The Big Bang Theory was one of the most popular shows on television. As this sitcom was about science nerds who are into particle physics, astrophysics, etc. So, it is necessary for the show to use telescopes in some of its scenes. The 4 main characters in the show are nerds and a nerd without a telescope doesn’t sound good. So, all 4 main characters in the show have a telescope. While watching the show many of you might have wondered “which telescope are they using in that scene?” or “Where can I buy such telescopes?” or “What objects Can I see with that telescope?”
So in this article, we will see the details of all the telescopes used in the Big Bang theory throughout the series.
Sheldon and Leonard’s Telescope.
Sheldon and Leonard live together in the same apartment. And you can see their Telescope in the background in all the living room scenes.
The telescope Sheldon & Leonard have is the Celestron NexStar 102 SLT. This is a refractor-type telescope. Has an aperture of 102mm and focal length of 660mm and a focal ratio of 6.5. The total weight of this telescope is 16lbs around 7kg.
The refractor telescope gives clear & crisp images and doesn’t suffer from chromatic aberrations. With this telescope, you can see the moon, Mars and Venus and their phases. You can see all the details of this telescope series in this article.
In some episodes, you can also see the different telescopes in Leonard and Sheldon’s living room.
This one is also a refractor-type telescope. The telescope in this scene looks like Meade’s 70mm alt-azimuth mount refractor telescope. This is also a beginner telescope. These small aperture beginner telescopes are usually good for viewing moons and bird watching. They are primarily made for extreme beginners or kids.
Howard’s Telescope.
Howard is an engineer and later he becomes an astronaut as well. In many scenes, you can also see the telescope by the left window in Howard’s bedroom.
The telescope is a small refractor-type telescope. The telescope also looks like a beginner telescope. It probably has an aperture of around 70-90mm. You can find similar beginner telescopes from many telescope manufacturers. These beginner telescopes are value for money. They are good for getting started with astronomy on a minimal budget.
Raj’s Telescope
Raj has portrayed the character of an astrophysicist. So the telescope is a part of his character. In many scenes, you can see the two telescopes are kept in Raj’s living room.
Refractor Telescope
The first telescope Raj owns is the refractor telescope. This refractor telescope looks more like a beginner telescope with an alt-azimuth mount. It probably has an aperture of 70-90 mm. Lots of companies make these beginner telescopes. As mentioned earlier you can find many telescopes like these in a very affordable price range.
Celestron NexStar 8SE
The second orange Telescope owned by Raj is the Celestron NexStar 8SE. You can see this telescope in many of the apartment scenes of Raj. In one episode they also showed him using this telescope. With the help of NexStar 8SE Raj shows Lucy the International Space Station passing overhead near Venus.
The NexStar 8SE is one of the most popular telescopes from Celestron and is very beginner friendly. The telescope is made for beginners to advanced levels of astronomers. The aperture of this Telescope is 8 inches and the focal length is 2032 mm its focal ratio is 10. The total weight of this telescope is 24lbs around 11kg.
With this telescope, you can see the planets in our solar system. The telescope is also good for deep space observation and you can see the Orion nebula, star clusters, and Andromeda galaxy with this telescope. As this is a computerized telescope you can also do the moon and planetary astrophotography with this telescope. For long-exposure astrophotography with this telescope, you need to mount this telescope in an equatorial mount. If you don’t know the different types of mounts then you should read “The Different types of mounts” article. The NexStar 8SE telescope is fastar compatible. You can remove the secondary mirror of this telescope to reduce the focal length. We have made a detailed video about this telescope. You can watch it here.
Celestron Ultima 2000
You can see a different telescope in other scenes of Raj’s apartment. This telescope does look like a Celestron’s Evolution series Telescope but this telescope has a double fork mount and all the Evolution series telescopes have a single fork mount.
