Nexstar 6SE Impressions from a Lazy Astronomer (Caution - A long Read!)

[Johnnyx27]

Updates:

All seams to ge going very well I got out the other night to a darker site and was able to hang out with a couple other friends.

Still loving the goto and I'm finding that the more accurate your initial alignment the more accurate the goto will be.

I borrowed an illuminated reticle from a friend and used that for alignment with great success.

Was able to see mars very clearly but only caught a glimpse of Saturn before the clouds rolled in. Still though I'm very happy.

Smudge on the corrector lense:

I had a puppy related incident where my 3 1/2 month old French bulldog - Lulu decided to sniff the corrector lense when my nephew was looking at it an left a pretty large smudge and nose print on the corrector lense.

As I have been told by many others over the years, only clean your optics when absolutely necessary!

Not being afraid to try anything I did a bunch of research on cleaning optics before attempting anything. After a ton of online research I settled on the following technique:

- soft hair brush make-up applicator for dust removal (found that my ex girlfriend left a nice brush behind in my medicine cabinet)

- 99% isopropyl alcohol mixed with distiller water 50/50 mix

- plain white Kleenex instead of optical paper (must be plain un-scented Kleenex brand)

Research showed that many professional opticians used plain Kleenex as it has lower abrasive qualities than optical paper. I confirmed this with a photographer friend and she told me that she has been using plain Kleenex for years!

Prior to cleaning my lense I removed all small dust particles with a combination of compressed air and my improvised cleaning brush.

To clean my lense I folded up 2 pieces of Kleenex into a strip about 1 1/2 x 3 inches long. I applied the cleaning solution directly to the Kleenex and used radial strokes starting in the middle at the secondary mirror and going outwards towards the edge. I used very little pressure and took a couple passes.

Worked like a carm and the lense is now like new and you couldn't tell there was ever a smudge!

Cheers,

John

[Johnnyx27]

Got some more time on my scope tonight. Not perfect conditions but turned out pretty good.

Tonight was a bit cooler and the skies seemed a bit more stable which made for some good viewing!

I was viewing from my front yard with lots of light pollution from not only the city and street lights but also the pot lights that line the walks around my complex!

I set-up my scope and completed an alignment (2-star using regulas and Arcturus) alignment was very good as I started tracking mars right away!

I tried some dso objects without much success but waited for Saturn to come into view and all I can say is wow!

Saturn was amazing tonight and a spent an hour viewing where I was able to resolve not only cassini's division but I swear I could see some cloud bands on Saturn as well! (very cool)

I also used the stock 1 1/4 diagonal and 25mm plossl that came with the scope for the first time tonight! I've been using the 2" celestron elux set-up I bought when I got my scope thinking 2" is better but could not really notice any appreciable difference!

I did some comparisons using Saturn and couldn't tell a bunch of difference between 1 1/4" and 2".

Keep in mind I bought the celestron 2" elux kit so maybe another manufacturer will show some difference, but I couldn't see any real difference!

Still though Saturn tonight was spectacular!

Cheers,

John

Mars was very clear and I noticed some more detail than

[Bob327]

2 inch eyepieces are NOT going to show you much more then 1.25's in the 6SE... although the 2" is beefier diagonal (which is a good reason to use one)..The 2 inch eyepieces only improve things on eyepieces that have a field stop of larger then 26 mm in most scopes HOWEVER the baffle tube in the 6 Se is itself only 1 inch in diameter..so the light path is restricted by the baffle tube anyway...so You should not see any difference with the 2 inch ones...

Bob G.

[Johnnyx27]

Got some more observing in tonight, skies were reasonably good and I was observing from my front yard with lots of light pollution from my condo complex.

Mars and Saturn were very clear and I was able to resolve some pretty good detail!

I was also able to bag some Messier objects tonight from a very light polluted location which was very cool.

Tracking is still spot on after using the 2star alignment and the GPS unit I bought.

Still very happy with the set-up and all is good.

Cheers and dark skies.

John

[SylvieH]

Hi John! Nice review. I bought a nexstar 6se almost 3 months ago and I love it. I knew nothing about the sky and thanks to the go to I've learn so much all ready. I too am very impress with this scope.

sylvie

[Patrice Lanteigne]

I quite like mine as well and, like you, I like its "out of the box and ready to go" quality. There is a large sand bar and big marsh where shore birds of various types hang out, large blue herons in particular, so we take ours out there at times and use it as a spotting scope. The 25mm stock ep gives 60x and the slewing functions work as soon as you power up the mount, no need to align. It won't track but that is of no use for terrestrial viewing anyway.

