Reddit reviews Celestron 93588 Astro Night Vision Flashlight

The telescope is definitely going to come with a collimating device of some sort. I've only ever used a laser collimator, so I'm not sure how hard other collimating devices are to use. It never takes me more than 5 minutes to collimate my dob though.

I would get a 2x barlow (this one is pretty nice and also cheap), and some gold-line eyepieces. They're recommneded often on here because they're not too expensive but still pretty good. I would maybe get maybe the 15 mm and 6 mm. Those combined with the scope eyepieces and the barlow should give you all the magnifications you could want.

Whether a solar filter is worth it is entirely up to you. However, just note that if you don't want to put in $100s of dollars, you're pretty much limited to something made with Solar Filter Film or a basic glass filter. The views you get from that are definitely nice, but it might not be what you're expecting. You'll see something like this with those filters.

If the scope doesn't come with a 0 magnification red-dot finder scope, you might want to get one. Telrads are considered one of the best one's on the market (and I love mine to death), but they can be a bit pricey. A cheaper red dot finder scope (like this one) should also serve you just fine.

Besides that, I would definitely recommend getting the book Turn Left at Orion. It's essentially the complete beginners guide to all things Amateur Astronomy. It's absolutely fantastic.

One small other thing I can think of is a red-light flashlight (like this). It's definitely not necessary, but it's nice to be able to look at things in the dark without losing your night vision too much.

Maintaining your dark adaptation is critical and you'll eventually learn this as you start looking for fainter and fainter things. Any light will affect your dark adaption so you need to use as little light as possible to accomplish whatever task you need to carry out (check charts, find controls on scope, etc.).

Ideally you want to find a light that dims, and that dims to a extremely low level. I have yet to come across a non-astronomy tailored light that is suitable. What is key is how dim the light is, not just that it's red. A red light that is too bright is just a bad as a bright white light.

Here are a couple lights that will do the job:
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-93588-Astro-Vision-Flashlight/dp/B0000665V5
http://www.amazon.com/Rigel-Systems-Skylite-Switchable-Flashlight/dp/B000B5AQL2

It's a simple dim flashlight for reading star charts in the dark without ruining your dark vision. Red light preserves dark vision, but many of the inexpensive astronomy lights out there have 6 or 9 leds or so, which is just too bright. This gives off just enough light to read a page at a time in complete darkness.

A similarly dim commercial light is the Celestron Astro Flashlight which gets average reviews.

There are many alternatives, such as bike lights, converting regular flashlights with tail light film, nail polish, etc. There are also various diy lights like Altoids mint tin lights, etc. This is a version of that, but as barebones and as inexpensive as it gets, for a fairly decent light.

No worries, busy time for sure! I'm pretty new to Telescopes myself, my family got me my XT8 for my First Father's day this year. I've done a ton of research since then, and am always excited to share knowledge. Not a lot of people I know share my hobbies, so you can private message me anytime and I'll have fun giving advice or discussing it.

If you don't buy the XT8 off Craigslist, I'd recommend from their [Clearance page](https://www.telescope.com/2nd-Orion-SkyQuest-XT8-Classic-Dobsonian-Telescope/p/102342.uts). It's mostly returns that they've thoroughly inspected and come with a 1 year warranty. That's how I got mine and it was in New Condition, usually around 25% off.

Planets like Jupiter and Saturn are easy, they are typically the brightest objects in the sky so you really only need a phone app to tell you what days they will be in the night sky. I really like the Stellarium app, I paid for the full version but I think the free is still really good. Deep space objects (called DSOs) are things like Nebula, Galaxies and Star Clusters. Finding these can be like finding a needle in a haystack with how big our night sky is. For this I would highly recommend the book [Turn Left at Orion]( https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundreds-Telescope/dp/1108457568/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=turn+left+at+orion&qid=1575054480&sr=8-1 ). Apps can help find these things, but looking at a phone can make you lose your night vision and you don't pick up as much detail in these DSOs. It is recommended to only use red light when using a telescope which doesn't hurt your night vision, eventually you'll want a red flashlight, [I use this one]( https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-93588-Astro-Vision-Flashlight/dp/B0000665V5/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=celestron+red+light&qid=1575054716&sr=8-2 ) which works best if you put opaque tape over the clear window in front to diffuse the light.

