Celestron · Newtonian
Celestron 114LCM
GoTo automation meets a capable 114mm Newtonian, making it easier to find your first thousand objects.
Performance Scores
Overview
The Celestron 114LCM is a computerized Newtonian reflector aimed at beginners who want help finding objects without spending hours with star charts. The 114mm aperture and 1000mm focal length (f/8.8) give you enough light-gathering to resolve lunar craters, Saturn's rings, Jupiter's cloud bands, and brighter deep-sky objects like the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy. The real draw here is the GoTo mount, which can automatically slew to over 4,000 objects once aligned using Celestron's SkyAlign procedure, a process that requires pointing at just three bright objects in the sky.
At 5.99kg total, the setup is portable enough to move between a backyard and a darker site, though the alt-az mount means no drift compensation for long-exposure astrophotography. Casual planetary and lunar imaging is possible with a phone adapter, but this scope is primarily a visual instrument. The included 25mm and 9mm eyepieces cover a useful range of magnifications.
The hand controller's Sky Tour feature is genuinely helpful for beginners who are not sure where to start on a given night. With nearly 1,000 Amazon reviews averaging 4.1 out of 5, it holds up reasonably well in real-world use.
At a Glance
114mm
Aperture
f/8.8
Focal Ratio
5.99kg
Weight
1000mm
Focal Length
Specifications
Key Features
- 114mm aperture collects enough light for planets, bright nebulae, and star clusters under suburban skies
- GoTo system locates over 4,000 objects automatically after a straightforward three-star alignment
- Sky Tour feature suggests the best visible objects for your specific time and location
- Two eyepieces (25mm and 9mm) provide a practical range from wide-field to moderate magnification
- Alt-az computerized mount tracks objects once found, keeping them centered without manual adjustment
- Compact enough at under 6kg to transport to darker sites when suburban light pollution limits views
- Free Starry Night software download helps with session planning and learning the night sky
Customer Reviews
978 reviews
Excellent little telescope! The best thing about it is the automated sky tracking. The telescope will track with most objects for quite a while before getting off. This telescope is also fairly compact which is great when going through a doorway. While I had some difficulty getting it to "skyalign" ...
Well built scope that meets the needs of a novice astronomer. The supplied equipment lacks a moon filter which is a necessity for viewing. This should be purchased at the same time. The computerized locator is easy to use and easily set up. We have used the telescope half a dozen times since purchas...
Really drains AA batteries, get yourself a rechargeable lithium pack. some drift in the tracking mechanism, but can keep saturn somewhat in center view inside the eyepice, really good at finding stuff from built in memory catalog if you live in a dirty and illuminated sky city,. You wouldn't find it...