron travel scope). I bought this OTA for lightweight travel for all purposes (Planets, Moon & DSO). The OTA comes with 25mm eyepiece, it is really insufficient. I purchased 32mm plossl (Meade 4000) and 9mm wide eyepiece (SVBONY). This range covers most of the objects. I am happy with the purchase. (Posted on 10/19/2018)
Review by:
The scope works awesome for me as a "grab & go", mounted on a Voyager alt/az, it's a "one trip" out the door set-up. Optics are great, and plays well with simple plossl and ortho eyepieces. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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