
Celestron Evolution 8 HD with Starsense
Celestron Evolution 8 HD with Starsense
What is the difference between the Celestron Evolution 8 HD and Celestron Evolution 8 SCT? In technical specifications and visuals, what are the differences?
10 months ago
The main difference between the Celestron Evolution 8 HD and the Celestron Evolution 8 SCT lies in the optical features and additional functionality.
## Optics
- The Celestron Evolution 8 HD uses an aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain (EdgeHD) design, which includes corrective lenses inside the baffle tube to compensate for aberrations at the edges of the field of view, which are characteristic of standard Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. This improvement reduces field curvature and coma, providing greater optical clarity, especially with wide-angle eyepieces.
- The Celestron Evolution 8 SCT, on the other hand, uses a traditional Schmidt-Cassegrain design without the integrated corrective lenses.
## Additional Features
- The HD model also includes HEPA-filtered winds to speed up the cooling time of the telescope, which can improve optical performance during observation.
- The HD model is compatible with the Celestron 8" EdgeHD f/7 focal reducer and the HyperStar f/2 conversion kit, offering more flexibility for astrophotography.
## Other Differences
- The Evolution 8 HD model usually includes the StarSense AutoAlign camera, which simplifies telescope alignment and improves tracking accuracy, although this can be added to the standard model as an accessory.
## Visual
- The view through the Evolution 8 HD telescope will generally be clearer and without the aberrations at the edges of the field of view present in the standard model. However, for most casual observers, the difference may not be immediately apparent, especially if wide-angle eyepieces are not used.
In summary, the Celestron Evolution 8 HD offers better optical performance thanks to its integrated corrective lenses, mechanical improvements such as HEPA-filtered winds, and often includes the StarSense AutoAlign camera, whereas the standard model Evolution 8 SCT lacks these advanced features.