Just bought yourself a Nexstar 6SE and setting it up for the first time? This blog will go through step by step on how to assemble and set up your Nexstar, as well as how to use the provided Nexstar+ hand controller so it will be stargaze-ready!
Assembling the Celestron Nexstar 6SE
Out of the box, your Nexstar 6SE should come in three key pieces; an optical tube, a single fork arm mount and tripod. Additionally, your box should contain an accessory tray, a StarPointer red dot finderscope, a Nexstar+ hand controller, and a Plossl 25mm 1.25” eyepiece.
Tripod and accessory tray
- Take the tripod out first, then fully extend the tripod out by loosening the tripod locking hand bolts and extending to your desired height. Pull the legs apart until it is fully expanded and securely level and evenly positioned.
- Unscrew the leg brace locking knob located underneath the tripod base
- Slide the accessory tray in and push securely against the tripod leg.
- Replace the leg brace locking knob back into central pole of the mount base to reattach
Attach arm to the tripod
- Use the positioning pin at the bottom of the mount to align with screws at the base of the tripod
- Tighten the three tripod locking screws from underneath of the tripod base until the mount base is secure to the tripod
- Slide the dovetail plate of the optical tube into the dovetail mounting bracket on the mount
- Adjust the dovetail locking knob on the mounting bracket to tighten. Ensure that the dovetail locking knob is securely attached and balanced before letting go of your telescope tube.
Power
- Recommeded: 12V AC adaptor, the power connection is underneath the hand controller
- Alternative: 8 AA batteries, the battery case is located at the base the mount.
Attaching the finderscope
- Loosen the two mounting screws near the bottom of the finderscope
- Locate the dovetail mounting bracket on the rear cell of the optical tube
- Slide the dovetail plate of the finderscope over the dovetail mounting bracket
- Tighten the screws to secure the finderscope in place.
Alignment and Configuration
Aligning the finderscope
To effectively use your Nexstar 6SE Telescope, you must align your finderscope with the rest of your telescope, aka making sure the direction your finderscope is pointing is the same as your telescope. This is to ensure accuracy when searching for celestial objects.
Align your finderscope in the day, as objects are clearer in the telescope.
- Find an easily recognisable object, such as streetlight, car license plate or tall tree
- Move your telescope until the object is centred in the telescope, using your longest focal length eyepiece.
- The further away the object is, the better (minimum 400 m away).
- Turn on the finderscope, in which should cause a red dot to appear in the viewing window.
- Place your eye 30 cm away from the finderscope and adjust the finderscope so that the red dot is centred on the object of your choice.
- Turn off the finderscope after using to conserve battery.
Aligning your telescope
Aligning your Nexstar 6SE is vital to make the most out of its computerised mount, as it allows the Nexstar to compare what you’re seeing with its database of stars and celestial bodies, allowing for more accurate tracking.
The Nexstar 6SE gives you several methods of aligning your telescope, which one you prefer to up is up personal taste.
Initial Set up
Every alignment requires using SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN to select your alignment mode, as well as inputting your time, place and date into the system so the Nexstar can accurately track and identify what’s above you. Please note that the Nexstar utilises US Date format so the date must be inputted in MM-DD-YYYY notation.
SkyALign
One of most beginner friendly methods of aligning your telescope, as it does not require you to know the names and general location of specific celestial bodies to align.
After selecting SkyAlig mode and inputting your time, date and place:
- Move your telescope to point at any bright object in the sky, centring the object with the finderscope.
- Press ENTER
- Precisely centre the object in eyepiece of the telescope
- Press the ALIGN button.
- This will assign this point as the 1st alignment position.
- Repeat for the 2nd and 3rd object
- Make sure that the alignment points are as far apart as possible
- Make sure the 3rd star isn’t in a straight line between the 2 previous stars.
After the alignment points are set, the hand controller will notify you of the closest matches it found in the database. After exiting these menus, your Nexstar will be ready to use.
