Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ: How the Smartphone-Guided Reflector Works

The Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ is a 114 mm (4.5 inch) reflector that uses your smartphone to tell you where to point it. It is a manual telescope with no motors, but the StarSense Explorer app turns the phone into a guide that shows arrows on screen until you reach your target. This page expands an earlier short post into a full guide, with specifications checked against Celestron’s product page. One correction: the earlier post described “dual-axis slow-motion controls”, but Celestron’s current page describes a slow-motion adjustment on the altitude axis only, using a sliding rod.

How StarSense Explorer works

Celestron explains the idea like this. You place your phone in a dock on the telescope, and the app analyses the star patterns overhead to work out where the telescope is pointing in real time. It then:

• Generates a list of objects currently visible from your location
• Shows on-screen arrows telling you which way to move the telescope
• Turns the on-screen bullseye green when the target is ready to view

The app is powered by SkySafari. Celestron says it works with most modern smartphones, listing Android 12 and later and iOS 18 and newer (iPhone XR and newer). Check Celestron’s full compatibility list before you buy.

Verified specifications

From Celestron’s StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ product page:

• Optical design: Newtonian reflector with a spherical primary mirror
• Aperture: 114 mm (4.5 in)
• Focal length: 1000 mm; focal ratio f/9
• Eyepieces: 25 mm (40x) and 10 mm (100x)
• 2x Barlow lens
• StarPointer red-dot finder
• StarSense Explorer phone dock
• Highest / lowest useful magnification: 269x / 16x
• Limiting stellar magnitude: 12.8
• Optical tube: 24 in long, 6.6 lb
• Mount: manual altazimuth with an altitude slow-motion adjustment on a sliding rod
• Total kit weight: 10.4 lb

What is a Newtonian reflector?

Instead of a lens, a Newtonian reflector uses a curved mirror at the bottom of the tube to gather light. A small flat mirror near the top sends the light out through the side of the tube to the eyepiece. Mirrors are cheaper to make in large sizes than lenses, which is why a 114 mm reflector costs about the same as a much smaller refractor.

Reflectors occasionally need collimation, which is a small adjustment to keep the mirrors lined up. This is a simple skill to learn, and the telescope’s manual explains it.

Using the eyepieces and Barlow

With a 1000 mm focal length:

• 25 mm eyepiece: 40x. Wide, bright views. Start every session here.
• 10 mm eyepiece: 100x. Good for the Moon, planets and double stars.
• 25 mm + 2x Barlow: 80x, a handy in-between power.
• 10 mm + 2x Barlow: 200x. This is within Celestron’s 269x highest useful figure, but it needs steady air to look sharp.

What can you see?

Celestron says you can view planets, brighter nebulae and galaxies, star clusters and double stars from the city, with fainter deep-sky objects from darker skies. Typical highlights include:

• The Moon’s craters and mountains
• Jupiter’s cloud belts and four bright moons
• Saturn’s rings
• The Orion Nebula and bright star clusters
• The Andromeda Galaxy as an oval glow from darker sites

Beginner tips

• Calibrate the app first. Follow the app’s instructions to align the phone dock with the telescope. Doing this in daylight on a distant object can help, then finish at night as the app directs.
• Use the red-dot finder too. The StarPointer helps for very bright targets like the Moon.
• Let the mirror cool. Reflectors give steadier images once the mirror has reached outdoor temperature.
• Never point at the Sun without a certified solar filter covering the front of the tube.

Who is it for?

The LT 114AZ suits beginners who want help finding objects without paying for a motorised GoTo telescope, and who already own a compatible smartphone. It is light enough to carry outside in one trip, and the app makes the first nights far less frustrating than star-hopping with a paper chart.

Quick summary

• 114 mm Newtonian, 1000 mm focal length, f/9.
• 25 mm (40x) and 10 mm (100x) eyepieces, 2x Barlow, StarPointer finder and phone dock.
• The StarSense Explorer app, powered by SkySafari, guides you with on-screen arrows.
• Works with most modern phones (Android 12+ and iOS 18+); check Celestron’s list.
• Kit weight 10.4 lb.