Meade ACF-SC 254/2032 UHTC Starlock LX850 GoTo Telescope

Meade's LX850 series telescopes represent the pinnacle of decades-long development, setting the gold standard for both astrophotography and visual performance while ensuring ease of use!

Meade ACF-SC telescopes:

Nearly every major telescope worldwide, including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, utilizes the Ritchey-Chrétien design. Now, this professional-grade technology is accessible to ambitious amateur astronomers, astrophotographers, and CCD photographers alike, thanks to Meade's groundbreaking Advanced Coma-Free System. This powerful and high-precision system delivers impeccably sharp star images, rivaling those achieved in top-tier observatories. The key to the coma-free system lies in its name - the complete absence of coma, an optical aberration that distorts starlight, creating comet-like tails outside the central image. Whether for observation or photography, Meade's ACF Cassegrain optics surpass conventional telescopes, offering unparalleled image quality comparable to Ritchey Chrétien telescopes and other high-end systems at a fraction of the cost.

Advanced Coma-free Optics (ACF): Meade's ACF optical design eradicates typical mirror optic aberrations, ensuring stars remain point-like across the entire image field, free from elongated comet-like distortions. The flatter image field compared to classic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes further enhances performance, particularly in astrophotographic applications.

Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC): The special multi-layer coating applied to the front correction plate enhances light transmission by up to 15%, resulting in brighter star clusters, finer nebulae details, and enhanced planetary surface features.

Crayford Style and Micro Focuser: Focusing in the LX850 is a breeze, with the primary mirror adjustment eliminating the tilting issue often encountered in simple telescopes. The addition of a 1:7 Micro Focus further refines focusing precision, essential for photography. The motorized Micro Focuser, controllable via the handbox, allows for exact focusing adjustments tailored to your photographic needs.

Meade LX850 Mount with StarLock: Crafted from high-strength aluminum and stainless steel, the LX850 equatorial mount provides a precision tracking platform suitable for larger telescopes. The mount's accuracy is attributed to its large 147mm worm wheels and 17mm worm gears. Supported by GPS, the AutoStar II computer control system effortlessly positions the telescope on any of the 144,000 astronomical objects within its database.

StarLock: This integrated camera and control system performs three critical functions:

• Periodic error correction (PEC)
• Precise GoTo positioning
• Auto-guiding for astrophotography with sub-arcsecond accuracy

The two StarLock cameras, with their distinct optics, work harmoniously together. The wide-field camera facilitates rough positioning, while the near-field camera achieves precise object alignment with up to one arcminute accuracy. Alignment is streamlined through these cameras, ensuring optimal GoTo accuracy by centering alignment stars in the field of view.

StarLock operates via permanent and automatic auto-guiding for maximum tracking precision. Upon returning to tracking mode after slewing, the near-field camera automatically searches for a suitable guide star down to a minimum brightness of 11 magnitude, providing continuous tracking until the telescope moves again.

The Drift Alignment Assistant simplifies polar alignment when utilizing StarLock on an equatorial mount. By slewing to a matching star, capturing a 30-second exposure using the wide-field camera, and calculating the telescope's exact deviation from the true celestial pole, precise alignment is achieved, ensuring perfect azimuth axis alignment.

Included Accessories:

• Finder Scope: 8x50
• 1.25'' Eyepieces: 25mm
• Counterweights (kg): 2x12
• Deviating Optics: 2", 90° Star Diagonal
• Eyepiece Adaptor: 1.25" - 2"

Specifications:

Optics:

Type: Reflector

Build Type: ACF-Cassegrain

Aperture (mm): 254

Focal Length (mm): 2032

Aperture Ratio (f/): 8

Resolving Capacity: 0.45

Limit Value (mag): 13.8

Light Gathering Capacity: 1320

Tube Weight (kg): 15

Tube Construction: Full tube

Tube Material: Aluminum

Coating: UHTC

Focuser:

Type of Build: Crayford

Connection (to eyepiece): 2"

Gear Reduction: 1:7 fine focusing

Motorized: Yes

Mount:

Mounting Type: Equatorial

Type of Build: LX850

GoTo Control: Yes

Cable Guide: Internal

Load Capacity (kg): 41

Mounting Saddle: Losmandy-Style

Weight (kg): 25

Power Supply: 12V

Motors: Servomotors

Encoder: Yes

Polar Elevation Setting (°): 10 - 70

Internal Clock: Yes

General:

Series: LX850

Area of Application:

Astrophotography: Yes (very good)

Moon & Planets: Yes

Nature Observation: No

Nebulae & Galaxies: Yes

Sun: No

Recommended For:

Beginners: No

Advanced: Yes

Observatories: No

Miscellaneous:

Battery Type: Baby (C, LR14)