Celestron 80LCM Computerized Telescope
The Celestron 80LCM (Lightweight Computerized Mount) is the cheapest scope among the GoTo mount series of this brand. Quality optics, portability, advanced software, and automatic features have made this scope attractive to beginner skygazers.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Celestron 80LCM
Advantages
- The built-in sky aligns technology is extremely easy to use. It just needs to center any three brighter objects in the eyepiece, and then it will track other objects automatically.
- The ‘sky tour’ button will help you to enlist the available sky objects you can see.
- The ‘constellation tour’ button will help to take a tour of the brightest objects in a constellation.
- The free astronomy software is highly recommended by users for easy sky simulation.
- Celestron provides a two-year warranty and unlimited technical support from experts.
- The database provides information on 4033 objects including the moon, planets, constellations, and stars like Caldwell, IC, Messier, SAO catalogs, and details of more than 100 objects.
Disadvantages
- As it is lightweight, beginner astronomers sometimes face problems stabilizing the telescope initially.
Celestron 80LCM Technical Specifications
- Optics: The Celestron 80LCM is a refractor telescope offering an 80 mm aperture with a focal length of 900 mm resulting in a focal ratio of f/11.25. The Fraunhofer achromatic refractor has two lenses that are made of crown and flint glass. Glass optics is with anti-reflective coating that enhances transmission of light, contrast, and color performance. The optical quality is good and the long focal ratio does not cause that much chromatic aberration.
- Focuser: Focus is manual and the focuser is a 1.25’’ rack-and-pinion focuser.
- Mount: The motorized altazimuth single-armed mount includes a small vixen-style dovetail. The lightweight mount is easy to set up but sometimes creates a little bit of a problem while balancing or fixing the position.
- Tripod: Lightweight aluminum tripod possesses a perfect height to make observation easy. A tray with locks stabilizes the tripod and makes place for the accessories. The feet are spiked to increase stability. The hand controller holder is adjustable and can be moved while tracking.
- Finderscope: GoTo mount can locate around 40,000 night-sky objects using hand control and the star locating technology that you will find in advanced scopes. Red-dot StarPointer is premounted for easy setup and alignment.
- Hand Controller: The button interface is menu-driven and simple.
- Weight: The base weight of the telescope is 14.11 pounds. The packaged weight with accessories is 20.65 lb.
- Portability: Easily transportable to any place.
- Power: It needs 8 AA batteries at a time.
- Field of View: 84 Feet.
- Size: 38.5 x 14 x 11.5″ (Box dimension LxWxH)
Accessories for Celestron 80LCM
- Two Kellners eyepieces (25 mm with 36x and 9 mm with 100x magnification).
- Plastic Amici prism star diagonal corrects the image horizontally (not vertically though)
- StarPointer red-dot finder helps to align the GoTo mechanism.
What can you see with Celestron 80LCM?
- The moon and the craters can be seen sharply
- The planets of our solar system like Saturn and Jupiter appear with their color but the details are hard to view.
- Nearby stars, bright nebulae, and some star clusters come with proper views.
- The view of distant stars and deep sky objects is blurry.
Example of Astrophotography With Celestron 80LCM
Astrophotography of the Moon with the Celestron 80LCM computerized telescope.
Alternatives to Celestron 80LCM
The website reviewfinder found that customers liked Celestron NexStar 130SLT more than the Celestron 80LCM though it costs more. Besides, you can find some good quality non-computerized telescopes within the same price range from the same brand. For example, Celestron – 80mm Travel Scope, PowerSeeker 127EQ, StarSense Explorer 114mm Newtonian Reflector, and AstroMaster 130EQ Newtonian telescopes have high ratings from customers.
