Celestron CGX EQ 800 EdgeHD 8" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain GoTo Telescope

Product Highlights

• 8" Aplanic Schmidt-Cassegrain OTA
• 2032mm Focal Length, f/10 Focal Ratio
• StarBright XLT Optical Coating System
• 1.25" Diagonal and 40mm Eyepiece
• CGX Motorized GoTo Mount, 55-lb Payload
• NexStar+ Computer Hand Controller
• 40,000-Object Database
• Multiple Alignment Processes
• Guided Tours and Custom Object Filters
• 2" Stainless Steel Tripod

HD FEATURES

• Experience our best optical performance with EdgeHD’s ?at-?eld and coma-free optics for pinpoint stars all the way to the edge of today’s largest imaging sensors and widest eyepieces
• Aluminum optical tube with tube vents featuring an integrated 95-micron mesh filter allows hot air to be released from behind the primary mirror. Mirror support knobs hold the mirror in place and reduce image shift during imaging
• Versatile design accommodates 2 focal ratios: native f/10 or ultra-fast f/2 imaging with a removable secondary mirror and third-party accessories

Computerized Mount Features

• All-new design. Sturdier and more rigid with quicker dampening time
• Increased load capacity to 55 lbs.
• Improved motors provide more torque, better slewing and tracking under heavy loads
• Heavy Duty belt-drive system minimizes backlash while providing smooth motor operation under heavy loads 
• Spring-loaded brass worm wheel and stainless steel worm gear reduce friction and provide optimum gear mesh
• Internal cabling for worry-free remote operation. Power input and accessory ports remain stationary while the mount slews to avoid snags
• Internal hard stops for both axes prevents cable tension and tripod strike
• Internal optical sensors on both axes for simple and safe remote operation
• Home sensors allow the mount to always start in the index position regardless of orientation before a power reset
• Limit sensors automatically shut off slewing or tracking before reaching the hard stop fail safe
• Brand new control software developed in conjunction with PlaneWave Instruments for professional level control operation and imaging
• Software includes multi-point mount modeling for extremely precise pointing accuracy and many more additional features for remote astroimaging
• Wider tripod stance for improved stability
• Adjustable EQ head position to optimize center of gravity over the tripod and fully utilize the increased 3º-65º latitude range
• Dual-fit CG-5/Vixen and CGE/Losmandy dovetail saddle

Improved tripod includes:

• 2" steel legs with height index marks for quick leveling
• "Jack of all trays" can hold three 1.25" eyepieces, two 2" eyepieces, your smartphone, or other accessories
• +20º of additional tracking past the meridian on either side
• Tripod legs can be collapsed with accessory tray installed for faster setup and transport

Improved ergonomics:

• Two handles for easy pickup and transport
• All-new ergonomically designed dovetail clamping knobs
• Innovative and improved polar alignment adjustment system
• All-new ergonomic latitude adjuster for smooth and easy adjustment under full loads
• Optional add-on polar axis finderscope - coming soon

Electronics:

• All-new NexStar+ hand control with USB port 
• Two AUX accessory ports to support wireless/WiFi alignment and operation with StarSense AutoAlign and SkyPortal WiFi Module accessories (sold separately)
• USB 2.0 port, used to connect directly to PC with included software
• Autoguider port
• PPEC ready
• Threaded 12VDC power input barrel connector
• Internal Real Time Clock (keeps time and site information saved)

Introducing the EdgeHD Telescope Series, Celestron’s dependable flagship telescope line- fused to their CGX Mount, the newest and greatest in German Equatorial mounts. With a proven telescope to mount atop it, the CGX is sure to provide you with some of the finest astronomical experiences you've had to date! 

The EdgeHD is by now a well proven and tested brand, with it's quality well assured by thousands of satisfied customers.. and Celestron has chosen to pair it with their amazing new CGX mount! This mount is years in the making, and is the by-product of years of thought and planning on how to redesign the very concept of a German Equatorial mount from the ground up and the top down! 

The EdgeHD is Celestron’s latest innovation that will surely be the system of choice for the serious astro-imagers. The new Edge High Definition telescope series features an Aplanatic Schmidt optical system that produces pinpoint star images all the way to the edge of the field. Some optical systems currently on the market may produce coma free images. But there is a difference.... the optical difference. Not only is the Celestron Edge coma free, but it also has a built in field flattener to ensure sharp focus all the way to the edge of the field, producing true Astrograph quality images. This results in pinpoint, High Definition star images throughout your astro photograph.

