Celestron GPC-102ED

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Brand and Model:Celestron GPC-102ED
Price ($USD):$2400
Type:Apochromatic Refractor
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:102mm (4")
f Ratio:f/9
Focal Length:920mm
Finder:6x30
Electric Power:optional
Mount:Great Ploaris equitorial
Tripod:standard
Weight (lbs):36lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):?
Description:Comes standard with built-in illuminated polar alignment scope, 12.5mm orthoscopic eyepiece, star diaganol and plastic accessory container.

Vote Highlights Vote
Celestron GPC-102ED
The pinpoint stars are nice int this scope. But, the items you will see are very limited by the small size of lens. Do yourself a big favor and buy at least a 10in. or bigger scope with high quality optics. Remember the old rule of astronomy, the bigger the scope the more you will see! I have been to many star parties over my 20 years in astronomy and the big scopes always have the BIG lines behine them!! Save yourself some money and get a large scope now.

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:7 Mount:8 Ease of Use:5 Value:4
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=110556 

>The pinpoint stars are nice int this scope.  But, the items you will see are very limited by the small size of lens.  Do yourself a big favor and buy at least a 10in. or bigger scope with high quality optics. Remember the old rule of astronomy, the bigger the scope the more you will see!  I have been to many star parties over my 20 years in astronomy and the big scopes always have the BIG lines behine them!!  Save yourself some money and get a large scope now.

I totally disagree with this remark. in my suburban garden, with local light pollution, i have owned everything from 80mm short tube to 12 inch dob, and my most pleasing views have been in this celestron 102ED.  You get crisp, sharp,contrasty views which you dont see in an SCT, or a big dob.  size does dont always win, this gives beautiful images, and at public viewings I get the most compliments at the views in this scope.  I'm keeping this and the 12 inch dob is sold!

don't be put off by comments like this one, if you can find one of these theyre a steal and so portable too!
Celestron GPC-102ED
This is a very very nice telescope. Excellent star test and very little, if any, color at all.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=427966

Celestron GPC-102ED
Excellent!! Close to Tak, or AP or ZEISS at a fraction of the cost!!! You have to be an IDIOT to compare a 4000 dollar instrument to a 1200 dollar one!!! Cost performance is what counts...Save your money (unless it's not important to you) and get one of these Celestron or Vixen ED scopes, or better yet a premium SCT or a Newtonian....for 1500 you can have a killer optical instrument that will beat the pants off any 4 or 5" apo...Remember, aperture wins...PERIOD! Don't fall for all the hype and bull.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=55490

Celestron GPC-102ED
I viewed through this scope for two nights under dark skies and good to excellent seeing. My Zeiss APQ 100/1000 was tested side by side.
Images good to excellent at lower powers. Not as bright as the Zeiss. In clusters the APQ reached deeper. On globulars this was also apparent e.g. Omega Centaura and 47 Tucanae. Contrast was also markedly better in the APQ.

On Mars (13 arc seconds) the ED was also sub par compared to the Zeiss. Sharper definition of dark features was evident in the Zeiss. The polar shroud was easier to see.
Star testing revealed undecorrecting(spherical aberratuion about 1/5 wave approx) and suspected astigmatism(slight).

Some false colour was evident in defocused first magnitude stars. Not enough to be a problem.

On doubles the ED did'nt quite match the Zeiss. Gamma Centaura (1.0")was easily elongated in the Zeiss. The E.D did not show this. The ED also struggled on beta Musca(1.2 ") which was clearly split by the APQ. The ED was good at about 1.5 "with eta orionis.

Still I would rate the ED as an excellent scope. Certainly better optically than a Vixen f6.5 ED I have also ran against the APQ.

Folks who so easily rate their e.d doublet scopes 10/10 ought to perhaps match them with a true apochromat. Their is a significant difference.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38904

Celestron GPC-102ED
Oh my,
I have a Tak and an AP and bought this as a guidscope for my 16" scope. What a pleasent suprise when I looked though it. No false color around the mooon or any of the plantes. This scope is Celestrons best. Maybe since it is made by Vixen that explains the quality. To bad you can not get yourh ands on one anymore. Celestron would have been known for GREAT 4" refracotrs if they still sold these. Celestron are you kicking yourself now???????????????

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38903

Celestron GPC-102ED
I just purchased this no longer available F/9 version ED scope with wood legs and the super polaris mount as "New Old Stock" from one of the major mail-order companies. It never fails, if you buy a scope, it will rain that first night. Anyway a few nights later, the sharpenss and fine detail on Jupiter, Mars and even Venus just blew away any view I have seen over the past 20 years with my 8" F/6 Reflector. Of course the image brightness and the "Image Scale" is not as good as the 8". The star test is perfect, and ABSOLUTELY NO FALSE COLOR!!!! I cant wait to test this scope again other "larger scopes" side by side at the next star party. What made me purchase a refractor?, I went to a star party 2 years ago with about 300 scopes, after looking a Jupiter in all types and sizes, it amazingly was a 60MM scope that had the best picture. Maybe not the most detail, but the most pleasing. I cant imagine why anywone would buy a SCT, since Refractors blow them away and they are not suited to deep sky observing. SVANH@TIR.COM

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38902 

>I just purchased this no longer available F/9 version ED scope with wood legs and the super polaris mount as "New Old Stock" from one of the major mail-order companies. It never fails, if you buy a scope, it will rain that first night. Anyway a few nights later, the sharpenss and fine detail on Jupiter, Mars and even Venus just blew away any view I have seen over the past 20 years with my 8" F/6 Reflector. Of course the image brightness and the "Image Scale" is not as good as the 8". The star test is perfect, and ABSOLUTELY NO FALSE COLOR!!!! I cant wait to test this scope again other "larger scopes" side by side at the next star party. What made me purchase a refractor?, I went to a star party 2 years ago with about 300 scopes, after looking a Jupiter in all types and sizes, it amazingly was a 60MM scope that had the best picture. Maybe not the most detail, but the most pleasing. I cant imagine why anywone would buy a SCT, since Refractors blow them away and they are not suited to deep sky observing. SVANH@TIR.COM 

I've owned over 50 scopes and have never had a smaller scope beat a larger one on any object. I just did a side by side with 3 scopes. A MacCass, an SCT and a Tak 102. The SCT showed MUCH more detail on Saturn than the others.
Celestron GPC-102ED
Purchased the OTA used for substancially less than the quoted price on this page. Was expecting some color on the limb of the moon and bright stars but was surprised and elated to find non. The optics are very sharp and color free. It was only on a direct comparison with a 4" AP and Tak, that I could see a slight difference. Without a direct comparison, anybody would be hard pressed to say which scope was better. The Celestrons are not built as well as the AP or the Tak, but a friend of mine who has been into astronomy for more years than he will admit, has noted that the two most important features in selecting a scope are its optics and mount. Everything else is optional and just nice to have. I agree... Extremely happy with my purchase, will recommend this scope to anybody wanting a good refractor, without spending the money on one of the premium scopes.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38901

Celestron GPC-102ED
Great apochromatic scope! The ED glass used in the doublet objective does a great job in suppressing false color, chromatic aberation and glare. No sign of
spherical aberation or astigmatism. Star test was perfect. I saw details on the
moon, Saturn, Jupiter and even a few deep sky objects that were invisible in my
8" SCT and 10" dobsonian. My only "complaints" are that the finderscope is somewhat small for a scope of this quality and the tripod could stand to be a bit taller. But I still think this is a great buy given the scope's premium optical performance and silky smooth mount.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38900

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