Optical reference
Celestron StarSense Explorer 8-inch Dobsonian: aperture, focal length and eyepiece fit
What the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8-inch Dobsonian measures, the magnification and true field each eyepiece produces in it, and the barrel, mount payload and camera adapter that fit.
Published specifications
Eyepiece ladder
2 pairings| Pairing | Magnification | True field |
|---|---|---|
| Celestron Omni 4mm Plossl in the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8-inch Dobsonian | 300x | 0.17 deg |
| Celestron Omni 12mm Plossl in the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8-inch Dobsonian | 100x | 0.5 deg |
This 203 mm f/5.9 Dobsonian pairs a full 8 in of aperture with phone-guided push-to. The 1200 mm focal length is far shorter than an 8 in SCT, so it delivers wide, bright deep-sky fields, and its 2 in focuser accepts long 2 in eyepieces.
Because magnification is the telescope's 1200 mm focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length, a 25 mm eyepiece gives 48x here and a 10 mm eyepiece gives 120x. The highest useful magnification is the published 480x, beyond which the image dims and softens without showing more detail.
The focuser takes 2 in eyepieces, so long 2 in wide-field eyepieces such as the Omni 56 mm fit as well as 1.25 in ones.