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Based on Astronomy magazine’s telescope "report cards," this telescope is best used for . . .
  |  |  |  |  |  |  Terestrial Photography |  Lunar Photography | | Planetary Photography | | Star Cluster, Nebula, and Galaxy Photography |
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This Celestron telescope is a 6" aperture achromatic refractor optical tube on a robust go-to computerized German equatorial mount. The optics are sharp and well suited to serious deep space observing of binary stars, star clusters, and the brighter nebulas and galaxies, as well as the excellent high contrast planetary and lunar images for which refractors are famous. The go-to mount makes finding over 45,000 of those objects easy and automatic, so you spend more of your time looking at celestial wonders, and less time looking for them.
Some chromatic aberration is visible on stars and objects brighter than 2nd or 3rd magnitude, as you would expect in an achromatic refractor with such a large aperture and fast focal ratio. However, the spurious color is well-controlled and not unreasonable, thanks to careful optical design, and has little effect on deep space observing of nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters. Most observers feel the relatively limited amount of chromatic aberration visible on the Moon and planets is a small price to pay for the scope’s many other virtues of sharpness, contrast, and optical clarity.
One customer called to say he had compared his 6” Celestron refractor side by side with his 12” Schmidt-Cassegrain. The results? According to the customer, “The Celestron 6” is the best buy I’ve ever made in astronomy.” Literally hundreds of amateur astronomers have bought 6” Celestron achromatic refractors from us. Virtually all would cheerfully echo the same sentiments. The scope’s lightweight optical tube and easily assembled mount make it quick to set up and enjoy – either in your back yard or at a distant dark sky site. Its superb optical quality and reasonable price for a go-to scope make it an excellent buy for the beginning and advanced astronomer alike.
Detailed information about this product's features  NexStar Computer
 CG-5 mount
This Telescope’s Optical System . . . - Achromatic refractor optical tube: 6" aperture (1200mm focal length f/8), guaranteed to be diffraction-limited. The 6" dust cover of the objective lens has a removable 4" diameter cap in the center. When doing lunar and planetary observing, it is often beneficial to leave the 6" dust cover in place, but with the 4" center cap removed. This effectively reduces the aperture to 4" and converts the scope to an f/12 focal ratio. At this longer focal ratio, chromatic aberration is reduced, with only a modest loss in resolution. Moreover, optional specialized filters are available to reduce the chromatic aberration to barely visible levels. The same optical trick can be used to improve lunar and planetary image quality during nights of sub-par seeing by reducing the amount of unsteady air the scope has to look through. The 50.5" long aluminum optical tube weighs only 18 lbs., making it easy to transport and assemble in the field.
- Multicoated optics: Full multicoatings are standard equipment on all air to glass interfaces.
- Finderscope: 9 x 50mm straight-through achromatic design, with a wide 5.8° field of view. 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.
- Focuser: 2" rack and pinion type, with removable 1.25" accessory adapter.
- Star diagonal: 1.25" prism type. For peak performance, some observers have found that upgrading the supplied star diagonal to a premium version, such as the TeleVue #7781C or #7781PC, pays visible dividends in sharpness and contrast during high magnification observing. A set of optional vibration suppression pads under the tripod feet will likewise improve the telescope damping time for steadier high power observing.
- Eyepiece: 1.25" 20mm Plössl (60x). The eyepiece field of view is 0.83 degrees, two-thirds larger than the full Moon.
- Software: TheSky Level 1 sky-charting CD-ROM, with a database of 10,000 stars and objects it can plot and display on your Windows-based computer screen. That’s enough solar system and deep space detail to keep you busy observing for years, yet not so much that you’re overwhelmed by charts showing much more detail than your scope can usefully reveal. Custom sky chart printing lets you print out eyepiece finder charts to use with your telescope to help you locate and identify the planets and many famous and faint deep space nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters. There are 75 full color images of well-known celestial objects to help you identify them through your scope.
This Telescope’s Mount . . . - Heavy duty CG-5A Advanced Series go-to computerized German equatorial mount: The mount includes a heavy-duty tripod with 2" diameter steel legs, a dovetail slide bar system for fast set-up, and dual-axis slewing/tracking motors with positioning encoders on each axis for go-to computer control using the supplied NexStar computer hand control. The scope is supplied with a car battery cord to operate from the cigarette lighter plug of your car or from a rechargeable 12V battery pack. For more details, click on the “mount" icon above.
- NexStar computer hand control: The supplied computerized hand control has a built-in database of more than 45,000 stars and deep space/solar system objects it can find for you. These include the complete RNGC, Messier, Caldwell, IC, and Abell catalogs; selected SAO stars, such as variables and multiple star systems; the planets, the Moon, and more.
In addition, the NexStar computer hand control is GPS-compatible (using an optional inexpensive CN16 GPS module) for full GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite accuracy. Adding GPS to the computer is something no competitive scope can do. With the Advanced Series go-to mount and the CN16, orienting the scope in time and space on earth and aligning the scope on the sky becomes almost as easy as simply turning the scope on. For more details, click on the “computer" icon above. - Two-year warranty: All Celestron go-to telescopes have a two-year warranty, double that of competitive go-to scopes.
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| | Heavy duty CG-5A German equatorial mount with setting circles, manual slow motion controls, and adjustable height steel leg tripod with combined spreader bar/accessory tray; dual-axis slewing/tracking motors and go-to computerized hand control with 45,000+ star and object database; 9 x 50mm straight-through finder; 20mm 1.25" Plössl eyepiece (60x); 2x 1.25" Barlow with built-in photo adapter; 2" rack and pinion focuser with 1.25" adapter; 1.25" prism-type 90 degree star diagonal; multicoated 150mm aperture 1200mm focal length f/8 achromatic optics; lens shade; dust covers; TheSky Level 1 star-charting CD-ROM software. |
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Toll-Free Telephone Astronomics: 800-422-7876; Christophers, Ltd.: 800-356-6603
Alternate Telephone: 405-364-0858 24 Hour Fax Line: 405-447-3337
Telephone Hours: Monday-Friday 8 AM - 9 PM CST
Saturday Noon - 5 PM CST
Store Hours: Monday-Friday 9 AM - 5 PM CST
Saturday Noon - 5 PM CST
Astronomics / Christophers, Ltd.
680 S.W. 24th Ave.
Norman, OK, 73069
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