The 8-inch Celestron Advanced VX EdgeHD is a versatile telescope system for intermediate and advanced amateur astronomers, yet small and light enough to be easily transported for observing in the field. The 8-inch aperture is enough to view and photograph all kinds of celestial objects, and the computerized equatorial mount makes it easy to find and track them.
CELESTRON ADVANCED VX 8 EDGE HD KEY SPECIFICATIONS
Optical design: EdgeHD (enhanced Schmidt-Cassegrain with additional lens elements)
Opening: 203.2 inches (8 inches)
Focal length: 2032 ملی میٹر (80 inches)
Focal Ratio: f/10
Eyepiece focal length: 40mm (50)
Total kit weight: 61 lbs (27.67 kg) (breaks down into 3 main components for shipping)
Mount Type: German equatorial, computerized, with servomotors
Optically, the EdgeHD system is excellent and, with the appropriate accessories, will fit all types of cameras. The views of Saturn and Jupiter are spectacular; globular clusters resolve into stars; all Messier Objects are clearly visible; and with a trained eye and a dark field sky, galaxies are visible down to magnitude 12. It’s a telescope you won’t outdo.
Since this telescope is aimed at relatively advanced users, we are reviewing it from that point of view. The author has been using a Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD as his main rig since 2014 and knows them well. As a long-time member of the user community, the author also knows that they are trustworthy.
Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: Design
- EdgeHD optical design outperforms Schmidt-Cassegrain
- Lightweight and strong computerized mounting
- Interoperability: other telescopes, other mounts, standard accessories
The EdgeHD optical system is Celestron’s crown jewel, an improved Schmidt-Cassegrain with additional lens elements, and while the enhancement is primarily intended for photography, we can see it visually with an eyepiece.
The computerized mount combines Celestron’s NexStar firmware with a German-style equatorial mount whose main axis points to the celestial pole. This provides properly oriented tracking for photography and the ability to use different telescopes on the same mount. For example, our Advanced VX mount easily carries a camera with a telephoto lens instead of the EdgeHD. Current version accepts Vixen (narrow) and Losmandy (wide) fantails.
Compared to competitors, the Advanced VX mounting head is lightweight and relatively strong, not easily damaged or slipping out of fit. The telescope, mounting head and tripod are easily separated for transport.
The mount requires 12-14V DC power, about 0.5 amps most of the time, up to 3-4 amps momentarily when moving the telescope rapidly. We use a portable battery.
Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: Performance
- excellent optics
- Reliably find and track celestial objects
- Serious deep sky photography requires a better mount
All good telescopes in the same size class provide similar views, so this one isn’t much different from other well-made 6- to 10-inch telescopes. However, compared to conventional Schmidt-Cassegrains, we find EdgeHD to be sharper, especially far from the center of the field.
The supplied 40mm eyepiece provides a power of 50, which seems low but is ideal for star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Celestron assumes you’ll be buying more eyepieces, and as such we recommend two more, around 20mm (100x for general use) and 10mm (200x for the moon and planets). In exceptionally stable air, we have been able to use a 5mm eyepiece (400x) on nearby double stars. High-quality eyepieces bring out the best in this fine telescope, so don’t skimp.
After proper setup, the mount finds celestial objects acceptably (well enough to place the object within the field of a 20mm eyepiece) and tracks them very well. You can select objects on the handheld controller, a PC running Celestron’s PWI software, or many other sky mapping packages such as stellarium. Astrophotographers will want to perform PEC training, as described in the manual, for even smoother tracking.
However, for long exposures of nebulae and galaxies, with an autoguider and guide telescope sending constant corrections to the mount, the Advanced VX left me wanting to (and eventually switch to) a heavier mount with more precise gearing and less backlash. . That’s only a problem when the Advanced VX carries such a large telescope. Works great carrying a smaller telescope.
Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: Functionality
- Computer assisted setup process
- Excellent views of all kinds of celestial objects.
- You need more eyepieces (about 20mm and 10mm)
Because the Advanced VX is an equatorial mount, setup is more than the usual process of centering a couple of stars that the telescope automatically points to. You also have to point its polar axis to polar Star, then refine the alignment by stargazing and letting the mount’s computer tell you any errors. This process, which Celestron calls ‘Polar Alignment of All Stars’, is practical and impressively accurate, but it has to identify bright stars. If the computer says to center Enif and you center Alpheratz, you will get incorrect results. That is the main difference between equatorial mounts and those that are more suitable for beginners.
This is a good telescope for viewing all kinds of celestial objects. You can also connect a camera (smartphone, dslr camera, no mirroreither astrocamera) for images of the moon and, with care and skill, planets and deep sky objects. One of the most satisfying things we’ve ever done is take thousands of video frames of Jupiter, Saturn, or Mars with an astronomical video camera, then stack and focus them to get a much better view than the human eye could ever get with it. telescope. . .
This is an expandable system that requires a lot of standard accessories and you’ll want a higher power (shorter focal length) eyepiece or two right away.
Should I buy the Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD telescope?
If you are a serious amateur astronomer developing a deep understanding of both the sky and the telescope, then this is an attractive product. The telescope is as good as you could wish for in its size range. The mount works well for everything except long exposure deep sky photography, and there’s plenty of room to grow with standard accessories and even a sturdier mount if needed.
If this product is not for you
If your main interest is long exposure astrophotography, skip the Advanced VX and get the same telescope on a Celestron CGX or Losmandy GM8 mount (at a considerably higher cost).
If you’re new to astronomy and not yet good at recognizing stars, this may be too much; You can get very similar views with a Celestron NexStar 6-inch or 8-inch telescope on a fork-arm mount that’s much easier to transport and set up.