As far as finding objects goes you'll use a couple of things. Every telescope has a finder scope of some sort. The XT8 has a red dot finder scope, which is a little window you look through on the outside of the scope and it superimposes a red dot on the object you're looking for. So if you put the red dot on the moon say, and then look through your actual eyepiece you should be looking at the moon. It's similar to a rifle scope. For DSOs you will do what is called Star Hopping. You find a bright star that is near by what you are looking for. Then you find dimmer stars that you can still see with the naked eye. Usually I find two stars that are on either side of the object then estimate where the object should be, put my red dot here and then do a little scanning with the telescope until I find what I'm looking for. Use a low magnification lens (like the 25mm) to search. There's more scientific ways to do it, but it works for me every time. Takes some practice. It's also confusing in that if you move the scope one way, it might make the image in the scope move the opposite direction. It takes practice and patience, but with time it becomes 2nd nature.

The included 10mm and 25mm are pretty good for planets and the moon, but will fall short for DSOs. If you're willing to spend another ~$100 dollars right out the gate on accessories I'd buy a [zoom lens]( https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-93230-24mm-1-25-Eyepiece/dp/B0007UQNV8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=8-24+zoom&qid=1575055505&sr=8-1) that allows you to change the magnification and an [eyepiece that provides higher magnification]( https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B07JWDFMZ4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=svbony%2B6&qid=1575055611&sr=8-1&th=1) (get the 6 mm option) than the zoom or the provided lenses. Later, if you want to spend another ~$130 on more options at eyepiece I'd by the 9mm option from the 2nd link there and a [wide angle lens]( https://www.amazon.com/Agena-Super-Wide-Angle-Eyepiece/dp/B00YO60I9E/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=agena+32&qid=1575055724&sr=8-2) that makes it easier to find objects by showing more of the night sky. When in comes to eyepieces, make sure you know the math of magnification. You take the Focal Length of the scope, 1200mm for the XT8, and divide it by the number in mm on an eyepiece. I.e. a 12 mm eyepiece would be 1200/12 = 100x magnification. Don't bother with Barlows, a Zoom takes care of that by giving you an infinite spectrum between 50 - 150x and the 6 mm gives your 200x. That is plenty for basically all viewing conditions.

The [Moon Brightness Filter]( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076MP3T66/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) is nice if the Moon hurts your eyes to look at, but it might be worth just looking at the moon first before spending the $20. You can't actually hurt your eyes looking, but it can definitely shock your eye. Also, higher magnification always means dimmer so zooming in can naturally act as a filter. I wouldn't bother with other filters. Most are crap and don't contribute much.

In summary: To really feel prepared when going out for the first time you should have a book that you studied ahead of time for what you want to look for (The book is broken down by Season and what is viewable during that time) and a red light to see the book. The provided 25mm will be okay to search with, and the 10mm will let you see more of it, but you will want something better soon like the zoom or the 6mm Svbony lens. Make sure your Telescope is [collimated]( https://lovethenightsky.com/telescope-collimation-for-complete-beginners/) and your finder scope is lined up with your scope (the Telescope manual walks through this, do it during the day). Bring chairs and warm clothing. Lastly bring your patience. Hope this was helpful with how long it was, and I hope you and your kiddo have a ball!

Would love this to help preserve my night vision while looking through my telescope!

I was looking into these a while back as a way to preserve most of one's fully adjusted night vision and still create a smidge of light to find a dropped quartz crystal:

Celestron 93588 Astro Night Vision Flashlight (dimmable) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000665V5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QI5PDbA85GE70

Carson RedSight Pro - Red LED Flashlight (Two Brightness Settings) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY4WIW9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rI5PDb46CZA1P

They could be used first, then stepped up gradually with one of these:

ULAZNI CardLite LED Video Light on Camera - Rechargeable Built-in Battery CRI 95 Photo Light with 12 Color Gels https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GZCYQ2J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rJ5PDbFXKEHP5

Rechargeble 96 LED Video Light,Ulanzi Pocket Mini on Camera Led Light with 2500mAh Battery and Magnet Filters https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFBWT7S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_fK5PDb99YSGC4

I've only invested about $300 into a scope, but when I drive out to a dark sky location I use a red light outside. I think it helps quite a bit. You can spend under 15 bucks for a red flashlight. I think your irises are faster at reacting to bright light (shrinking) vs. adapting to the darkness (opening wider). If you're taking the time up go to a dark sky location, you don't want to keep having your eyes readjust to the darkness because you're using a normal flashlight (blue light).

When your irises are open as wide as possible, they can gather more light, which means you can see more though the scope.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000665V5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Kw84Bb3Y610S5