Auto two-star align
The Auto two-star alignment method is very similar to the StarAlign method of alignment, requiring similar pieces information; however, it requires more knowledge on the stars
After selecting Auto two-star mode and inputting your time, date and place:
- Select 1 known star in the sky from a list of stars.
- Press ENTER
- Centre the star in the finderscope
- Centre the star in the eyepiece of the telescope.
After aligning these stars, the Nexstar will automatically find the 2nd alignment position that will produce the best alignment.
If the star the Nexstar selected is not ideal for your current situation to use as alignment (i.e. behind a tree of building):
- Press BACK will display the next most suitable star, and you can use the scroll up or down buttons to manually select any stars you like.
- Once the telescope stops moving, centre align the star in the finderscope
- Centre the star in the telescope’s field of view after pressing ENTER.
- Press ALIGN to assign this to second alignment position.
When the telescope has been aligned to both stars, the display will read “Align Success” and your Nexstar should be ready to use.
Two-star align
The Two-star alignment method requires you to know the positions of two bright stars in order to accurately align the telescope with the sky and begin finding objects.
After selecting Two-star mode and inputting your time, date and place:
- Select your first star from a list from their database.
- Position the telescope to centre the star you chose in the finderscope
- Centre it the telescope eyepiece.
- Make sure that the chosen stars have bit of distance between themselves, 40º to 60º apart will give you a more accurate alignment than stars that are closer to each other.
- Press the ALIGN button
The display should display “Align Successful”, and your Nexstar should be ready to use.
One-star align
The One-star alignment method uses similar information to the Two-star method perform the alignment but only uses 1 star to model the sky. This allows for a rough estimation of bright objects such as the moon and planets but is inaccurate when it comes to dimmer objects.
After selecting One-star mode and inputting your time, date and place:
- Select a star from a list.
- Centre your chosen star within the finderscope,
- Centre the chosen star with telescopes’ eyepiece using the hand controller
- Press ALIGN
The display should show “Align successful” and your Nexstar should be ready to use.
Solar system align
The Solar system alignment method utilises solar system objects, such as the Sun, Moon, and planets, to align the telescope. This method is good for daytime viewing and basic nighttime viewing.
Do not:
- Look at the sun directly without a proper solar filter
- Project an image of the Sun with your telescope onto any surface
- Use an eyepiece solar filter or a Herschel wedge
After selecting Solar system mode and inputting your time, date and place:
- Select a solar system object (planet, moon, etc).
- Centre the selected object into your finderscope
- Centre it in the telescope eyepiece
- Press ALIGN
The Sun will not be available to select through the SELECT OBJECT menu for safety reasons, and needs to be enabled through the utilities menu in order to be selected
- Enter utilities menu
- Go to the Sun menu and press ENTER
Sync
Sync is a great way to accurately map a specific section of the sky, useful for exploring smaller sections of the sky.
- From the STARS or DEEPSKY database, select the object you are interested in
- Centre it into the telescope.
- Press BACK until you arrive at the main menu.
- When the display read “Nexstar SE”, press ALIGN and select the Sync option.
- Align the object so it is centred within your finderscope
- Centre the object within the telescope eyepiece.
- Press ALIGN
This will increase the telescope’s accuracy for that specific area.
Undo Sync
A Sync can negatively affect your pointing accuracy in other parts of the sky, so in order to reverse the Sync
- An Undo Sync will restore the pointing of your telescope to its original alignment.
- If you wish to add calibration stars or re-alignment stars, you will be asked to Undo Sync before you proceed
- The Nexstar will automatically ask if you want to Undo Sync
Apps that can help find stars
If you are just entering the world of astronomy but want to find where stars are, there are many different apps that can be downloaded for your phone!
Recommendations
- StarWalk 2: free on iOS and Android with ads
- Sky Tonight: free on iOS and Android with ads
Conclusion
Setting up a Nexstar 6SE may seem complicated with its computerised nature and moving parts. However, breaking down the set-up process to easily digested steps allows for you to set your Celestron Nexstar 6SE Telescope a lot easier. Now that your telescope is ready to go, all that’s left is to step outside, point it at the stars, and enjoy the wonders of the universe. Happy stargazing!