Celestron CPC Deluxe 925 HD 9.25" Go-to altazimuth SCT with EdgeHD optics

The Celestron CPC Deluxe 925 HD telescope has the most talked-about improvement in optics in years - Celestron's EdgeHD flat field optical system - a Sky & Telescope Hot Product for 2010.

With Celestron's renowned Starbright XLT multicoatings on every optical surface, the EdgeHD optics give you maximum light throughput across the widest possible visual and photographic spectrum. The CPC Deluxe 925 HD's immense light grasp, over 1100 times that of even the sharpest dark-adapted eye, can reveal to you star clusters, nebulas, planets, and galaxies in amazing visual and photographic detail.

Those award-winning 9.25" EdgeHD optics are mounted on a newly-upgraded Celestron CPC go-to mount with SkyAlign and GPS that makes finding over 40,000 of those stars and objects easy and automatic. You spend more time looking at celestial objects, rather than looking for them.

The sensible price of the CPC Deluxe 925 HD with EdgeHD optics and Starbright XLT coatings puts true astrographic-quality imaging and tack-sharp visual astronomy within the grasp of almost everyone. While its two components are not exactly feather light at 85 pounds total, and with a heaviest single component weight of 58 pounds, the CPC Deluxe 925 HD is still a scope that many dedicated individuals can set up on their own - either in their back yard or at a distant dark sky site.

The design of the 9.25" optical system, subtly different in the focal ratios of the primary and secondary mirrors from other Celestron SCTs, produces high contrast images that many advanced observers feel are the best in the Celestron line-up. The new EdgeHD CPC Deluxe 925 HD is a scope that virtually any beginning or advanced astronomer can enjoy for years and years to come, without ever running out of things to see and photograph through its superb flat field 9.25" EdgeHD optics.

This Telescope's Optical System . . .

EdgeHD Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube: 9.25" aperture (2350mm focal length f/10). Dual-element Schott glass field flattener lens permanently mounted in the central baffle tube. Guaranteed diffraction-limited optical performance, free from coma and corrected for spherical aberrations (aplanatic design). The optical design is a Sky & Telescope Hot Product for 2010. For more details, click on the "EdgeHD optics" link in the support tab above.

Starbright XLT fully-multicoated optics: This high transmission/high reflectivity optical multicoatings package is applied to all optical surfaces. Starbright XLT coatings give you visibly higher light transmission for visually brighter deep space images and shorter exposure times during imaging. They also increase the contrast on subtle lunar, planetary, and nebula details when compared with a scope with ordinary coatings or multicoatings. For more details, click on the "Starbright XLT" link in the support tab above.

Tube vents: Two cooling vents located on the rear cell allow warm air to be released from behind the primary mirror when the scope is taken out for a night's observing or imaging. This shortens the amount of time needed for the optics to cool down to ambient air temperature for peak optical performance. Each vent has an integrated 60 micron micro-mesh filter guaranteed to let warm air out without letting dust in.

Fastar compatible: For the ultimate in wide-field catadioptric imaging, the EdgeHD optical tube is Fastar compatible to allow CCD imaging at a blazingly-fast f/2 focal ratio. An optional Fastar/Hyperstar lens assembly replaces the telescope's removable secondary mirror (an exchange that takes only a few minutes). Your CCD camera is attached to the Fastar lens. This puts your camera at the f/2 position in the center of the Schmidt corrector lens at the front of the scope, rather than in its normal f/10 position at the Cassegrain focus at the rear of the scope.

Focusing: Focusing is accomplished by turning a knob at the rear of the scope body that moves the primary mirror fore and aft along a central baffle tube to adjust the focus. The Celestron focusing mechanism is supported by two pre-loaded ball bearings, minimizing the "mirror flop" typical of bushing focus mechanisms that causes image shift during critical focusing.

Mirror support knobs: Mirror support knobs hold the mirror in place after correct focus is achieved for imaging and reduce image shift when rotating the tube around the mount (while moving past the zenith during astrophotography, for example). Unlike other designs that have only one locking knob located off to one side of the mirror, the Celestron system uses three locks equally spaced around the mirror to distribute the mirror locking force symmetrically. The focuser itself acts as one of the locks, while two knobs spaced 120° away in either direction act as the second and third locks to hold the mirror in place without putting any asymmetrical force or pressure on the mirror. This keeps the image centered in the eyepiece (or on the CCD chip) no matter what the orientation of the optical tube.

Finderscope: 50mm straight-through achromatic design, mounted in a spring-loaded easy-adjust quick release bracket.

Star diagonal: 2" multicoated first-surface mirror type, with 1.25" adapter.

Eyepiece: 2" 23mm 82° Luminos (102x). The eyepiece field of view is 0.8° across, over one and a half times wider than the the diameter of the full moon, for bright wide-angle deep space views. The Luminos eyepiece is optimized to deliver pinpoint images when used with a flat field telescope such as this EdgeHD model.

This Telescope's Mount . . .

