This Telescope’s Optical System . . . - Schmidt-Cassegrain optics: 12” aperture (3048mm focal length f/10). Fully-multicoated UHTC (Ultra High Transmission Coatings) optics with oversized primary mirror for the highest possible image brightness. Aluminum tube construction with glare-stop baffling. Guaranteed diffraction-limited performance. For more details, click on the “optics” icon above.
- Finderscope: 8 x 50mm straight-through achromatic design, with a 5° field of view and 12mm eye relief. It focuses by loosening the trim ring behind the objective lens cell, screwing the lens cell in or out to focus, and tightening the trim ring to lock in the correct focus.
- Star diagonal: 1.25” 90° prism type.
- Eyepiece: 1.25” 26mm Super Plössl (117x). The eyepiece field of view is 0.43°, over 80% the diameter of the full Moon, for eye-filling lunar and deep space views.
This Telescope’s Mount . . . - Fork mount/drive system: Die-cast aluminum drive base. Light-weight, but rigid, die-cast aluminum dual fork arms damp vibrations quickly. There is a carrying handle on each fork arm. The mount includes servo-controlled 12V DC slewing and tracking motors in both altitude and azimuth. The motors are powered by eight user-supplied C-cell batteries that fit into the drive base.
An optional #RCXAC adapter is available to power the scope from 110-120 volt 60 Hz AC household current in your back yard to conserve battery life. High capacity rechargeable 12 VDC battery packs are also available. For more details, click on the “mount” icon above.
- Adjustable height tripod: The tripod is the same as the one used on Meade’s premium 10” LX200 scopes, which has more than enough payload capacity to handle the 12” LX90. Its 2” diameter steel legs adjust the tripod height from 30” to 44”. A single threaded rod with a large hand-tighten knob simultaneously holds the scope firmly on the tripod and locks the legs rigidly in the most stable position.
The simple tripod/altazimuth mount configuration of the 12” LX90 makes setup reasonably easy. However, with a 60 pound optical tube/fork arms/drive base assembly to lift up onto the tripod, assembly is a task better suited to two people, rather than a single individual. One suitably motivated person can assemble the scope, but it is not easy. In addition to lifting the heavy scope on the tripod, you have to line up a hole in the base of the mount (that you can’t see) with a hole in the top of the tripod (that you likewise can’t see) in order to thread a rod through the tripod and into the drive base to lock the components together. One person centering and steadying the scope on the tripod while a second individual threads the rod into scope base makes assembly much easier and safer.
- AudioStar™ computer: The LX90-SC’s AudioStar™ computer hand control plugs into the telescope’s fork arm to permit a wide array of telescope options. First and foremost is its automatic go-to capability. The AudioStar™ computer can show you the planets and thousands of deep space objects the very first night you use your scope – even if you've never used a telescope before! And a speaker built into the computer hand control lets the unique Astronomer Inside™ software provide you with more than four hours of fascinating audio descriptions of the objects you are observing. Astronomer Inside™ puts the experience and astronomical knowledge of a professional astronomer in the palm of your hand.
At the push of a button, the LX90-SC will move at a fast 6.5° per second to any of the more than 30,000 deep sky and solar system objects in its database, then track it flawlessly across the sky while you observe at your leisure. There are standard solar, lunar, and sidereal tracking rates with 2000 precision-selected incremental rates that permit observatory-level precision in tracking the Moon and planets. The AudioStar™ includes a dual-axis drive corrector for long-exposure guided astrophotography.
- AudioStar™ computer operation: Using the LX90-SC AudioStar™ computer is simplicity itself. Simply mount the scope on its tripod and turn it on. The built-in 16-channel GPS receiver locks onto the network of orbiting GPS satellites to determine your observing location’s latitude, longitude, date, and time. Using this information, the LX90-SC orients itself to the sky and slews at 6.5 degrees per second to the first of two alignment stars. If that star is not precisely centered in the finderscope or main scope optics, a touch or two on the AudioStar™ hand control’s directional push buttons quickly centers it. Do the same with the second alignment star the scope moves to and you’re ready to observe. That's it!
The AudioStar™ computer includes hundreds of special event menus, guided tours, a glossary, utility functions, and telescope status options. It also allows fast alignment of the telescope in either an equatorial or altazimuth mode, using any of three alignment methods, including Meade’s proprietary Easy Align method. For more details, click on the “computer” icon above.
- AutoStar Suite Software: This software package integrates the LX90-SC with your PC or laptop computer for an enhanced range of performance features. It includes a planetarium program with a database of 19,000,000 stars and deep space objects to display on your computer screen. Connect the scope to your computer using the supplied cable, click on any object in the sky map on your computer screen, and your LX90-SC automatically slews to that object. You can use it to control your telescope remotely via the Internet. “Talking Telescope” software (included) converts AutoStar text displays to synthesized speech through your computer speaker. And you can use all of the program’s planetarium features for planning future observing sessions when nights are cloudy by automatically generating AutoStar Tours of favorite objects with a simple point and click. For more details, click on the “AutoStar software” icon above.
With two and a quarter times the light gathering capacity of an 8” scope (and 45% more than a 10”) for a visual limiting magnitude of approximately 15, this scope’s 12” optics give the Universe an astonishing depth, dimension, and grandeur at dark sky sites. Add to that the 15% additional light transmission afforded by the UHTC optics, and you have an exceptional scope for visual and photographic observing of the faint fuzzies beyond the solar system. With a photographic limiting magnitude of 17.5, you can photograph the sky in superlative detail (and with surprisingly short exposure times) by adding a few inexpensive accessories. If you plan on doing extensive deep space photography in the winter with your telescope, you’ll appreciate the shorter exposure times provided by the extra 15% light transmission of its UHTC multicoated optics.
This 12” Meade scope will perform quite nicely on faint deep space objects such as galaxies and nebulas under mildly light-polluted suburban skies, if it is provided with a suitable light pollution filter. However, truly dark skies are essential if you want to take full advantage of this scope’s very large aperture and superb optical performance. It’s not a telescope that likes having its performance limited by a light-polluted suburban observing environment. But, if you have regular access to dark skies, the 12” LX90-SC may be just the right scope for you. It has all the aperture and extra light-gathering you need to keep you busy observing and photographing for the rest of your life, with enough useful features to handle almost any observing and astrophotography chore you set for it . . . and a surprisingly reasonable price that won’t break the bank. |
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