Product Description
The Celestron C8 was the first Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope available to amateur astronomers. This 8" f/10 optical tube is the direct, but much improved, descendent of that original astronomical triumph. The rugged aluminum optical tube is only 17" long and weighs only 13 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 81x, with a 0.59° field that's almost 20% larger than the full moon.
A 4" wide dovetail slide bar runs the length of the tube for mounting on a Celestron CGE/CGEM/CGX or Losmandy GM8/G11 German equatorial mount. 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 | 8" |
|---|---|
| Focal Length | 2032mm |
| Focal Ratio | f/10 |
| Heaviest Single Component | 13 lbs. |
| Highest Useful Magnification | 406x |
| Weight | 13 lbs. |
| Resolution | 0.57 arc seconds |
| Visual Limiting Magnitude | 14 |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Reviews
A couple of thoughts if imaging: I would recommend that you get the focal reducer if you plan on imaging with this scope. It makes a world of difference in the quality of my images. I have also purchased the Celestron dual speed focuser and it was simple to install and use. Similarly if you're imaging with this scope you'll want to consider the Celestron OAG as the default guide scope position makes balancing the scope on your mount just about impossible. Another option several other users have gone with is adding a dovetail mount on the top of the OTA and then mounting your guide scope to that.
I also wanted to mention that it does take right at an hour for the temperature to stabilize which is pretty standard when using SCTs. I figured with an 8" it might take longer but it doesn't, I have also tried to use it a little early and would have been best off waiting another 10 minutes.
All in All i am very happy with this scope and it performs better than what I expected for both viewing and imaging. (Posted on 7/22/2019)