Eyepiece and telescope pairing
Will the Celestron NexStar 8SE fit on the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi?
Whether the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi can carry the Celestron NexStar 8SE tube steadily, from the published tube weight and mount payload.
- Optical tube weight
- 12.5 lb
- Mount rated payload
- 11 lb (a compact WiFi GoTo altazimuth mount rated for a light instrument payload)
- Tube as share of payload
- 114%
- Dovetail
- Vixen-style, matching this mount head
Over payload. The Celestron NexStar 8SE tube weighs 12.5 lb, more than the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi rated payload of 11 lb, so the mount is overloaded and views will shake. Choose a heavier mount.
A mount's rated payload is for the whole instrument, not just the bare tube. The Celestron NexStar 8SE tube is 12.5 lb, which is 114% of the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi 11 lb rating before you add a star diagonal, finder and eyepiece.
For steady high-magnification views many observers keep the real load below about 70% of the rated payload, because damping time grows quickly as a mount nears its limit. A compact wifi goto altazimuth mount rated for a light instrument payload.
The mount to buy
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