Celestron StarSense AutoAlign Module

The fastest and easiest way to get started with the fascinating hobby of astronomy.

Simply enter the observation location and local time once in the evening, and you won’t have to do anything else for the rest of the night. The StarSense camera eye takes three pictures of the sky after the telescope is switched on. This takes about three minutes. After that, the device knows where in the sky which stars, planets, galaxies, and gas nebulae are located and shows them to you at the touch of a button! It even suggests the most beautiful objects in the sky. You really don’t need any prior experience to become an amateur astronomer on your first night with this fantastic new technology. In fact, 40,000 celestial objects are stored in its database!

Even experienced amateur astronomers will appreciate the affordable StarSense module. StarSense replaces expensive software and enables excellent horizon-to-horizon positioning accuracy thanks to any number of calibration stars. And of course, you can use the short time the telescope automatically completes the alignment procedure to prepare for the night.

StarSense for Celestron is compatible with all current computerized Celestron telescopes, as well as many of the older models too.

StarSense on Azimuthal telescopes:
The StarSense module can fully demonstrate its capabilities on alt-azimuth telescopes – including motorized Dobsonians. No north alignment is required, you simply need to set up the device under a clear, dark sky with an unobstructed view of the surrounding sky. At least three-quarters of the sky should allow a clear view of the starry sky. Then simply enter the date, time, and location as usual. For devices with built-in GPS or the optional SkySync GPS receiver, this is unnecessary as the GPS module will detect this information automatically.

The StarSense camera then scans the sky, and after about three minutes, it has enough data to create a model of the sky. Then all you have to do is select the objects you want to observe from the handheld controller’s extensive database. If you were caught off guard by good weather and didn’t have time to prepare for the night of observation, that’s no problem either as The TOUR function suggests the most beautiful objects currently visible in the night sky at your present location.

StarSense on Equatorial telescopes:
The StarSense module can also be used on equatorially mounted telescopes (such as the Celestron Advanced VX, CGEM, CGEM DX, CGE Pro, or even certain SkyWatcher SynScan mounts such as the EQ6, EQ8, AZ-EQ5, and AZ-EQ6).

However, if you’re using the mount while on the move, you’ll still need to align it north – after all, the tracking axis must be parallel to the Earth’s axis. The StarSense module can help with this too: If you’ve only roughly aligned the mount north (i.e., you’ve placed the telescope in its starting position and can see Polaris in the finderscope) and switch on the StarSense module, the telescope will search for the reference stars. If you use more than two reference stars, you can increase the GOTO accuracy for visual use. 

You can then call up the All Star Polar Alignment, familiar and proven from the Celestron NexStar controller, to align the mount to another reference star. Since you have to turn the mount’s adjustment screws for this, the StarsSense module can only help here. But you save yourself the tedious task of haveing to kneel under the polar finder scope and can still set up the mount accurately enough for photography – conveniently and easily. 

The StarSense module then carries out the subsequent re-alignment independently.

Celestron Mounts Compatible with the Module

• NexStar SE 6/8
• NexStar Evolution
• CPC, CPC DX
• CGE Pro
• Advanced VX
• CGEM, CGEM DX, CGEM II
• CGX, CGX-L
• CGE
• NexStar SLT
• AstroFi series

Celestron Mounts NOT compatible with the Module

• NexStar SE 4/5
• NexStar Series
• NexStar 90GT
• NexStar i Series
• NexStar GPS
• Ultima 2000
• Advanced GT
• Early GoTo mounts (such as Compustar)
• LCM series

Please note: A motor controller firmware update may be necessary for the mount to support StarSense Module. This requires the Motor Control Update Software, which you can find links to under Downloads for each telescope or download directly from Celestron.com . Unfortunately, it is not possible to upgrade older (unsupported) mounts to make them compatible with StarSense.

Whats included:

1. StarSense Auto Align Module

View the StarSense Manual Here