Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Review Research

The industry should do a better job with the optics.

Review

From everything we’ve gathered, StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ has one of the worst quality optics in the astro-tech industry.

It is a shame. Every other StarSense Explorer telescope has at least “decent” optical quality. LT 114AZ doesn’t.

This telescope is full of design flaws. The optical design is dreadful, the mount and the focuser are plastic, and the accessories that come with it are useless.

A tabletop telescope is the best choice at this price range.

There is no reason at all to get the StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ. Its siblings, though, 80AZ, 102AZ, and 130AZ, are much better in terms of optical and build quality.

You can also check out TableTops like the Zhumell Z100, Zhumell Z114, and Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P, which we’d recommend instead. They provide the best build quality and optics at this price range.

Optics

The optical tube has a spherical primary mirror. Celestron implemented corrector lenses for the spherical mirrors. In theory, the design should work well with the correctors, but it doesn’t.

The optical design is faulty.

A properly working corrector lens for this kind of design is expensive, and Celestron didn’t put that into the system to keep the price down.

As a result, owners describe the views as dim and mostly out of focus, and the scope as challenging to collimate even for the most experienced of astronomers.

Overall Optical Performance

It is not worth talking about optical performance. According to owner reports, focusing, collimating, or overall getting a decent view with StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ is challenging.

Is Astrophotography possible with Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ?

No, it is not possible. You can get planetary images with a DSLR camera or with your smartphone, but that is it.

Mount

The mount is completely plastic and stiff. There is a slow-mo control knob for the vertical axis, but owners say it is not enough to fine-tune the telescope. As a result, the telescope is hard to use with the app.

Lots of plastic, everywhere.

From the reports we’ve read, the mount is frustrating. There is nothing good to be said about it.

Tripod

The tripod is aluminum. It is surprisingly among the better parts of StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ. With vibration suppression pads, it has a decent level of stability, but by itself, users report it hardly carries the optical tube.

App

The StarSense Explorer App is the best part of the scope. It is the reason why this series is worth considering.

By most accounts, the app works brilliantly.

Code for Unlock

Celestron sends a code with every StarSense Explorer telescope for unlocking the app. This is probably to prevent the app from being used with every telescope that is out there. It has no other function.

Alignment

The alignment procedure is pretty easy. You point the optical tube to a bright object, and find the same object in the app and align with the red cross. You hit done, and the app knows exactly where the optical tube is pointing in the night sky.

Real-time Simulation of the Night-Sky and the Telescope

After the alignment, using the gyroscopes, compass, accelerometers, the app keeps a real-time simulation of the night sky and the optical tube.

Plate-Solving tech is groundbreaking.

It also uses an image recognition process called plate-solving to create a map of the night sky. The plate-solving process is key and keeps everything precise. It takes 1-2 seconds, and the app does it every time the optical tube changes its position.

Owners consistently say the StarSense Explorer App works surprisingly well. It is, by far, the best part of the telescope.

Accessories

The accessories are cheap stuff to get you started out of the box. They aren’t worth much, and if you own this telescope, you should upgrade them all.

The eyepieces are Kellner models. They are mostly plastic and second to worst quality eyepieces after Huygens. They should be upgraded to at least Plössl models.

All of the accessories are cheap.

The finder is a standard red dot version. This one is OK since navigation with this telescope is mostly done with the app.

The diagonal is a plastic, 1.25”, amici model. It creates an image defect and should be upgraded to a star diagonal.

Focuser

The focuser is mostly plastic and is often described as sticky. Owners find it challenging to fine-tune it to get a sharp focus. Combined with the flawed optical design, the focusing experience is tedious.

Drawbacks

Apart from the StarSense Explorer App experience, the whole package is low in quality and hard to use.

The optical design is flawed with an extra corrector.

The telescope is reported to be challenging to collimate, even for an experienced astronomer.

The mount is plastic.

The accessories are as cheap as it gets.

Going by owner reports, there is no sign of stability and smoothness with the whole experience.

Conclusion

This is one of those models that discourage newcomers from astronomy. It is that bad.

A TableTop telescope, like the Zhumell Z114, will provide vastly superior optical performance, a butter-smooth motion, and overall a more pleasing experience.

Or, you can check out the 102AZ, 130AZ, and LT 80AZ models. They have much better optics, but the rest of the build is the same.