These superior features combined with Celestron's recently introduced and cutting edge CGX mounts make the new Celestron EdgeHD series the new gold standard in Astro Imaging. The Edge HD is an aplanatic Schmidt telescope designed to produce aberration-free images across a wide visual and photographic field of view. The optical system was designed to reduce more than just off-axis star coma, but also to give an astrograph quality flat focal plane all the way to the edge of the field of view. Once again, Celestron sets the benchmark!

Many optical designs that advertise themselves as “astrograph” quality actually only produce pinpoint stars across a curved focal plane. While this may be acceptable for visual observing, stars will appear out of focus at the edge when used with a flat chip sensor of a digital camera. Edge HD optics produce a focal plane more than three-times flatter than a standard Schmidt Cassegrain telescope and dramatically flatter than other competing coma-free designs. This guarantees you visibly sharp stars across some of the largest CCD chips available today.

Now let's talk about Celestron quality...

The Celestron CGX Mount is an innovative new design that improves on it's predesscors in every imaginable way.

Ergonomic Design - The Celestrom CGX mount is incredibly ergonomic, from the convenient carrying handles to the easy to use and turn knobs. 

Splendid Engineering- This mount boasts drastically reduced backlash and improved stability. Incredibly rigid, this mount also boasts an improved motor system that greatly boosts the provided torque. It's simply superior to it's predecessors in every way.

Innovation - The Celestron CGX series boasts internal cabling that utterly bypasses the issue of cable twisting or tangling by letting you route all your own power supply and accessory cables into a convenient port on a part of the mount that moves- from which they enter into the mount, utterly contained, and reach everywhere they need to on the inside without any tangling issues. Neat and clean!

Performance - For objects near the Meridian (imaginary line passing from North to South), the Celestron CGX mount will track a full 20 degrees past the Meridian for uninterrupted imaging through the most ideal part of the sky. The CGX mount has a robust database with over 40,000 objects, utilizing a top quality Nexstar hand controller. 

Celestron's bleeding edge new CGX mount is the current pinnacle of German Equatorial Mount Engineering.  Boasting a wide range of new and improved features, this mount is simply top quality.  It's just plain better than it's competition and predecessors. 

Superior mount performance combined with superior edge performance not only creates rounder, more pleasing stars but actually improves the resolution and limiting magnitude when compared to telescopes of equal aperture. When it comes to the Celestron HD series coupled with Celestron’s StarBright XLT coating group on every surface, EdgeHD optics gives you maximum light throughput across the widest visual and photographic spectrum... It's a vision you'll never forget.

Optical Tube Info:

Optical Design	EdgeHD
Aperture (mm)	203.2 mm (8 in)
Focal Length	2032 mm (80 in)
Focal Ratio	10
Focal Length of Eyepiece 1 (mm)	40 mm (1.57 in)
Magnification of Eyepiece 1	51x
Finderscope	9x50
Star Diagonal	1.25
Optical Tube	Aluminum
Highest Useful Magnification	480x
Lowest Useful Magnification	29x
Limiting Stellar Magnitude	14
Resolution (Rayleigh)	0.69 arc seconds
Resolution (Dawes)	0.57 arc seconds
Light Gathering Power (Compared to human eye)	843x
Secondary Mirror Obstruction	2.7 in (69 mm)
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Diameter	34%
Secondary Mirror Obstruction by Diameter	11%
Optical Coatings	StarBright XLT
Optical Tube Length	17 in (432 mm)
Optical Tube Weight	14 lbs (6.3 kg)
Dovetail Compatibility	CGE Mount
Mount Info:
Mount	German Equatorial Mount
Instrument load capacity	55lbs
Tripod height adjustment range	47.25” to 77.5” including EQ headA
Tripod leg diameter	2"
Latitude adjustment range	3º-65º
Tripod Weight	19.2 lbs
EQ Head Weight	44 lbs
Max Slew Speed	5º/second (4º/second is default)
Tracking Rates	Sidereal, Solar and Lunar
Number of Auxiliary ports (for hand control and accessories)	2
Autoguide Port	Yes
USB Port	Yes
Software	New telescope control PC software
Included Items
	CGX Equatorial Head
	CGX Tripod
	Accessory Tray
	2 x 11 lbs counterweight
	NexStar+ Hand Control
	DC Power Cable (plugs into cigarette lighter socket)

In the Box