[MG1962]

I have the SE6 big brother - the 8 which is pound for pound the best scope I have ever owned. A tip for you, when clearing dust off the corrector plate - dont use compressed air - I had a nasty experience with a glob of accellerent being spat out by the damn can

[N8NEU]

I want to thank all those who posted on the Nexstar 6 SE. I also have been reading the internet reviews on this telescope since September 2011. I hope to have enough money by August to own one myself.

I met a new club member here is Pittsburgh who purchased the Nexstar 6 SE two months ago. We both went out to our club’s observatory and very dark skies. First I was impressed how fast my friend had his scope set up and ready to view the night skies. The first object he focused in on was the planet Saturn. Then he asked me if I wanted to take a look. I nearly fell over when I witnessed an almost stellar view of the planet and it astounding rings. I am hooked on the Nexstar 6 SE.

The only problem I had during the viewing is the height of the tripod. The one that comes with the telescope does not extend enough for comfortable viewing. I have a bad back and would prefer a tripod that would not have me bending over as much as I anticipate in the near future. Can anybody tell me if there is an alternate tripod that will lift the telescope about another 12 inches?

Thanks,

Tim

[laney50w]

I want to thank all those who posted on the Nexstar 6 SE. I also have been reading the internet reviews on this telescope since September 2011. I hope to have enough money by August to own one myself.

I met a new club member here is Pittsburgh who purchased the Nexstar 6 SE two months ago. We both went out to our club’s observatory and very dark skies. First I was impressed how fast my friend had his scope set up and ready to view the night skies. The first object he focused in on was the planet Saturn. Then he asked me if I wanted to take a look. I nearly fell over when I witnessed an almost stellar view of the planet and it astounding rings. I am hooked on the Nexstar 6 SE.

The only problem I had during the viewing is the height of the tripod. The one that comes with the telescope does not extend enough for comfortable viewing. I have a bad back and would prefer a tripod that would not have me bending over as much as I anticipate in the near future. Can anybody tell me if there is an alternate tripod that will lift the telescope about another 12 inches?

Thanks,

Tim

Hi Tim,

I have the 6SE, and I find this to be an easy fix. I do not extend the legs..... and I simply use an adjustable chair to view. I Have a couple different drummer's stools....Very cheap, and easy to adjust to almost any height! Or, the other alternative is an astronomy chair. AND, it's MOST comfortable, too!

Don't have to stand while viewing! It's great!

Best part is that when the tripod is fully retracted, the mount is much more stable, and less prone to vibrations.

Kill 2 birds with one stone!

SIMPLE!

[taralon]

What I would suggest is a chair. I am currently using a folding chair (haven't gotten around to making a denver chair yet), and the telescope tripod basically at its lowest setting. With this setup the eyepiece height varies about 6 inches from highest (looking at horizon and not really useful) to lowest (viewing straight up). Rotating the star diagonal / eyepiece combo after slewing means you can narrow things down to about 3 inches of height change total and that makes for some rather easy/comfortable viewing without having to worry about straining your back, getting tired from standing for long periods of time, etc. Which is one of the great things of the Nexstar setup.

I want to thank all those who posted on the Nexstar 6 SE. I also have been reading the internet reviews on this telescope since September 2011. I hope to have enough money by August to own one myself.

I met a new club member here is Pittsburgh who purchased the Nexstar 6 SE two months ago. We both went out to our club’s observatory and very dark skies. First I was impressed how fast my friend had his scope set up and ready to view the night skies. The first object he focused in on was the planet Saturn. Then he asked me if I wanted to take a look. I nearly fell over when I witnessed an almost stellar view of the planet and it astounding rings. I am hooked on the Nexstar 6 SE.

The only problem I had during the viewing is the height of the tripod. The one that comes with the telescope does not extend enough for comfortable viewing. I have a bad back and would prefer a tripod that would not have me bending over as much as I anticipate in the near future. Can anybody tell me if there is an alternate tripod that will lift the telescope about another 12 inches?

Thanks,

Tim