Celestron 6" Advanced VX Series Go-To Equatorial Refractor

This Celestron AVX6R 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 new VX Series go-to mount makes finding and following over 40,000 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.

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.

This Telescope's Optical System . . .

Achromatic refractor optical tube: 6" aperture precision ground and polished crown and flint glass doublet (1200mm focal length f/8), guaranteed to be diffraction-limited. The 51" long aluminum optical tube weighs only 19 lb (8.6 kg), making it easy to transport and assemble in the field. An aluminum dew shield reduces dewing to extend your observing time and blocks ambient light to improve your contrast. The f/8 focal ratio pairs well with Celestron Nightscape CCD cameras for imaging the brighter deep space objects, and with the Celestron NexImage 5 Solar System Imager for lunar and planetary imaging.

Multicoated optics: High light transmission anti-reflection multicoatings are standard equipment on all air to glass surfaces.

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 99% reflectivity dielectric multicoated Astro-Tech 1.25" AT1D and 2" AT2D, 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.

This Telescope's Mount . . .

Heavy duty Advanced VX Series computerized go-to German equatorial mount: This scope's new Advanced VX mount was specifically designed to provide optimum imaging performance for smaller telescopes (30 lbs and under). It has the imaging-friendly features of Celestron's larger telescope mounts, such as permanent periodic error correction (PPEC) and the ability to Image across the meridian without doing a meridian flip, so you can seamlessly image the best part of the night sky.

Experienced imagers will love taking this portable mount to a dark sky site (the head weighs only 17 lbs, the tripod only 18 lbs, plus two 11 lb counterweights), as it provides all the performance of their larger observatory mounts in a portable package. If you're new to imaging, the Advanced VX mount will help you get started with the hobby and keep up with your needs for years to come.

The mount includes dual-axis slewing/tracking low-cog DC servo motors with positioning encoders on each axis for go-to computer control. The new motors provide improved tracking performance and more power to handle an unbalanced load than previous Advanced Series drives. Built-in adjustable backlash compensation and permanent user-programmed periodic error correction (PPEC) permits precise corrections during astrophotography and when observing visually at high powers. The maximum slewing speed is a fast 4° per second.

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. The mount requires a 12VDC 3.5A power source, so the Celestron 17 amp hour capacity Power Tank #4517V is recommended for extended use in the field. The Power Tank can be recharged hundreds of times and will operate the scope all night long without danger of running out of power. Celestron AC adapter #2338PRO is also available to operate the scope from household AC in your back yard.

The two sliding 11 pound counterweights are locked in place with a single hand-tighten thumbscrew each, making it easy to rebalance the scope if you add heavy photographic accessories. The mount is easily capable of handling the scope and any reasonable combination of photographic accessories you might want to use. Snap-on covers keep the motor drives free from dust and debris. A set of optional vibration suppression pads #4525 under the tripod feet will improve the telescope damping time for steadier high power observing.

To make a casual polar alignment for visual use quick and easy, there's a latitude scale and fine adjustment controls in both altitude and azimuth. The scope can be used over a wide 7° to 77° latitude range in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The scope includes Celestron's unique All-Star computerized polar alignment that lets you do an accurate polar alignment even when Polaris is hidden by trees or buildings.

NexStar+ computer hand control: The supplied NexStar+ computerized hand control has an internal clock and a built-in database of more than 40,000 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. There is enhanced information on over 200 of the most note-worthy objects.

You can also store and edit the right ascension and declination of 100 additional user-defined objects of your own choosing, such as the comet and asteroid coordinates published monthly in Astronomy and Sky & Telescope magazines. The computer control can find any of those objects with at your command, and accurately track them for visual or photographic application.

All of the database and telescope operation information is displayed on a double line, 16-character, liquid crystal display on the hand control. The NexStar+ hand control offers multiple language programming (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish). There are 19 fiber optic back-lit LED buttons to make it easy for you to control the computer without affecting your dark adapted vision. There are two AUX ports, an autoguider port, and an RS-232 communication port on the hand control that allows you to operate the telescope via a personal computer. The computer hand control software can be upgraded over the Internet from Celestron's website, assuring that you always have the most current software version at your command.

Several different alignment methods are built into the NexStar+ computer, allowing you to choose a level of computer accuracy in automatically finding objects with which you are comfortable. You can choose two-star align, quick align, one-star align, last alignment, or solar system align. Each of these computer-guided alignment methods is easily accomplished in only a few short minutes. You can be observing in less than 15 minutes after you first take your scope outdoors, including telescope assembly time.

In addition, the NexStar+ computer hand control is GPS-compatible (using an optional inexpensive SkySync 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 VX Series go-to mount and the SkySync, 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.

Adjustable height tripod: The tripod has 2" diameter steel legs with a center leg brace for rigidity, with excellent damping characteristics. The center leg brace is drilled to form a convenient accessory tray that holds 1.25" and 2" eyepiece to keep them up out of the dew-soaked grass.

Dovetail slide bar: An adjustable Vixen-style dovetail slide bar allows the optical tube to be quickly and precisely balanced fore and aft on the mount, eliminating the need for an extra counterweight to balance a camera or other accessories. Setup and takedown times are exceptionally fast, as a single large hand-tighten knob holds the optical tube in place. A second lock knob prevents the tube from sliding off the mount should the hand-tighten knob loosen.

Two-year warranty: All Celestron go-to telescopes have a two-year warranty.