Nexstar 8 Question

Can 2” accessories (i.e. diagonal, focuser, etc.) mount onto the rear cell of the original Celestron Nexstar 8? Any comments and / or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Paul

Yes. You will want either a 2-inch SCT diagonal or a 2-inch adapter/visual back and a refractor-type diagonal.

Most 2-inch Crayford focusers will screw directly on to the rear port.

Paul,

Shortly after I bought a C8 for my daughter several years ago, we found the need for a good 2" mirror diagonal to replace the original cheap 1-1/4" prism diagonal. I ended up buying her a William Optic 2" SCT mirror diagonal for about $130 new. (see attached photo) This WO diagonal was very nicely made, came with 2" to 1-1/4" adapter, has brass compression rings and a large ribbed ring which screwed directly onto the back of the C8 (after removing the visual back). This attachment system makes it easy to rotate and lock the diagonal to a different position.

This was not the expensive 99% reflectivity, dielectric, carbon fiber SCT diagonal that WO currently makes, but it still performs very well and is a nice addition to the C8. I would guess that you could find a used one here on Astromart for a very reasonable price.

As for the crayford focuser, we elected to live with the little bit of image shift using the stock Celestron focusing system. For visual use it's not that big of a deal.

Just passing this info along in case you're looking to keep costs down.

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