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

StarSense Explorer DX 130
Dock, launch, explore
Leave complicated star maps, imprecise planetarium programs and computer-controlled mounts behind. With StarSense Explorer, finding objects has never been easier, faster and more accurate. Within minutes of setting up the telescope, you can safely move around the sky. Simply place your phone in the unique StarSense dock and launch the StarSense Explorer app. After aligning your phone with the telescope's optics (which takes two minutes), StarSense Explorer generates a list of currently visible celestial objects. Make your selection and arrows will appear on the screen to help you move the telescope. When the object is visible in the eyepiece, the crosshairs turn green.

Smartphone compatibility
StarSense Explorer works with most current smartphones, including iPhone 6 and newer and most devices running Android 7.1.2 or later manufactured since 2016. For a complete compatibility list click here.

StarSense Explorer DX 130
Patent pending StarSense Sky technology
The StarSense Explorer uses patent-pending technology and your smartphone to determine exactly where the telescope is pointed in the night sky. A lost-in-space algorithm (LISA), like the one satellites in orbit use to correctly reorient themselves, helps the app compare the star patterns it recognizes with its internal database.

While other astronomy applications claim that they can help you find objects, they rely solely on the phone's compass, gyroscopes and accelerometers, which are not as accurate as LISA technology. No other app can tell you exactly when your target will be visible in the eyepiece.

High-quality azimuthal mount with fine adjustment
The stable azimuthal mount of the StarSense Explorer DX offers a robust base. Slip clutches and fine drives in both axes help you fine-tune the telescope to the object and track targets as the Earth rotates under the night sky. Everything stands on a large, height-adjustable tripod.

Perfect views with high-quality optics
With the large 130mm (5") objective lens, this telescope has enough light-gathering power to see impressive detail in celestial objects. You can expect sharp, bright views of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, its cloud bands and its Great Red Spot, as well as its rings of Saturn or the Trapezium stars in the Orion Nebula. Don't miss the beautiful open star cluster of the Pleiades! Highly reflective coatings on both the primary and secondary mirrors improve visibility.

Perfect for the city as well as dark locations
Even if you live in a location with slightly brightened skies with moderate light pollution, the StarSense Explorer is powerful enough to locate Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, the Orion Nebula, binary stars, and some more of the most famous celestial objects.

However, if you can move the telescope to a slightly darker location, even more objects will become visible. With this 5-inch Newton reflector and relatively dark skies, the Andromeda Galaxy, the globular cluster M13 in Hercules and many others are easy to see.

The entire telescope weighs just 8.16kg, making it perfectly portable and easy to take with you on your next camping trip or to a remote observation site.

Everything you need to start watching immediately
Delivery of the StarSense Explorer DX:

130 mm Newtonian reflector tube
StarSense smartphone dock
Low (25mm) and high magnification (10mm) eyepiece
StarPointer finder scope, perfect for using the telescope during the day or without the StarSense Explorer app
Altazimuth mount with fine adjustment
Large tripod with accessory tray


UNLEASH THE POWER OF YOUR SMARTPHONE: Let your iPhone or Android phone take you on a guided tour of the night sky—no telescope experience required. Just follow the arrows to locate stars, planets & more
PATENTED STARSENSE SKY RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY: This one-of-a-kind telescope uses patented, award-winning StarSense sky recognition technology and your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate its position in real time.
STARSENSE EXPLORER APP: The app generates a list of the best objects to view based on your exact time & location. View planets, brighter nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters from the city PLUS fainter, deep sky objects from darker sites.
EASY TO SET UP AND USE: Manual altazimuth mount with smooth, dual-axis slow-motion controls makes it easy to follow the on-screen arrows to your desired target. When the bullseye turns green, it’s ready to view in the telescope’s eyepiece.
HIGH-QUALITY 130MM NEWTONIAN REFLECTOR: The 5" primary mirror features highly reflective coatings and enough light gathering ability to view craters on the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and deep sky objects like the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and Pleiades Open Star Cluster.


Optical Design: Newtonian Reflector
Aperture : 130mm (5.12”)
Focal Length: 650mm (25.6”)
Focal Ratio :f/5
Magnification (with included eyepieces) :26x,65x
Limiting Magnitude: 13.1
Lowest Useful Magnification:19x
Highest Theoretical Magnification: 307x