Telescope for a newbie: Smart app enabled? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 month ago by imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca to c/astronomy@mander.xyz

18 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm starting my journey into astronomy and looking for a beginner telescope to start. I've found a few on telescopescanada.ca that fit my budget between $350 and $400 CAD but noticed a lot have "smartphone app-enabled" as a feature.

Over the last few years I've found that smart connected tech just complicates things and have been reverting my tech back, often to the point of wired over wireless. What's the consensus when it comes to telescopes?

Is app-connection a feature you use? I'm looking at the Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ but wondering if I'll be paying for smart features that aren't necessary.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] kichae@wanderingadventure.party 2 points 1 month ago

imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca Most go-to telescopes should connect to a computer. Older ones might use a serial cable instead of USB, but anything made within the last 10 year likely uses USB cables.

[-] undrwater@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

And you can get a USB -> serial cable if something attractive appears.

[-] imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago

Awesome that's what I thought, thanks. I'm gonna start with something basic to learn the ropes but your mention of celestial coordinate systems has already piqued my interest so I expect that'll be something in my near future lol.

There's not much in my area for used but I did find a once-used Celestron NexStar 90SLT which retails around $830 CAD. Not sure I want to drop $600-700 on my first telescope tho lol. Might just check to see what he wants for it first just in case tho.

this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2026

26 points (96.4% liked)

Astronomy

7158 readers

4 users here now

A community for sharing astronomy-related news, content, research, photographs, etc.

When sharing photographs and articles, please make an effort to include source URLs.

founded 4 years ago

MODERATORS

Sal@mander.xyz