Actually, this telescope is the “Celestron Ultima 2000 8-inch model”. This telescope is not produced by Celestron anymore. It was first released in 1996 & was the first telescope that ran on AA(double A) batteries. It had an aperture of 8 inches and a focal length of 2032mm & focal ratio of 10. The weight of the telescope was around 39 lbs.
As this was the first telescope that ran on AA batteries it allowed people to take this telescope to remote locations for their stargazing sessions. Celestron also announced that they would make the 11-inch version of this telescope but they didn’t. In 2009 when Celestron introduced Edge HD technology they discontinued the Ultima 2000 telescopes.
In the Big Bang theory, you will find this telescope in Raj’s apartment in the initial 3 to 4 seasons. The first four seasons of big bang theory were aired in the period from 2007 to 2010
Apartment Rooftop Scene 1
In another scene, where the guys plan a stargazing night to watch the planet Mercury at the greatest height of its elongation. You can see in the scene they are using a big telescope.
Celestron CPC 800 GPS XLT
The telescope they used in this scene is the “Celestron CPC 800 GPS XLT Computerized telescope”. Celestron also tweeted about this scene when this episode was aired.
This telescope was not seen in any of the other scenes of Raj’s apartment. But in the series, this telescope also belongs to Raj. Because in this scene, Penny specifically asks Raj “Why did he bring his telescope & not use Leonard’s telescope?”
This is a double fork mount Telescope. The fork mount is a different type of mount that is mostly used for heavy telescopes.
The CPC GPS XLT Computerized telescope comes in 3 different aperture sizes. They have an 8-inch aperture, a 9.25-inch aperture, and the biggest 11-inch aperture size in this telescope.
The telescope in the scene has an aperture of 8-inches and a focal length of 2032 mm. The focal ratio of this telescope is 10. The telescope has a built-in database of 40,000 celestial objects. The highest useful magnification of this telescope is 480 times and the lowest useful magnification is 29 times. The total weight of this telescope assembly is 61lbs around 28 kg.
The telescope has an in-built GPS. When you turn on the telescope, it will locate the longitude and latitude of your observing location without any input in less than a few minutes. The telescope is advanced, and an all-rounder telescope. You can do observation as well as astrophotography with this telescope. With “Celestron CPC 800 GPS XLT” you can see planets in our solar system and also many deep space objects such as galaxies, nebula & star clusters, etc. If you are very serious about astronomy then this telescope is for you.
Apartment Rooftop Scene 2
In one episode, where the guys are on the apartment’s rooftop & doing “The lunar ranging experiment”.
In this scene, the telescope with which Raj is watching “The Good Wife” on someone’s TV is Sheldon & Leonard’s Celestron NexStar 102SLT telescope. This is the same telescope that penny used to watch the entire episode of “The Bachelors” on the TV across the street.
The other telescope you can see in the scene is Raj’s telescope mentioned before. It is “Celestron CPC 800 GPS XLT” model.
CONCLUSION
| Sheldon & Leonard’s TELESCOPES | 1. Celestron NexStar 102SLT – BUY HERE |
| 2. Small RefractorTelscope – BUY HERE | |
| Howard’s Telescope | RefractorTelscope – BUY HERE |
| Raj’s Telescope | 1. RefractorTelscope – BUY HERE |
| 2. Celestron NexStar 8SE – BUY HERE | |
| 3. Celestron CPC 800 GPS XLT – BUY HERE | |
| 4. Celestron CPC 925 GPS XLT – BUY HERE | |
| 5. Celestron CPC 1100 GPS XLT – BUY HERE |
So overall, in the big bang theory, Leonard & Sheldon own two telescopes. But we never saw their two telescopes together in one scene.
Howard owns a small beginner refractor telescope.
And being the Astrophysicist Raj owns 4 telescopes out of which 3 are the most modern and professional telescopes.
If you are looking for a telescope specifically for astrophotography then you need to check this article. You can also find the best suitable telescope for you with our telescope suggestion tool.
