| This Meade 8” LX80 Multi-Mount telescope has:
• 8” f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain optics
• high light transmission UHTC multicoatings
• heavy-duty LX80 go-to tri-mode altazimuth/equatorial Multi-Mount and tripod
• AudioStar computer hand control with audio output
• 8 x 50mm finderscope
• 26mm Series 4000 Super Plössl eyepiece (78x)
• exceptional mount flexibility and value when compared to similar catadioptrics from other manufacturers
This Meade LX80 telescope puts a quality 8” Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube on a smooth and precise multi-mode go-to German equatorial mount (that can also be used in your choice of two different altazimuth configurations). It’s a flexible combination that will take you on a tour to anywhere in the night sky you might choose to go. And the special Astronomer Inside software and speaker built into its AudioStar computer hand control will tell you and your family and friends many fascinating details about 500 of those objects as you observe them.
The optical tube of the 8” Meade LX80 has UHTC multicoatings that are 15% brighter than standard optical coatings. With a light grasp 843 times that of even the sharpest dark-adapted eye, this compact 8” Meade SCT can reveal to you star clusters, nebulas, planets, and galaxies in amazing detail. And you can image those objects with your DSLR or CCD camera.
This Meade LX80 telescope is value-priced to make Schmidt-Cassegrain astronomy available to almost everyone. Its light weight optical tube and easily assembled battery-operated multi-mode go-to mount make it easy to set up and use – either in your back yard or at a distant dark sky site. Superb optical quality and a very reasonable price make it a scope that virtually any beginning or advanced astronomer can afford and enjoy now – and use as the heart of an ever-expanding multiple OTA observing system as your interests grow. This Telescope’s Optical System . . . - Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube: 8" aperture (2034mm focal length f/10). State-of-the-art UHTC multicoated optics for 15% better light transmission than standard optical coatings. Oversized primary mirror for optimum light collection. Low-expansion borosilicate glass mirrors, with a corrector lens made of high spectral transmission Borofloat glass from premium specialty glass maker Schott AG Germany.
- Finderscope: 8 x 50mm straight-through achromatic design with crosshair reticle.
- Visual back: Removable 1.25" visual back holds visual and imaging accessories such as a star diagonal, T-adapter, tele-extender, etc.
- Star diagonal: 1.25" prism type.
- Eyepiece: 1.25" 26mm Super Plössl (78x). The eyepiece field of view is 0.64° across (over 25% larger than the full Moon), for good lunar and deep space views.
This Telescope’s Mount . . . - Heavy duty Meade LX80 tri-mode go-to Multi-Mount. The Meade LX80 Multi-Mount can be used both in a German equatorial configuration for viewing and long exposure astrophotography and in a single optical tube altazimuth mode for fast set-up viewing and lunar/planetary photography. The mount’s payload capacity in either mode is 40 pounds. The mount can also be used in a dual optical tube altazimuth configuration (adding a second optical tube on the opposite side of the mount from the 8" SCT tube). In this configuration, the mount’s payload is 70 pounds. This lets you use the mount as the heart of an observing system that can handle a wide variety of other optical tubes as your observing and imaging interests grow.
The Meade LX80 mount includes dual-axis slewing/tracking motors with positioning encoders for go-to computer control. The scope is powered by 8 user-supplied AA batteries. An optional AC adapter and optional car battery cord are also available to power the mount. For more details on the Meade LX80 Multi-Mount, here’s a link to a more complete description.
- AudioStar computer hand control: The supplied AudioStar computer control system provides fully computerized go-to object location and tracking in both altazimuth and German equatorial modes. The AudioStar has a database of over 30,000 celestial objects it can find and track for you. The AudioStar computer hand control has Meade’s exclusive Astronomer Inside software and a built-in speaker that will talk to you, giving you four hours of professionally-produced audio descriptions of 500 of the celestial objects the AudioStar can find for you. Astronomer Inside puts the knowledge and experience of a professional astronomer in the palm of your hand. There are more details about the AudioStar system and the LX80 mount at this link.
- Adjustable height tripod:
The Meade LX80 Multi-Mount includes an adjustable height tripod with 2" diameter stainless steel legs that adjust over a height range of 30.5" to 47". In addition, each leg has an adjustment for 0.2" fine-tuning of the leg height to aid in leveling the mount.
- Dovetail optical tube mounting system: The Meade LX80 mount comes with two Vixen-style dovetails for attaching optical tubes. One is on the mount head for German equatorial and single optical tube altazimuth use. The second head can be attached to the end of the counterweight shaft for mounting a second optical tube in a two optical tube altazimuth configuration and is removable when not needed. A Vixen-style dovetail bar on the underside of the 8" SCT optical tube allows the tube to be quickly and precisely installed and balanced on the mount, whether in an altazimuth or German equatorial configuration. Setup and takedown times are exceptionally fast. Two large hand-tighten knobs hold each optical tube in place.
What can you see through an 8" Meade LX80 Multi-Mount go-to SCT with UHTC optics?
Enough wonders to last a lifetime! Under good seeing conditions, no less than six of Saturn’s moons can be seen shuttling around the visibly multi-ringed planet. Even cold and distant Pluto, a faint magnitude 13.9 speck, can occasionally be glimpsed making its lonely way across the skies under appropriate dark-sky seeing conditions.
Distant galaxies, barely visible in other telescopes, begin to show their essential structure. Nebular wisps and fragments show markedly wider extent than with any smaller scope. Orion’s nebulosity fills your entire field of view, particularly with a narrow band light pollution filter to increase the contrast of the fainter segments. Densely packed globular clusters are often resolved to the core.
Best of all, the Meade LX80 will take you to any of these objects with just a few touches on the AudioStar hand control’s keypad buttons (and then will tell you and your family and friends about what you are seeing). There’s no guesswork or hunting. You spend more time looking at celestial wonders, and less time looking for them.
With a heaviest single component weight of only 35 pounds, the 8" LX80 is easily transported and set up by one person. Since this self-contained scope can run off AA flashlight batteries, there’s no need to haul power adapters or a portable power supply when you go out to observe.
The Meade 8" SCT on the LX80 tri-mode Multi-Mount is optically very nice, very flexible and portable, and surprisingly reasonable in cost. It has virtually all the features you’ll ever need to keep you happy observing at remote dark sky sites or in your own backyard for years to come. It has the aperture and quality optics you want, the portability you need for the spur of the moment observing, and enough useful features and mount flexibility to keep the most ardent gadget lover in seventh heaven ‘til the cows come home. The 8" LX80-SCT may indeed be the perfect scope for you.
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