The 8-inch Celestron Advanced VX EdgeHD is a versatile telescope system for intermediate and advanced amateur astronomers, but it’s still small and light enough to easily carry around for observation in the country. The 8-inch aperture is enough to see and photograph all kinds of celestial objects, and the computerized equatorial frame makes it easy to search for and track them.
SPECIFICATIONS KEY CELESTRON ADVANCED VX 8 EDGE HD
Optical design: EdgeHD (Schmidt-Cassegrain enhanced with additional lens elements)
Aperture: 203.2 mm (8 inches)
Focal length: 2032 mm (80 inches)
Focal ratio: f / 10
Focal length of the eyepiece: 40 mm (50 ×)
Total weight of the kit: 61 pounds. (27.67 kg) (divided into 3 main components for transport)
Type of assembly: German equatorial, computerized, with servomotors
Optically, the EdgeHD system is excellent and, with the right accessories, attaches to 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 country sky, galaxies are visible up to magnitude 12. It’s a telescope you won’t miss.
Because this telescope is intended for relatively advanced users, we are reviewing it from this point of view. The author has been using a Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD as the main equipment since 2014 and knows them well. As a longtime member of the user community, the author also knows that they are trustworthy.
Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: Design
View of the 8-inch Celestron Advanced VX Edge HD Telescope on Frame and Tripod (Image Credit: Michael Covington)
- EdgeHD optical design surpasses Schmidt-Cassegrain
- Lightweight and durable computerized assembly
- Interoperability: other telescopes, other mounts, standard accessories
The EdgeHD optical system is the jewel in the crown of Celestron, an improved Schmidt-Cassegrain with additional lens elements, and although the enhancement is intended primarily for photography, we can see it visually with an eyepiece.
The computer mount combines Celestron’s NexStar firmware with a German-style equatorial mount whose main axis points to the celestial pole. This offers properly targeted tracking for photography and the ability to use different telescopes on the same frame. For example, our Advanced VX mount easily carries a camera with a telephoto lens instead of the EdgeHD. The current version accepts both Vixen (narrow) and Losmandy (wide).
The computerized frame finds celestial objects, taking orders from the manual box or via USB from your computer (image credit: Michael Covington)
Compared to competitors, the Advanced VX mounting head is lightweight and relatively durable, does not get damaged or easily misaligned. The telescope, mounting head and tripod are easily separated for transport.
The mount requires a power of 12-14 V DC, about 0.5 amps most of the time, up to 3 or 4 amps momentarily when the telescope moves quickly. We use a portable battery.
Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: Performance
The best view is usually with an eyepiece about 20 mm, not the 40 mm supplied (image credit: Michael Covington)
- Excellent optics
- Find and track celestial objects reliably
- Serious deep sky photography requires better montage
All good telescopes of the same size class give similar views, so this one is not much different from other well-made 6- to 10-inch telescopes. Compared to conventional Schmidt-Cassegrains, however, we believe the EdgeHD is sharper, especially far from the center of the field.
The supplied 40mm eyepiece offers a power of 50, which seems low, but is ideal for star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Celestron assumes you will buy more eyepieces and as such we recommend two more, around 20mm (100x general purpose) and 10mm (200x for the moon and planets). In exceptionally constant air, we were able to use a 5mm (400x) eyepiece on nearby double stars. High quality eyepieces get the best out of this thin telescope, so don’t skimp.
The advanced VX mount (shown in the previous version, with spare chair) can carry camera and telephoto lens for spectacular deep sky images (image credit: Michael Covington)
After proper setup, the frame 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 in the manual driver, a computer with Celestron PWI software, or many other sky map 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 autoguide and giascope sending constant corrections to the mount, the Advanced VX left me wanting (and eventually moving on to) a more robust mount with more gears. accurate and less reaction. This is only a problem when the Advanced VX carries such a large telescope. It works great with a smaller telescope.
Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: Functionality
An astrocamera (not included) or DSLR is attached instead of the eyepiece to photograph through the telescope (image credit: Michael Covington)
- Computer aided configuration process
- Great views of all kinds of celestial objects
- Need more eyepieces (approximately 20 mm and 10 mm)
Because the Advanced VX is an equatorial mount, the setup is more than the usual process of centering a pair of stars to which the telescope automatically points. You should also point your polar axis at Polaris and then refine the alignment by observing stars and letting the mount computer tell you the errors. This process, which Celestron calls the “All-Star Polar Alignment,” is practical and impressively accurate, but bright stars need to be identified. If your computer tells you to center Enif and you center Alpheratz, you will get incorrect results. This is the main difference between equatorial mounts and those that are more suitable for beginners.
A digitally processed image of Jupiter with 8-inch EdgeHD and astrocamera (figure above). Image processing takes much more than the eye can see (image credit: Michael Covington)
This is an excellent telescope for seeing all kinds of celestial objects. You can also connect a camera (smartphone, DSLR, without mirror or astrocamera) for images of the moon and, with care and skill, planets and objects in the deep sky. One of the most satisfying things we’ve done is take thousands of video frames of Jupiter, Saturn, or Mars with an astronomical video camera, and then stack and sharpen them for a much better view than the human eye could. get with the same telescope. .
This is an expandable system, which carries a lot of standard accessories and you will immediately want one or two higher power eyepieces (shorter focal length).
Add a proper giascope, self-guide, and camera and you’ll be able to take deep sky images like this through the telescope, but a better mount than the Advanced VX makes them much easier (image credit: Michael Covington)
Should I buy the Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD telescope?
If you are a serious amateur astronomer who develops a deep understanding of both the sky and the telescope, this is an attractive product. The telescope is as good as you could want in its size range. The frame works well for everything except for long exposure deep sky photography and there is plenty of room to grow with standard accessories and even, if necessary, a more robust frame.
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 noticeably higher cost).
If you’re new to astronomy and still don’t know how to recognize stars, this may be a little too much; you can get very similar views with a 6- or 8-inch NexStar Celestron telescope on a fork stand that is much easier to carry and set up.