Meade LX200-ACF - fork-mount go-to f/10 Advanced Coma-Free catadioptrics

More Information  · Supplied Accessories  · Recommended Accessories  · Images of Some Features Price $16,299.00 Highest Useful Magnification 813x Visual Limiting Magnitude 15.5 Focal Length 4064mm Focal Ratio f/10 Resolution 0.29 arc seconds Aperture 16" Weight 455 lbs. Heaviest Single Component 240 lbs. Warranty 1 year

   AutoStar software
   LX200 computer
   16" LX200 mount
   LX200-ACF UHTC optics

This Telescope’s Optical System . . .

• Advanced Coma-Free catadioptric designed to emulate the optical performance of a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope: 16" aperture catadioptric (4064mm focal length f/10). Fully multicoated UHTC (Ultra High Transmission Coatings) optics with oversized primary mirror for brighter field edge illumination. Aluminum tube construction with glare-stop baffling and mirror lock. Integral cooling fan on rear cell. 2" electric focuser with 1.25" eyepiece adapter. Guaranteed diffraction-limited performance with a flatter field edge-to-edge than other commercially-available catadioptric optical systems. For more details, click on the “optics" icon above.

• Finderscope: 8 x 50mm straight-through achromatic design, with a 5° field of view and 14mm eye relief.

• Star diagonal: 2" UHTC multicoated mirror with 1.25" eyepiece adapter.

• Eyepiece: 1.25" 26mm Series 5000 5-element Plössl (156x). The eyepiece field of view is 0.38°, over 75% the diameter of the full Moon, for detailed lunar, planetary, and deep space views.

This Telescope’s Mount . . .

• Fork mount/drive system: One-piece drive base and dual fork arm assembly of die-cast aluminum. The mount includes servo-controlled 18 volt DC high torque slewing and tracking motors in both altitude and azimuth. The motors drive 11" worm gears in both axes. A supplied adapter (with a 25’ cord) powers the 18 VDC scope from 110-120 volt 60 Hz AC household current in your back yard or observatory. For more details, click on the “mount" icon above.

• GPS/AutoStar II computer: A 16-channel GPS (global positioning satellite) receiver is built into the top of the telescope’s left fork arm. The GPS receiver, in conjunction with a built-in electronic compass and AutoStar computer control, automatically aligns the scope on the sky so that the AutoStar computer can locate for you the 147,541 stars and objects in its memory.
      The AutoStar computer quickly and automatically moves the scope to any desired object (with an accuracy typically in the two arc minute range) and flawlessly tracks the object while you observe at your leisure. In addition, the AutoStar computer provides numerous visual, tracking, and photographic tools and functions to make your observing easier and more enjoyable.
      Unique “Smart Mount" technology can constantly improve the already high pointing accuracy of the telescope with every object that you center precisely and synchronize on during a night’s observing. For more details on these features, click on the “computer" icon above.

• Permanent equatorial pier: The scope is designed for permanent equatorial installation in an observatory dome (3 meter or 10' minimum diameter). The pier is approximately 42" tall (depending on your observing latitude and 10" in diameter. This puts the eyepiece at an approximate 4’ height when the scope is pointed about 45° above the horizon, a good height for long-duration observing from a seated position. A different pier height can be requested on a special order/extra-cost basis when the scope is ordered. The pier is made of painted steel and weighs 240 pounds.
      The base of the pier is a 0.50" thick circular steel plate that’s 24" in diameter. Three 0.75" wide by 5° long slots on a 20" diameter circle are spaced 120° apart around the base to let you bolt the pier to your observatory pad. The pier will be custom fabricated for your installation, so when ordering your scope, specify the observing latitude within 0.5°. Cutting and welding tolerances are such that some shimming of the mount base will be required to precisely polar align your scope.

• AutoStar Suite Astronomer Software: This standard equipment CD-ROM software package is designed to integrate the telescope with your Windows-based PC or laptop computer for an enhanced range of performance features. The AutoStar Suite Software includes a planetarium program with a database of 19,000,000 stars and deep space objects for display on your computer screen. It includes all the standard planetarium program features for stand-alone use when nights are cloudy. In addition, it contains programs for controlling the telescope from your laptop or PC. For more details on the many capabilities and features of the AutoStar Suite Software, click on the “software" icon above.

What can you see through a 16" LX200-ACF with Advanced Coma-Free UHTC optics?

    With a flat coma-free field, state-of-the-art UHTC multicoated optics, and a resolving power of 0.29 arc seconds, this 16" Meade is an advanced instrument capable of serious research and astrophotography for advanced amateur and university alike. With four times the light gathering capacity of an 8" scope (over two and a half times that of a 10" scope), this scope’s fully multicoated 16" optics give the Universe a detail and extent at dark sky sites that no smaller scope can approach – no matter how good that smaller scope might be. Visual observing is an extraordinarily rewarding experience.
    The advantages of the scope’s coma-free field, fully multicoated optics, and large diffraction-limited aperture are immediately apparent, particularly to the experienced observer with an eye trained to see extremely fine detail. Color becomes visible to the eye in many nebulas. Orion is a glowing blue-green mass of filaments, often tinged with red and yellow for the keen-eyed observer from a dark sky site. Globular clusters can be resolved to their cores, with each cluster becoming a vivid ball of tiny starpoints instead of a hazy blur. Knottings and structure in the arms of the Whirlpool Galaxy become clear. Small details in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn and on the surface of Mars reveal themselves at high powers (given suitably good seeing and a filter to cut down the immense brightness of a scope with over 3300 times the light-gathering capacity your eye).
    The more obscure Messier and NGC objects (such as planetary nebula NGC 3242 in Hydra, spiral galaxy M100 in Coma Berenices, and open cluster NGC 6231 in Scorpius) show detail invisible in smaller scopes. Difficult low surface brightness objects like the Crab Nebula (M1) in Taurus, the face-on Spiral Galaxy (M33) in Triangulum, and the Owl Nebula (M97) in Ursa Major begin to show their essential structures under high-power visual observation. The stars in open clusters remain crisp and point-like to the edge of the field, thanks to the Advanced Coma-Free flat-field performance that is similar to that of professional Ritchey-Chrétien optics, but at only a fraction the price. These same objects all yield magnificently detailed long-exposure CCD and 35mm images.
    This scope needs a permanent observatory home under truly dark and steady skies if you want to take full advantage of its large aperture and superb optical performance. It’s not a scope that’s happy in a light-polluted suburban observing environment.
    But, if you have dark skies and a permanent observatory dome, the UHTC-multicoated 16" LX200-ACF on an equatorial pier may be the ultimate scope for you. It has enough aperture to keep you busy observing and imaging for the rest of your life, with state-of-the art Advanced Coma-Free optics that emulate the performance of professional Ritchey-Chrétien reflectors at a fraction the price. It has equally state-of-the-art UHTC multicoatings and enough useful features to handle almost any observing or astrophotography chore you set for it. And, fully complete with fork arms, drive base, permanent equatorial pier, and many advanced features, it does it at a price guaranteed to surprise you when compared to the over $30,000 price of a competitive 16" Ritchey-Chrétien bare bones optical tube only that comes without any sort of mount.