Celestron Advanced C8-SGT (XLT)

The Celestron Advanced C8 SGT: a legendary telescope
The Celestron Advanced C8 SGT telescope is the successor of the legendary orange C8 telescope. For years the C8 has been one of the most popular Celestron telescopes because it offers a very high quality at a decent price. The Celestron Advanced C8 SGT telescope itself is lightweight (5.7kg) making it easy to take with you on location. The original model was first manufactured in the 1960s and has the distinctive orange colour. This telescope was one of the first consumer telescopes with a Schmidt-Cassegrain design. In the 1980s, the colour changed to glossy black. The telescope is still evolving and being improved. Meanwhile, the telescope has acquired some very useful features which were absolutely inconceivable in the 1960s. The Celestron Advanced C8 SGT (XLT) telescope remains a highlight for the avid amateur astronomer.

Focal length
The Celestron Advanced C8 SGT telescope has a 203.2mm primary mirror which captures a lot of light. Thanks to the compact catadioptric Schmidt-Cassegrain design, the telescope has a focal length of an impressive 2032mm. This makes the telescope ideal for observing deep-sky objects. Due to the clever use of two mirrors, the telescope has an obstruction rate of only 11.4%.

Starbright Coating
The telescope mirrors are equipped with the unique Celestron Starbright coating. This coating makes the mirror as strong and effective as possible. The coating consists of several layers; Celestron used aluminium, titanium and magnesium as main ingredients. Thanks to the use of these materials the mirrors are more even and light gain is up to 40 percent higher than without this coating.

Eyepiece
By default, the Celestron Advanced C8-SGT telescope is delivered with a 20mm eyepiece. In combination with the telescope focal length this yields a magnification of 81 times. This eyepiece fits into the 1.25 inch eyepiece fitting of the telescope; the eyepiece can also be used on other telescopes with a similar eyepiece fitting. Use eyepieces of different sizes to obtain other magnifications.

GoTo functionality
The telescope and mount have a full GoTo system. With this very useful system, the telescope will automatically find celestial objects for you. In the system 40.000 celestial objects are pre-programmed which makes watching with this telescope easier and a lot of fun. The GoTo has the Celestron SkyAlign alignment technology; this will align the telescope in no time at all. It is also possible to find celestial bodies yourself and save them for next time so you can focus on these objects. The GoTo system provides detailed information on the 200 most-viewed celestial bodies. The GoTo is easy to operate by a remote control with LCD display.

The simple operation of the tripod

Tripod
By default, an equatorial tripod with stainless steel legs is included with the telescope. The included tripod is the Celestron CG-5; this tripod is made after a German design and therefore very solid. The tripod and mount have a combined weight of about 19kg. Due to this high weight the tripod is very stable. The sheer weight of the tripod and mount may make it somewhat difficult to quickly move the telescope.

Additional information
The Celestron Advanced C8-SGT telescope comes with a CD-ROM with software containing comprehensive information about the stars and various celestial bodies. It also includes printable maps of the sky. The telescope itself can be connected to a computer via the communication port.

The Celestron Advanced C8-SGT (XLT) telescope in a nutshell

• The mirrors feature the unique Starbright Coating
• GoTo with over 40.000 pre-programmed objects
  
• Expandable with GPS (optional)
  
• Provided with a Star Diagonal (erecting eyepiece)
  
• Free CD-Rom with "The Sky'' software
  
• Fitted with a 6x30 finderscope
  
• Equatorial tripod with 2'' thick steel legs
  

Astrophotography
With the right camera adapter and T2 ring the Celestron Advanced C8-SGT is ideal for astrophotography. Below some images which were created using this telescope.