Telescope Comparison
Celestron NexStar 5SE vs Celestron NexStar Evolution 6
The price gap is real. The question is whether the extra capability is worth it at your stage.
First light
Celestron · 125mm · £799
The automated deep-sky platform
- 125mm schmidt-cassegrain on a computerised mount with motorised tracking
- Good for: Moon, planets, bright nebulae, star clusters, and deep-sky objects
- GoTo system finds any object in its database after initial star alignment — no star atlas needed
- Tracking motors keep objects centred as Earth rotates — useful above 100×, essential for photography
- 9.8kg total — requires a fixed garden spot or car transport
Celestron · 150mm · £1,299
The automated deep-sky platform
- 150mm schmidt-cassegrain on a computerised mount with motorised tracking
- Good for: Moon, planets, bright nebulae, star clusters, and deep-sky objects
- GoTo system finds any object in its database after initial star alignment — no star atlas needed
- Tracking motors keep objects centred as Earth rotates — useful above 100×, essential for photography
- 12.5kg total — requires a fixed garden spot or car transport
The full picture
The numbers that separate these two scopes — and what they mean at the eyepiece.
Aperture
Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 gathers 1.4× more light. On bright targets — Moon, Saturn, Jupiter — you won't notice. On fainter targets — dim galaxies, faint globular clusters — the gap is real.
Focal length
Celestron NexStar Evolution 6's longer focal length reaches higher magnification with the same eyepiece — better reach for planetary detail. Celestron NexStar 5SE's shorter focal length gives a wider true field — better for large open clusters and extended nebulae.
Focal ratio
Same focal ratio — the same eyepiece gives equivalent magnification and true field in both scopes.
Mount type
Same mount type — setup experience and ergonomics will be similar. Differences lie in build quality and included accessories.
Weight (OTA)
Similar optical tube weight. Any portability difference between these setups comes from the mount, not the tube itself.
Optical design
Both Schmidt-Cassegrain designs — versatile, compact, good for planets and deep-sky. Differences come from aperture and mount.
At the eyepiece
| Target | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Planets | ||
| Moon | Excellent 125mm aperture and f/10 focal ratio reward high-magnification lunar detail — craters, rilles, and shadow features are crisp and well-defined | Excellent 150mm aperture at f/10 delivers superb high-magnification lunar detail — rilles, crater chains, and mountain shadows are crisp |
| Saturn | Good Rings clearly defined, Cassini Division visible in good seeing; 125mm aperture just misses the top tier but 1250mm focal length suits planetary scale | Excellent 150mm aperture and 1500mm focal length resolve the Cassini Division and subtle cloud banding in good seeing |
| Jupiter | Good Two or more cloud belts, Great Red Spot, and Galilean moon shadows visible; focal length supports 200×+ comfortably | Excellent Multiple cloud belts, GRS, and moon shadow transits visible at 150–250x |
| Mars | Moderate Polar cap and major albedo features visible at opposition; 125mm aperture limits fine surface detail | Good 150mm aperture shows dark albedo features and polar cap at opposition; surface detail improves with a red filter |
Deep sky | ||
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Good Bright core and Trapezium well resolved, but 1250mm focal length and f/10 ratio crop the full extent of the nebulosity | Good Core and trapezium resolved well, but 1500mm focal length crops the full nebula extent |
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Moderate 1250mm focal length shows only the bright core; the galaxy's full 3° extent is far wider than the eyepiece field | Moderate 1500mm focal length shows only the bright core — the outer halo and companion galaxies overfill the field |
| Open clusters | Moderate Many open clusters overfill the narrow field of view; best suited to compact clusters like M37 or M11 | Moderate Narrow field crops large clusters like the Pleiades; compact clusters like M11 fare better |
| Globular clusters | Moderate Granular texture visible in M13 and M3 at high power, but 125mm aperture cannot fully resolve individual stars across the core | Good 150mm resolves outer stars in M13 and M92; cores remain granular but impressive |
