Meade's LX850 series telescopes are the culmination of decades of development, the gold standard for astrophotographic and visual performance with ease of use!
Meade ACF-SC telescopes:
Almost every large telescope worldwide is a Ritchey-Chrétien, including NASA's Hubble space telescope. The technology used by the pros can now belong to you too. Meade's new Advanced Coma-Free System - powerful and high-precision - is within the reach of all ambitious amateur astronomers, astrophotographers and CCD photographers! It provides perfectly sharp star images, at the highest professional observatory level, over the entire field of view. The secret of coma-free system is - as the name says - the complete absence of coma, an optical aberration in which starlight is distorted and pulled into comet-like tails outside the central part of the image. Whether for observing or photography, the ACF Cassegrain optics from Meade is way ahead of conventional mass produced telescopes. It offers fantastic image quality, previously only available from Ritchey Chrétien telescopes and other exotic systems costing several times as much as the Meade system.
Advanced Coma-free Optics (ACF): Meade's ACF optical design eliminates the typical aberrations of all mirror optics. Thanks to ACF, the stars are also point-shaped right out to the edge of the image field, displaying no elongated comet-like distortions. The image field is flatter than that of classic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. ACF optical systems show their strengths especially in astrophotographic applications.
Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC): This special multi-layer coating on the front correction plate provides up to 15% more light transmission. The result -brighter star clusters, finer details in nebulae and more surface detail on planets!
Crayford style and Micro Focuser: As usual with SC optics, focusing is carried out by adjusting the primary mirror. In the case of simple telescopes this can cause the mirror to tilt, which is noticeable as a shift in the image. This problem is not only completely eliminated in the LX850 but, with a 1:7 Micro Focus, it is also particularly sensitive! The exact focus that you need for photography can be adjusted using the motorised Micro Focuser which is controlled using the handbox.
Meade LX850 mount with StarLock: The new Meade LX850 high-strength aluminium and stainless steel equatorial mount provides a precision tracking platform which is also suitable for larger telescopes. This accuracy is due to the large 147mm worm wheels and 17mm worm gears. The GPS supported AutoStar II computer control system can position the telescope on any of a large database of 144,000 astronomical objects.
Starlock is a camera and control system that performs three important functions
- Periodic error correction (PEC)
- precise GoTo positioning
- auto-guiding for astrophotography with an accuracy of less than one arcsecond
- The two Starlock cameras with their different optics function perfectly together. The wide-field camera provides a rough positioning. The near-field camera can then position objects with an accuracy of up to one arcminute.
- Alignment also takes place via these two cameras. They bring the necessary alignment stars to the very centre of the field of view, as the basis for optimal GoTo.
- StarLock works using permanent and automatic auto-guiding for maximum tracking accuracy. As soon as the telescope returns to tracking mode after a slew (for example, after positioning an astronomical object), the near-field camera automatically searches for a suitable guide star down to a minimum brightness of 11 magnitude. This is then tracked as until the telescope is moved again.
- The Drift Alignment Assistant makes an optimal polar alignment possible when operating Starlock on an equatorial mount - the telescope slews to a matching star. A 30-second long exposure using the wide-field camera is used to calculate the exact deviation of the telescope from the true celestial pole. The mount then uses previously calculated true position. With the help of the fine adjustment on the polar wedge, the telescope can now be exactly aligned to this point - alignment of the azimuth axis is now perfect!
- Data for StarLock cameras
- wide-field camera - lens diameter is 25mm, focal length is 26mm f/1.04, 1/2 CMOS sensor, field of view is 14.72°x11.78°
- near-field camera - lens diameter is 80mm, focal length is 400mm f/5, 1/2 CMOS sensor, field of view id 57.2 'x 45.8'
- weight 2.7kg
Note: The cameras are only for alignment and control of the telescope. You cannot read out their images. Doing astrophotography requires a separate camera.
It not only matters which telescope you buy but also where you buy it. Our additional services:
- We are a leading telescope dealer and know the devices we sell. Our customer service team will gladly help you after your purchase if you have problems with assembly or operation.
- We provide a copy of the 80-page "Telescope ABC" beginners handbook with every telescope.