Fork mount/drive system: The heavy-duty die-cast aluminum dual fork arms are rigid and damp vibrations quickly. Carrying handles are built into the fork arms. There's a convenient detachable mounting bracket for the NexStar computer hand control that lets you use the hand control and view information on the two-line display hands-free while using the scope.

The redesigned and re-engineered drive train of the CPC Deluxe mount includes DC slewing/tracking motors with encoders in both altitude and azimuth. Motor resolution is 0.14 arc seconds. The redesigned electronics deliver constant regulated power to the motors, making them capable of driving the telescope smoothly, even when it is not perfectly balanced, and without sacrificing smooth tracking motion and pointing accuracy across the entire sky.

The new larger 6" diameter 180-tooth brass altitude and azimuth drive gears are driven by new 0.75" stainless steel worms in spring-loaded worm blocks to provide smooth slewing and tracking. There are 9 user-selectable speeds from 3° per second slewing down to a precise 0.5x sidereal rate for photographic drive correction. The drives work in the altazimuth mode (right/left up/down) to locate and track objects for visual use and casual solar system photography. If long exposure deep space photography is planned, the scope can be converted to equatorial operation by adding an optional wedge.

The fork arms and optical tube are supported by a unique roller bearing system that uses both steel and nylon ball bearings rotating around a large 9.8" azimuth bearing track designed to provide an ultra-stable and smooth polar axis motion and smoother tracking accuracy for long exposure astrophotography.

The scope includes three preprogrammed drive speeds - sidereal, solar, and lunar. It operates in an altazimuth mode, as well as northern hemisphere equatorial and southern hemisphere equatorial (using an optional equatorial wedge).

The scope is powered by external 12 Volt 2.5 Amp DC power (a car battery or optional rechargeable 12V battery #4517V). The scope cannot be powered by short-lived flashlight batteries. The standard equipment car battery cord and optional AC adapter plug into the drive base. Power and command signals to the declination motor are routed through cordless internal slip ring signal paths. There's no separate external declination cable to connect the drive base to the dec motor as with other scopes, so you don't have to worry about losing a cable or breaking it by tangling the cable around the scope inadvertently while observing.

NexStar Computer: The scope's NexStar computer can show you the planets and thousands of deep space objects at the touch of a button or two the very first night you use your scope - even if you've never used a telescope before! The Celestron CPC's built-in GPS system and easy-to-use SkyAlign software will have you lined up on the sky and observing in minutes. For information on many of the features and capabilities of the NexStar computer and the unique SkyAlign software, click on the "NexStar computer" link in the support tab above.

NexRemote software: NexRemote telescope control software allows you to control the CPC Deluxe 925 HD from your personal computer or laptop. NexRemote provides full emulation of every aspect of the Celestron computerized hand control. It lets you align in any tracking mode; go to any database object; setup user objects; put the scope in hibernation; connect to popular planetarium programs; etc.

In addition to emulating the NexStar hand control, NexRemote adds powerful new features that let you keep your eyes on the stars instead of the LCD by enabling talking computer speech support using your computer's built-in speaker. You can control the objects you want to see and the order that you see them; create and save custom tours by launching NexTour; take wireless control of the telescope with optional gamepad support; connect your personal GPS device to NexRemote using NexGPS; download NexRemote updates online to add the latest features; and more. The NexRemote software includes an RS-232 cable to connect the CPC Deluxe 925 HD to a PC.

Adjustable height tripod: The new heavy duty tripod has 2" diameter steel legs. It has a metal lower tensioning spider and an upgraded aluminum upper center leg brace for rigidity and rapid vibration dampening. The leg brace also doubles as an accessory tray with holes to safely hold eyepieces up out of the dew-soaked grass and close at hand. A locating pin on the top of the tripod automatically centers the scope on the tripod for easy assembly in the dark. A single hand-tighten lever per leg locks in the tripod height adjustment. The levers are on the insides of the legs, to avoid snagging on clothing in the dark. The tripod adjusts in height over a 30" to 45" range.

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

• 9.25" f/10 Starbright XLT multicoated EdgeHD flat field optics in aluminum tube
• Mirror locks
• Tube vents
• Go-to fully computerized go-to dual fork arm mount with carrying handles, supported by a steel and nylon roller bearing on a 9.8" diameter track, dual axis worm gear DC motor drive with spring-loaded worm blocks and a 6" brass gear and 0.75" stainless steel worm gear in each axis
• Heavy duty adjustable height metal tripod
• NexStar 40,000+ object computer hand control with SkyAlign three-star alignment, plus auto two-star align, one-star align, EQ align, and solar system align
• One star polar alignment using unique built-in All-Star software
• PPEC (Permanent Periodic Error Compensation)
• RS-232 port for connection to a PC
• Separate CCD autoguider and auxiliary ports
• 50mm finderscope in spring-loaded quick release bracket
• 2" star diagonal
• 2" 23mm Luminos 82° eyepiece (102x)
• 12V DC power cord
• Dust covers.