| Faint galaxies | Moderate 125mm gathers enough light for dozens of Messier and brighter NGC galaxies as small fuzzy patches; limited detail | Good 150mm gathers enough light for M51, M81/M82, and other Messier galaxies as soft glows with some structure hints |
| Milky Way / wide field | Not recommended 1250mm focal length gives far too narrow a field for sweeping star fields or Milky Way context | Not recommended 1500mm focal length is far too narrow for sweeping star fields — field of view under 1° |
Other | ||
| Double stars | Excellent 125mm aperture and f/10 focal ratio produce clean, tight Airy discs — resolves pairs down to about 1 arcsecond | Excellent 150mm aperture at f/10 cleanly splits sub-arcsecond pairs; diffraction-limited performance rewards tight doubles |
| Astrophotography (deep sky) | Moderate Alt-az GoTo mount tracks but introduces field rotation, limiting useful exposures to a few seconds; suited to EAA or lucky imaging, not long-exposure work | Moderate Alt-az GoTo mount limits exposures to ~15–30 seconds before field rotation becomes apparent; bright targets only |
| Astrophotography (planetary) | Moderate 1250mm focal length and tracking mount suit webcam/planetary camera stacking; 125mm aperture is the limiting factor for fine detail | Good 150mm at 1500mm focal length with GoTo tracking is well suited to lucky imaging with a planetary camera |
The real tradeoff
Both scopes are capable. The question is which one fits the way you actually observe.
Celestron NexStar 5SE
- You'll carry the whole rig out in one trip — tube in one hand, tripod in the other — and be aligned and observing Saturn's rings in under ten minutes, which means you'll actually use it on a work night.
- You'll spend evenings chasing planets, double stars, and compact deep-sky targets through the GoTo database, but you'll learn to accept that M31 and the Pleiades are simply not this scope's territory — at 0.6° true field, you're seeing bright cores, not sweeping vistas.
- You'll curse the battery drawer after your second session in the cold and quickly buy a mains adapter or power tank, because 8 AAs vanish fast and a dead mount mid-session means re-aligning from scratch.
Celestron NexStar Evolution 6
- You'll pull out your phone, connect via WiFi, tap a target in the Celestron app, and watch the scope slew to it — no hand controller fumbling, no memorising button sequences — and that seamlessness keeps you observing instead of troubleshooting.
- You'll notice the extra 25mm of aperture most on deep-sky nights: M51's companion galaxy emerges as a distinct glow, M13 breaks into individual stars more convincingly, and faint fuzzies that were invisible in a 5-inch start to register — the jump from 125mm to 150mm is subtle on planets but real on galaxies.
- You'll need to budget 30–45 minutes of cooldown before the views settle, especially on planets — pull the scope outside early and let it equalise while you set up, or you'll watch Jupiter shimmer uselessly through tube currents.
The dark side
Every scope has a personality. Here’s where each one gets difficult.
Celestron
Celestron NexStar 5SE
The single-arm fork mount and plastic tripod legs create a vibration problem that's hard to ignore at high magnification — every focus adjustment or breeze sets the image wobbling for several seconds.
The supplied 25mm Plössl gives only ~0.6° true field, so most extended deep-sky objects are cropped to their bright cores, and there's no wide-field eyepiece in the box to compensate.
The alt-az GoTo mount introduces field rotation that limits deep-sky imaging to a few seconds per frame — this is a visual and planetary-video scope, not an astrophotography platform.
Celestron
Celestron NexStar Evolution 6
At ~13kg assembled, this is not a grab-and-go scope in the way the 5SE is — you're committing to a proper setup routine and likely leaving it in a shed or garage rather than a cupboard.
The 1500mm focal length gives roughly 0.8° true field with the supplied eyepiece, making manual star-hopping nearly impossible — if the GoTo alignment fails or loses sync, you're effectively stranded.
The built-in rechargeable battery is convenient until you forget to charge it: it takes several hours to top up via USB, and discovering a flat battery at sunset means a cancelled session or scrambling for a power bank.
Which is right for you?
Two different buyers. Two different right answers.
