Finding objects with a manual telescope: the options

There are five common ways to find a faint object with a telescope you move by hand. They differ in what they cost, what has to be on the telescope, and what you have to do each night. Zenigo is one of them.

	How it knows where the telescope points	What it needs on the telescope	Cost (as seen in October 2026)	Which telescopes	Each night
Zenigo	The phone camera photographs the sky and matches the stars; the motion sensor carries the position while you push	A phone in any steady holder	Free	Telescopes moved by hand, best on alt-az mounts (details)	Locate at the start and again near each target (or Continuous); the eyepiece point is set once per holder
Celestron StarSense Explorer	The same principle: the phone sits in a dock over a mirror and the app recognises the stars [1]	A StarSense Explorer telescope, which has the dock built in	The telescopes from US$249.95 (LT 80AZ) to US$1,599 (12″ Dobsonian), Celestron US list prices [2]	Only StarSense Explorer models: refractors, Newtonians and a 5″ Schmidt-Cassegrain on alt-az mounts, tabletop and full-size Dobsonians [1]	No star alignment, according to Celestron [1]
Encoder push-to kit	Encoders measure how far each axis of the mount has turned	An encoder on each axis, a small computer or Bluetooth/Wi-Fi box, power; often a phone or tablet with a planetarium app	Omegon Push+ Go: €269.00 at Telescoop.nl [3]. Nexus DSC Pro: US$399.95–459.90, encoders not included; encoder kit US$219.95–299.95 [4] [5]. SkySafari 8 Plus US$19.99, Pro US$34.99 [6] [7]	The mounts a kit is made for, mostly Dobsonians of certain makes [3]	Two-star alignment [8]
GoTo mount	Motors with encoders; after an alignment the mount drives to the object and follows it	A motorised mount instead of the manual one, with batteries or a power supply	Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi with tripod: €485 at Robtics [9]	Telescopes within the mount’s payload	Alignment in the SynScan app, for example on the brightest star or by north and level [9]
Star hopping	You: from a bright star along a chart to the target, with a red-dot finder or Telrad	A finder; a star atlas or a planetarium app	Telrad: €65 at bresser.de (currently unavailable there) [10]	Any	Nothing to set up

Prices are those shown on the linked pages in October 2026, in the currency shown there; they change, so check before buying. Some products are sold in several versions and kits; the table names examples.

When Zenigo fits

You already have a telescope you move by hand and don’t want to buy hardware for it: a phone holder is enough.
You want more than the way to the target: which objects suit your aperture and are well placed tonight, an eyepiece view oriented like yours, the best of your eyepieces for each object, a plan and a logbook.
You use several telescopes: the phone moves from one to the next, and each holder only needs its offset set once.

When something else fits better

Encoders measure the mount itself. They don’t need a view of the sky between alignments, don’t drift while you push, and leave the phone free. If you observe often with one Dobson that a kit is made for, they are the most robust push-to.
StarSense Explorer is a complete package if you are buying a first telescope anyway: telescope, dock and app are made for each other, and there is little to set up: the phone is aligned with the telescope once, which Celestron calls quick and easy.
A GoTo mount drives to the object and follows it as the sky turns. That matters at high magnification on planets and for photography, where Zenigo, like any push-to, leaves the tracking to you.
Star hopping needs no battery and teaches you the sky. Many observers combine it with any of the above.

Zenigo’s limits

The phone camera has to see about ten stars, so a part of the sky without clouds, trees or the Moon in the image.
Between two Locates the motion sensor carries the position and drifts a little over long moves. Locate again near the target, or turn on Continuous.
The holder has to stay put. If it moves, set the eyepiece point again.
The phone on the telescope uses its battery: take a power bank on long nights.

More: Which telescopes work · Features · FAQ

Sources

StarSense and StarSense Explorer are trademarks of Celestron, LLC. Nexus DSC is a product of Astro Devices, Push+ Go of Omegon, AZ-GTi and SynScan of Sky-Watcher, SkySafari of Simulation Curriculum, Telrad of its respective owner. Zenigo is not affiliated with any of them.