“Celestron NexStar 8SE vs Meade LX65 8 ACF” Telescope

In this article, we will compare Meade LX65 8 ACF telescope with Celestron NexStar 8SE. Both of these telescopes are not for beginners unless you are sure that you are going to pursue your astronomy hobby for the long term.

Both of are these Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescopes and have an 8-inch aperture. However, the 8-inch aperture comes with their ACF technology also known as Advance Coma Free. ACF gives you clear and crisp imagery with no false colors or chromatic aberration.

These telescopes have a focal length of 2032 mm with a focal ratio of 10. Both of them come with a 25mm plössl eyepiece and have a red dot view finder technology. They also have almost similar optical tube dimensions.

In terms of weight, Celestron NexStar 8SE weighs around 10kg. While Meade LX65 8 ACF weighs around 18 kg. Both of these telescopes have a single fork alt-azimuth mount. Celestron’s mount can carry weight up to 5kg. However, LX65’s mount can carry 2 telescopes at the same time. That’s why the total weight of the kit is higher than Celestron Nexstar 8SE. LX 65’s mount can carry around weight up to 9kg. But you shouldn’t put the whole 9kg just on the single side of the mount.

By using two optical tubes on Meade LX65 8 ACF, you can observe the distant and the magnified sky view at the same time without changing much of the setting. This Setup is much beneficial for astrophotography & deep space stargazing.

Nexstar’s mount comes with a database of about 40,000 celestial objects while LX65’S mount comes with a database of 30,000 celestial objects. LX65 can be controlled with Audiostar technology with a built-in speaker which can play the information like your guide is guiding you.

What you can see with these telescopes?

Both telescopes are almost identical you can see objects in our solar system, star clusters nebulae & different galaxies. The images obtained by these two telescopes will be good with some minor differences here n there. You won’t find much difference in the image quality between them.

The telescope is of good construction quality. The visuals and magnification are great. You can see planets with great detail, and many deep space objects even including the Orion Nebula and the Crab Nebula. From dark sky sites, you can see dozens of galaxies.

The telescope is not great for astrophotography due to the Alt-Az mount; however, its shortcomings can be rectified by purchasing an equatorial wedge

The views you get are outstanding and much clearer than you expect. Details on the moon will look fantastic and it will not take much time for you to set it up. Jupiter and its moons will look clear as a photograph, If you track any of the objects for a longer period you can see the movement of those celestial objects as well. You may sometimes be able to see an International space station or any other moving satellites in the Lower earth orbit with this telescope.

Concern about this telescope is that the battery drain is from 200 milliamps to 400 or so milliamps during tracking. That's a lot for an AA battery. We would suggest making or purchasing an external 12-volt power source to plug into the scope rather than using internal batteries during an extended observing session. You can purchase the accessory kit for the scope. It is very impressive for the price.

This telescope is very high-quality for the price you pay for. It will deliver more than you expected. Now which one to pick out of these two? We will discuss that in the next part.

Now, which one should you buy?

Check out here to know