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Celestron 22403 Inspire 100AZ Refractor Smartphone Adapter Built-In Refracting Telescope - Blue

£149.995£299.99Clearance
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The Celestron Inspire 100AZ is a portable short refractor telescope that is ideal for viewing the sky and the ground. The Inspire 100AZ has the biggest aperture of the Inspire family of telescopes, and its short tube provides a wider field of view ideal for viewing the planets, moon, star clusters, and brighter deep-sky objects like the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy at night. The optical tube is also perfect for use as a spotting scope during the day thanks to the erect image star diagonal. Turn on “Save Images & Logs” from the Menu as described above. After you use StarSense Explorer at night, there will be images and log files stored on your phone. Accessing them requires connecting your smartphone to a computer. To retrieve the files: Award-winning and patented StarSense sky recognition technology uses your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate its position in real time. A used Inspire 100AZ is a nice scope, but if it’s not taken care of well, its many plastic parts could cause irreparable damage if it’s not kept up. Barring that, however, a used Inspire 100AZ will be fine if you can get it for a reasonable price-our recommendation is to never pay more than 80% of the new cost for a new telescope, eyepiece, or piece of astronomical gear. Alternative Recommendations Refractors have been in use for centuries, the original design came from Galileo Galilei in the 1600s.

For the most part you can add your smartphone with its case on, but if you have an extra large case you may need to take it off for it to fit the adapter. Additional Accessories refractor with fully-coated optics and enough light gathering ability to view all the best celestial objects. Special edition Popular Science branding makes your optical tube stand out. The Inspire 100 is a short refractor telescope perfect for terrestrial and celestial viewing on the go. T he Inspire 100AZ features the largest aperture in the Inspire family line and its short tube offers a wider field of view perfectly suited for viewing the planets, moon, star clusters and brighter deep sky objects like the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy at night and with the erect image star diagonal makes the optical tube ideal for using as a spotting scope during the day. Select all the files shown in the “StarSense Explorer” folder and copy them to a folder on your computer. The Inspire 100AZ uses refractor based optics within it’s enclosed tube. If you don’t already know, refractor optics are only of 3 core telescope optics found within devices, with a reflector and compound being the other 2. Of course all of the core variations do have their sup groups but, these 3 are the core names.

Lastly, and most controversially, is the lens cap/smartphone adapter. Celestron’s design here is straight up bizarre. By removing a small plug from the cap and removing the eyecup from the eyepiece you want to use, then screwing the whole thing together with a small plastic screw, you can slide your smartphone between the elastic straps on the lens cap and use it as a crude “digiscoping” adapter for your smartphone. However, this has a few caveats. For one, it won’t fit any aftermarket eyepieces that don’t have a flush barrel and removable eyecup. Second, it covers part of your phone’s screen, which can make it hard to set the focus and other features of your phone camera. Last but not least, you are relying on some cheap elastic straps and a single nylon thumb screw to keep your phone safe. So keep that in mind. The Bresser Messier 6” f/8 Planetary Dobsonian has a 2” single-speed Crayford focuser, double the light gathering power, and 50% more resolving power than the Inspire 100AZ, mounted atop a full-sized and sturdy Dobsonian mount which requires neither a table nor tripod to be used. Other 6” f/8 Dobsonians are also available if you are unable to obtain an Bresser Messier 6”. After an initial alignment with the main telescope, the red dot finder proved useful and, again, is an ideal addition for beginners taking their first steps into stargazing – especially if they’re learning how to find objects by star hopping with a star chart and the supplied red flashlight. Holding your phone up to the eyepiece with a steady hand is nearly as good an option as using the Inspire’s included phone adapter, and dedicated smartphone adapters are not that expensive to buy aftermarket and will be a safer and easier to use option for your phone. Alt-Azimuth Mount

That’s a lot of added extras. I particularly like the Finderscope and StarPointer Pro which make observing so much easier and successful. You’ll be able to precisely locate and fix on your target – something that is difficult to do without this component. Verdict

Celestron Inspire 100AZ Refractor Telescope

As for the tripod, it essentially acts as the 100AZ’s mount and is very short meaning if you want to view certain celestial objects in the sky beyond around a 45 degree point, it will be pretty annoying to do. Then again this is less to do with the tripod and more to do with the design flaws of the 100AZ. What Are Users Of The Celestron Inspire 100AZ’s Saying The Inspire 100AZ is a device I would say is very much a beginner level system with sub par specs for astronomy and a few design flaws however, this doesn’t mean it’s a terrible device all round.

The Moon may be very bright in the night sky. The Moon’s big, bright disc can blind StarSense Explorer so that it cannot locate objects near the Moon. To see if this is the problem, try selecting another object to view in a different part of the night sky. Also, keep in mind that any deep-sky objects will appear washed out when the Moon is bright in the night sky. The best nights to observe are when the Moon is in or near the New Moon phase. The battery compartment on this finderscope is located on top of the unit. Use a Philips-head screwdriver to loosen the screw holding the battery door closed. The screw is captured and will not fall out when you open the battery door.

The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P provides a significant boost in light gathering and resolving power over the Inspire 100AZ at the same focal length, free of chromatic aberration and with a sturdy, easy-to-use tabletop Dobsonian mount.

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