Refractors

More Information Price $999.00 Highest Useful Magnification 160x Visual Limiting Magnitude 12 Focal Length 480mm Focal Ratio f/6 Resolution 1.45 arc seconds Aperture 3.15" Heaviest Single Component 7 lbs. Warranty 1 year

• 80mm f/6 air-spaced triplet apochromatic optics using an FPL-53 ED element
• dual-speed 2" Crayford focuser with 10:1 ratio fine focusing and 2" accessory holder
• 2" Series 5000 dielectric star diagonal with 2" and 1.25" brass compression ring eyepiece holders
• retractable dew shield
• dual split mounting rings with Vixen-style dovetail
• foam-fitted hard case

    The Meade Series 6000 80mm refractor uses a premium FPL-53 ED glass element and state-of-the-art optical multicoatings in its apochromatic air-spaced triplet optics. The result is images that are essentially free of the annoying halo of unfocused violet light (chromatic aberration) that mars the view of bright stars and solar system objects in lesser scopes, despite the scope’s relatively large aperture, and even at very high magnifications.

    The Meade 80mm is an excellent astrograph for wide field imaging, as well as crisp solar system imaging. It is compact enough to be your year-round travel scope or your grab-and-go scope for spur of the moment backyard observing.

Features of this telescope . . .

• Air-spaced ED apochromatic triplet refractor optics: 80mm (3.15") aperture, 480mm focal length, f/6 focal ratio three-lens air-spaced optical system. The optics use a center lens element of premium FPL-53 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass. This ED element produces superior sharpness and color correction by minimizing the chromatic aberration, the “false" color fringing seen around bright objects when light rays pass through standard crown-and-flint doublet objectives, particularly those with apertures in the 80mm class. The result is to reduce spurious color halos and fringing to vanishingly low levels.

• Fully multicoated optics: The 80mm Meade triplet objective lens has antireflection multicoatings on all air-to-glass surfaces for high light transmission, minimal light scatter, and excellent contrast.

• Internal light baffles: Contrast-enhancing internal light baffles and a specially darkened tube interior provide dark sky backgrounds and high lunar/planetary contrast.

• Dew shield: The supplied retractable dew shield slows the formation of dew on the lens in cold weather to extend your undisturbed observing time. It also improves the contrast, similar to the effect of the lens shade on a camera lens, when observing during the day or when there is excessive ambient light at night, such as a neighbor’s backyard security light. A metal dust cap is standard.

• Dual speed 2" Crayford focuser with 2" accessory holder: The precision-made no-backlash focuser has dual-speed focusing. There are two coarse focusing knobs. The right knob also has a smaller concentric knob with a 10:1 reduction gear microfine focusing ratio. This provides exceptionally precise image control during high magnification visual observing and critical DSLR or CCD imaging. The large focus knobs have ribbed gripping surfaces so they are easy to operate, even while wearing gloves or mittens in cold weather. A knob underneath the focuser lets you adjust the tension on the drawtube to accommodate varying eyepiece/photo accessory loads, as well as firmly lock in a photographic focus.

• 2" dielectric star diagonal and compression ring eyepiece holders: The supplied standard equipment 2" Meade Series 5000 mirror star diagonal of the 80mm Meade apo slips into the focuser drawtube’s 2" accessory holder. This 2" diagonal has 99% reflectivity dielectric mirror coatings for high reflectivity and long life. The star diagonal uses a non-marring soft brass compression ring to hold 2" eyepieces in place. The compression ring won’t scratch the barrel of your 2" eyepieces as an ordinary thumbscrew can. A supplied 1.25" accessory adapter slips into the 2" diagonal to let you use 1.25" eyepieces in the 2" diagonal. The 1.25" accessory adapter can also be inserted directly into the 2" accessory holder on the focuser drawtube to let you use a 1.25" image erecting diagonal, or 1.25" photographic accessories. Like the 2" eyepiece holder on the diagonal, the 1.25" adapter also uses a non-marring soft brass compression ring to hold 1.25" star diagonals and accessories in place.

• Mounting rings and dovetail: The 80mm Meade Series 6000 apo has dual split hinged mounting rings with a dovetail plate that fits the Vixen-style dovetail slot on the head of many of the most popular medium capacity German equatorial mounts.

• Shipping/storage case: The scope comes in a deluxe foam-fitted shipping/storage hard case.