This Meade 12” LX90-ACF catadioptric telescope has Advanced Coma-Free optics to bring the astronomical image quality of a professional observatory to your back yard, at a down-to-earth price. The 12” Meade LX90-ACF is a very large aperture telescope at a very attractive price for both the amateur astronomer and the school or college observatory. It has a flat, coma-free field similar to that of the Ritchey-Chrétien reflector optics used in most professional observatory telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope, but at a fraction the cost of a true Ritchey-Chrétien of similar aperture.
Its UHTC multicoated optics provide 15% higher light transmission for serious astrophotography. If you have the dark skies to take full advantage of its immense light gathering capacity (two and a quarter times that of an 8” scope), or are willing to make the effort to transport this rather heavy scope to the dark sky site it needs for best performance, it’s a scope that can keep you happily observing and photographing the wonders of the heavens for the rest of your life.
Its standard equipment includes a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) receiver and an AutoStar computer that takes the guesswork out of finding your way around the skies and letting you locate dozens of deep space objects like a seasoned observer your first night out.
Detailed information about this product's features  AutoStar software
 LX90 GPS computer
 LX90 GPS mount
 LX90-ACF UHTC optics
This Telescope’s Optical System . . . - Advanced Coma-Free catadioptric designed to emulate the optical performance of a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope: 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.
- Finderscopes: There are two. The first is an 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.
The second is a SmartFinder non-magnifying red dot finder for initial telescope alignment and object centering. This straight-through wide-field red dot finder allows easy non-magnified views of the sky, with a projected red dot of light showing exactly where the scope is pointed at all times. - Star diagonal: 1.25" 90° multicoated 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. The usable life of the batteries is up to 60 hours, depending on the ambient temperature.
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. An optional #607 DC cord with a cigarette lighter plug is available to power the scope from your car’s cigarette lighter plug or a rechargeable battery for extended use in the field.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-ACF 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. - GPS and LNT (Level North Technology): The LX90’s Level North Technology combines with the scope’s built-in GPS receiver to make aligning the scope on the sky easy, even for a first-time scope owner. Simply set up the scope outside and turn it on. The scope will automatically level its optical tube and point it north, then move by itself to its first alignment star. Be sure the star is precisely centered under the red dot in the SmartFinder, then let the scope repeat the process for a second alignment star. That’s all it takes. You’re ready to start observing. For more details, click on the “computer" icon above.
- AutoStar computer: The AutoStar 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! At the push of a button, the LX90-ACF will move at a fast 6.5° per second to any of the 30,223 objects in its database. You can choose from Messier, Caldwell, IC, and NGC deep space objects, binary and multiple star systems, the Moon, planets, asteroids, and comets. You can also automatically move to any object that’s not in the database simply by entering its right ascension and declination coordinates. The AutoStar includes a dual-axis drive corrector with PEC (Periodic Error Correction). This allows long-exposure guided 35mm or large format CCD astrophotography in a polar mode, using an optional #2570 Ultrawedge equatorial wedge. (The standard LX90 wedge #2590 will have trouble holding the weight of the 12" LX90 when fully loaded with photographic accessories.) CCD imaging with one of the optional Meade Deep Sky Imagers with NASA-developed “Drizzle" software does not require an equatorial wedge.
The AutoStar 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.
The rapid alignment features of the AutoStar computer and its simplified menus will start you observing in only a matter of minutes. The wide array of objects in the LX90-ACF database, and the 5 arc minute pointing accuracy of the AutoStar computer, will accurately speed you from object to object with no frustrating hunting or star hopping. With the 12" LX90, you’ll spend more of your time looking at celestial objects and less time looking for them. For more details, click on the “computer" icon above. - AutoStar Astronomer’s Edition Software Suite: This software package is included as standard equipment with the LX90. It integrates the telescope 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-ACF automatically slew 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.
If you’re one of those busy people whose schedule doesn’t leave you much time to enjoy astronomy, an easy-to-use fully-computerized LX90-ACF with AutoStar software will make the most of your limited observing opportunities.
What can you see through a 12" LX90-ACF with Advanced Coma-Free UHTC optics? With two and a quarter times the light gathering capacity of an 8" scope (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. The Orion Nebula grows to twice the area you see through an 8" scope, with subtle color variations becoming visible. Densely packed globular clusters are often resolved to the core. Thanks to the sharp coma-free field edge performance, all the stars in expansive open clusters stay sharply in focus across the full field, even in a very wide field eyepiece. Jupiter becomes an interlocking web of fine structural detail, with shadowy detail on the surface of its largest moon, Ganymede, often visible. Faint galaxies and planetary nebulas, barely visible blurs in smaller scopes, often reveal structure during visual observing that rivals that in long exposure observatory photos.
With a photographic limiting magnitude of 17.5, you can photograph the sky in superlative detail (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.
The altazimuth drive of the LX90-ACF is more than accurate enough for piggyback, lunar, and planetary 35mm photos and much CCD imaging. However, field rotation causes stars at the corners of an image to streak during exposures longer than five minutes if an equatorial wedge isn’t used to align the scope on the celestial pole. So, if you plan on doing deep space photography, you’ll need to add either an optional #2570 Ultrawedge or one of the optional Meade Deep Sky Imagers with NASA-developed “Drizzle" software that does not require an equatorial wedge.
This 12" scope will perform quite nicely on faint deep space objects such as galaxies and nebulas under mildly light-polluted suburban skies, if 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, and the size and weight of the scope (a 60 lb. optical tube to lift up onto the tripod) doesn’t daunt you, the 12" LX90-ACF with Advanced Coma-Free UHTC optics may be the perfect scope for you, particularly if you’re a deep space enthusiast.
The 12" LX90-ACF 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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