• 4-inch Maksutov-Cassegrain tele; StarBright XLT high transmission coatings come standard.
• StarPointer finder to help with alignment and accurately locating objects.
• Quick-release fork arm , optical tube, and accessory tray for no-tool setup.
• SkyAlign allows you to align on any three bright celestial objects, making for a fast and easy alignment process.
• Nearly 40,000-bject database with 200 user-definable objects and expanded information on over 200 objects.

Amazon.com Review Celestron’s NexStar 4 SE is the smallest and most portable tele in Celestron’s NexStar SE series. Using a Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design, the NexStar 4 SE puts the magnifying power of a four foot long tele into an optical tube only 13 inches long. Celestron NexStar 4 Moon The NexStar 4 SE features computerized finding and tracking of nearly 40,000 celestial objects, no-tool setup is easy, and planetarium software for your PC is included. Celestron NexStar 4 Jupiter The NexStar 4 SE delivers great views of the Moon, the planets, and bright deep space objects. The standard equipment 25mm E-Lux plossl eyepiece gives a magnification of 53X, enough to see the Lunar disk, Saturn’s rings and the major cloud bands on Jupiter. It’s easy to add optional eyepieces to zoom in for more detail. Using a 12.5mm X-Cel eyepiece for 106X magnification I can see several cloud bands on Jupiter and I can even pick out the small dark shadow as one of Jupiter’s moons passes in front of the planet. On a good night I can push the magnification up to 230X with a 6mm plossl eyepiece while viewing the Moon and planets. The NexStar 4 SE package also includes a sturdy adjustable tripod, a motorized alt-azimuth , and the NexStar hand held computer controller. I don’t need star charts or a GPS reciever to operate this tele. Celestron’s patented SkyAlign procedure is easy to use, and experienced users will like the two-star align and solar-system align options because they are even quicker to set up. The steel tripod and alt-azimuth provide a solid base for the NexStar 4 SE. Vibration is not a problem, even while focusing at high power. The computerized tracking is also very good, easily keeping planets in the field of a high power eyepiece. The disadvantage of a computerized , of course, is battery consumption. I find that rechargeable NiMH batteries work very well in the NexStar 4SE; a set of batteries lasts all evening and I don’t need to worry about electrical cords getting tangled in the dark. The NexStar 4 SE is a great portable tele, just right for visual observing or for taking short exposure pictures of the Moon and planets. It’s only fair to warn you that a small tele has its drawbacks, however; there are thousands of objects in the NexStar database that are simply too dim to see with a four inch tele. --Jeff Phillips Celestron NexStar 4 Venus Pros: * Small, portable and affordable * Very good optics * Easy computerized tracking Cons: * Rechargeable batteries not included * Small size limits deep space viewing