StarSense Explorer DX 100AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Refractor Telescope Lunar Edition

Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real-time. This special Lunar Edition StarSense Explorer is ideal for beginners thanks to the app’s user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It’s like having your own personal tour guide of the night sky.

Dock, Launch, Explore

Leave complicated star charts and imprecise planetarium apps behind. With StarSense Explorer, locating objects has never been easier, faster, or more accurate. Within minutes of setting up the telescope, you’ll be navigating the sky with confidence. Simply place your phone in the unique StarSense dock and launch the StarSense Explorer app. After aligning your phone to the telescope’s optics (a quick, 2-minute procedure), StarSense Explorer generates a list of celestial objects currently visible. Make your selection, and arrows appear onscreen, guiding you as you move the telescope. When the object is ready to view, the bullseye turns green.

Smartphone Compatibility

StarSense Explorer works with most modern smartphones; it is compatible with Android 12 and later, as well as iOS 18 and newer, including iPhone XR and newer models.  Users with older phones can still use this app, but will not be able to reinstall the app if they uninstall it. For a complete compatibility list, click here.

Patented StarSense Sky Recognition Technology

StarSense Explorer uses patented technology and your smartphone to determine exactly where the telescope is pointed in the night sky. A Lost in Space Algorithm (LISA), like the ones satellites use in orbit to correctly orient themselves, helps the app match star patterns it detects overhead to its internal database.

While other astronomy apps may claim that they can help you find objects, they rely exclusively on the phone’s gyros and accelerometers, which aren’t as accurate as LISA technology. No other system can accurately tell you when your target is visible in the eyepiece.

High-quality Altazimuth Mount with Slow-motion Control

An ultra-stable altazimuth mount provides a sturdy foundation for StarSense Explorer DX. Slip clutches and geared slow-motion controls in both axes help you move the telescope smoothly and zero in on your target. As celestial objects appear to drift across the night sky, you’ll be able to follow them with just a few turns of the knobs. It’s all anchored by an adjustable, full-height tripod.

Dazzling Views with High-quality Optics

With a large 100mm (4”) objective lens, this telescope has enough light-gathering ability to bring out impressive detail in celestial objects. You can expect sharp, bright views of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, cloud bands and Great Red Spot, the rings of Saturn, the trapezium in the Orion Nebula, and the beautiful Pleiades Open Star Cluster.

Special Edition Accessories

In addition to the StarSense smartphone dock, this exclusive Lunar Edition comes with two eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), an erect image diagonal, a finderscope, a Moon filter, and an Observer’s Map of the Moon. The two eyepieces provide different magnifications, allowing you to switch between low and high power for detailed views. The 90-degree erect image diagonal enables daytime use for observing birds, wildlife, landscapes, and more. The mounted finderscope helps you quickly locate and center objects in the eyepiece. The Moon filter and map make exploring the lunar surface easy and enjoyable.

Perfect for the City or Dark Sky Sites

Even if you live in a light-polluted city location, the Lunar Edition StarSense Explorer is advanced enough to be able to pick out Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, double stars, and more of the most famous celestial objects.

But when you take the telescope to an even slightly darker location, more objects become visible. With this 4” refractor and relatively dark skies, fainter deep-sky objects like nebulae and star clusters are easily within reach.

The entire telescope kit weighs just 15 pounds, so it’s perfectly portable and easy to bring on your next camping trip or to a remote observing site.