The automated deep-sky platform
Celestron · Celestron NexStar 5SE
You'll love the 5SE if you want a genuinely portable GoTo scope you can throw in a car boot or carry to a balcony on a whim, and your main targets are the Moon, planets, and compact deep-sky objects like globulars and planetary nebulae. If your budget is firm at around £800 and you value the discipline of actually getting the scope outside over having the largest possible aperture, this is the right call. This isn't for you if you crave wide-field deep-sky views, want to photograph galaxies, or find yourself frustrated by vibration at high power — every focus touch will test your patience.
The automated deep-sky platform
Celestron · Celestron NexStar Evolution 6
You'll love the Evolution 6 if you want the convenience of WiFi GoTo control on your phone, the built-in battery that eliminates cable clutter, and enough aperture to start pulling detail from galaxies and nebulae beyond what a 5-inch can show. If you're an intermediate observer who's settled into the hobby and ready to spend £1299 on a scope that rewards longer, more deliberate sessions, the extra aperture and modern electronics justify the price. This isn't for you if portability is your top priority — at 13kg it demands commitment — or if you want to sweep wide star fields and large nebulae, because the 1500mm focal length will feel like looking through a keyhole.
Our verdict
At £799 versus £1,299, the Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 costs 63% more. It delivers 25mm more aperture — a real and visible advantage on faint targets.
If budget is a genuine constraint, the Celestron NexStar 5SE will make you a happy observer. The Celestron NexStar Evolution 6's optical advantage on faint targets is real and you are unlikely to regret it if you can stretch. If I had to choose without knowing your situation: start with the Celestron NexStar 5SE, use it for a year, then upgrade knowing exactly what you want.
Celestron NexStar 5SE
View Celestron NexStar 5SE →Celestron NexStar Evolution 6
View Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 →Deep field: Full specifications
Every data point, for those who want to go further.
Full specifications
Fields highlighted in blue or amber indicate the better value for that spec. Data is manufacturer-stated and may vary.
How much can it see?
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
Apertureⓘ The most important spec — bigger = more light = better views | 125mm | 150mm |
Focal Length Longer = more magnification potential | 1250mm | 1500mm |
Focal Ratio Lower f-number = wider field of view; higher = more magnification per eyepiece | f/10 | f/10 |
Optical Design The type of optics — each design has different strengths | Schmidt-Cassegrain | Schmidt-Cassegrain |
Coatings Better coatings = more light transmission through the optics | StarBright XLT fully multi-coated on all optical surfaces | StarBright XLT fully multi-coated on all optical surfaces |
How do you point it?
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
Mount Type The mechanical system that holds and moves the telescope | GoTo (Computerised) | GoTo (Computerised) |
GoTo Computer-controlled pointing — finds any of thousands of objects automatically | ||
Tracking Motor keeps objects centred as the Earth rotates — essential for astrophotography |
The focuser
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
Focuser Size 2" accepts wider eyepieces and gives better low-power views | 1.25" | 1.25" |
Focuser Type Rack-and-pinion is standard; Crayford and dual-speed are smoother | SCT rear-cell focuser | SCT rear-cell focuser |
Size & weight
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
OTA Weightⓘ Optical tube only — useful for comparing mount load capacity | 2.7kg | 3.5kg |
Total Weightⓘ Full setup including mount — this is what you lug to the car | 9.8kg | 12.5kg |
Tube Length | 330mm | 394mm |
Tube Material | Aluminium | Aluminium |
What's in the box?
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
Eyepieces Included eyepieces — more is better, but quality matters more than quantity | 25mm Plössl | 25mm Plössl |
Finder Scope Helps you locate areas of the sky before switching to the main eyepiece | StarPointer red dot finder | StarPointer red dot finder |
Diagonal Tilts the eyepiece 90° for comfortable viewing — useful on refractors |
Smart features
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 5SE | Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 |
|---|---|---|
Built-in Camera Records and stacks images automatically — no separate camera needed | ||
App Controlled | ||
WiFi | ||
Battery Included |
Blue highlight: Celestron NexStar 5SE advantage · Amber highlight: Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 advantage · Greyed cells: equal or subjective.