More Information  · Supplied Accessories  · Images of Some Features

The Konusmotor mount has an adjustable height tripod, manual slow motion controls, and setting circles to help you locate objects. It includes a battery-powered motor drive to automatically follow the stars and planets across the skies as you observe at your leisure. The Konusmotor 70E includes a soft carry case that lets you carry the completely assembled scope anywhere safely without the nuisance of having to assemble it when you are ready to observe and disassemble it when you are done for the night. Simply fold up the tripod legs, slip the scope into the case, and you are ready to move on.

The 70mm Konus comes with a battery-operated electric focuser that makes clear, shake-free focusing easy at high magnifications. The eyepieces are sophisticated four-element Plössl designs that show you more lunar and planetary detail, and a sharper and wider field of view, than the lower quality two- or three-element eyepieces used in lesser scopes. The 70mm Konus scope has a third greater light grasp than any 60mm scope, to show you a third more faint deep sky objects. And it does it all for about the same price as many lesser quality 60mm department and toy store telescopes.

This Telescope’s Optical System . . .

• Refractor optical tube: 70mm (2.75”) aperture air-spaced two-element crown and flint glass lens. 900mm focal length f/12.9 all-glass optics. No plastic lenses.

• Multicoated optics: The two-element objective lens has antireflection multicoatings for high light transmission and good contrast.

• Dew shield: A dew shield (an extension of the optical tube that’s threaded onto the front of the objective lens) slows the formation of dew on the lens in cold weather. This extends your undisturbed observing time.

• Electric focuser: The 1.25” rack and pinion focuser has a factory-installed battery-operated electric focuser for smooth low-vibration focusing at high powers. A hand control box with two pushbuttons controls the focusing so you never have to touch the scope during critical focusing, eliminating a possible source of image-blurring vibrations.

• Star diagonal: The 90° viewing angle 1.25” star diagonal (eyepiece holder) allows comfortable viewing when looking overhead at the sky. It provides a mirror image view (objects are reversed left for right), the same as the view through the telescope eyepiece.

• Two eyepieces: You get two good 1.25” eyepieces – a 10mm (90x) and a 17mm (53x). Both eyepieces are a higher quality four-element Plössl optical design than the lesser two- and three-element eyepieces you’ll find in most other telescopes in this price range. They have antireflection multicoatings on their lens surfaces for sharp images and very good contrast. Instead of providing low quality eyepieces that give unrealistically high (and often unusable) magnifications, Konus provides higher quality eyepieces with powers you can use and enjoy every night you take your Konusmotor 70E out to observe. Optional eyepieces are available to let you extend your magnification range significantly.

• Finderscope: The supplied battery-operated non-magnifying red dot finder seems to project a dot of red light on the sky exactly where the scope is pointed at all times. It makes initial scope alignment and object centering easy and painless.

• Moon filter: You get a 1.25” optical glass Moon filter that threads into the base of the eyepieces. Its green color cuts the glare of the brightly-lighted Moon and improves the contrast so it is easier for you to see faint details that might otherwise be washed out by the brightness of the lunar surface.

• Star charts and software: A good-sized fold-up star chart and separate Moon map are standard equipment to get you started exploring the heavens. In addition, the supplied Windows-based CD-ROM of “Sky Explorer” planetarium/star charting software is one of the most sophisticated and flexible available. You can use it to print out even more detailed star charts than the printed sky map supplied to help you locate stars, planets, galaxies, asteroids, comets, star clusters, and more. You can also use it to print out charts showing the positions of the moons of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune so you can identify them, plus highly detailed lunar maps to help you identify craters and mountain ranges, and more. The advanced software will help you find your way around the skies with your Konus K70E refractor like a pro.

This Telescope’s Mount . . .

• Equatorial mount: The sturdy equatorial mount is designed for astronomical observing. By aligning the mount on the north celestial pole, the supplied battery-operated motor drive can automatically follow the motion of the planets and stars as they travel east to west across the sky. A counterweight on the opposite side of the mount from the telescope balances the weight of the optical tube and makes it easy to move the scope effortlessly from one part of the sky to another.

• Motor drive: The supplied single axis battery-operated right ascension motor drive has a variable speed control to match the slightly different speeds at which the Moon, planets, Sun, and stars move across the sky. This keeps objects from drifting out of the field of view during long observing sessions, or while several people in a row observe the same object. The drive runs up to 40 hours from one 9-volt transistor radio battery.

• Setting circles: Setting circles (graduated scales marked in either hours and minutes or in degrees) are provided in both right ascension (the east/west position of objects in the sky measured in hours and minutes) and declination (the north/south position measured in degrees). These allow you to align the scope on the approximate position of an object in the sky by using its r. a. and dec coordinates from a star chart – before you look for it in the finderscope and eyepiece. Setting circles can reduce the time it takes for you to find the fainter and more difficult deep space objects.

• Manual slow motion controls: There are two slow motion control knobs connected to the mount by long flexible cables so they are easy to reach while observing. One controls the scope’s motion in declination (the north/south direction in the sky). Turning this knob enables you to correct for any north/south drift a celestial object may take as it drifts across the sky, due to an improper alignment of the scope on the north celestial pole when you first set it up. The second controls the scope’s motion in right ascension (the east/west direction in the sky). Turning this knob enables you to manually follow the motion of celestial objects as they travel from east to west across the sky, should the battery in your motor drive die when you’re out observing.

• Tripod: The aluminum tripod easily adjusts from 2.3’ tall to 3.8’ to accommodate a variety of observer heights. As with all refractor telescopes that have an eyepiece at the bottom of a long tube, however, most observers will that find a seated observing position is more comfortable for extended viewing sessions, particularly when observing objects near the zenith (directly overhead). The tripod includes an accessory shelf that holds your eyepieces and accessories.

• Carrying case: A soft carrying case with shoulder strap is standard equipment with the Konusmotor 70E. The zippered case lets you safely carry the completely assembled scope anywhere to observe. You can put the assembled Konusmoter 70E in its case and put it in the trunk of your car without worrying about scratching the scope. And you won’t have the nuisance of having to assemble your scope when you are ready to observe and disassemble it again when you are done for the night. Simply remove the accessory tray, collapse the tripod legs, slip the scope into the case, and you are ready to travel.