Product Highlights
12" Catadioptric Telescope f/10 Focal Ratio 3048mm Focal Length Aplanatic Advanced Coma-Free Design Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) Borosilicate Primary Mirror Primary Mirror Lock Losmandy-Style Dovetail Plate OTA Only - Mount and Tripod Required The Meade 12” ACF (Advanced Coma-Free) catadioptric optical tube brings
the astronomical image quality of a professional observatory to your
back yard, at a down-to-earth price. The Advanced Coma-Free optics of
this Meade 12” optical tube are designed to emulate the coma-free
optical performance of the Ritchey-Chrétien optics used in most
professional observatory telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope, but
at a fraction the cost of a true R-C. The 12" Meade optical
system uses a premium Schott Borofloat glass corrector plate. An
oversize low-expansion borosilicate primary mirror provides brighter
field edge illumination. The system is fully UHTC (Ultra High
Transmission Coatings) multicoated for 15% higher light transmission
than standard single-layer optical coatings.
The aluminum
tube has high-efficiency glare-stop baffling. A progressive tension
primary mirror locking system locks the mirror firmly in place once a
photographic focus has been achieved. This eliminates the possibility of
the system changing focus while taking an image. Performance is
guaranteed to be diffraction-limited. For more details, click on the “optics” icon above.
This 12" Meade optical tube comes with a Losmandy-style "D-plate"
dovetail that lets you mount the OTA on any German equatorial mount that
has a Losmandy-style dovetail saddle plate.
Most OTA
buyers typically already have an assortment of star diagonals,
eyepieces, finderscopes, etc. on hand, so no visual or other accessories
are provided with the 12” Meade OTA, other than dust covers. This
allows you to customize the optical tube as you see fit. The 12” Meade
OTA has a standard 2”-24 thread Schmidt-Cassegrain rear cell of the type
used for decades by Meade and Celestron. Accordingly, virtually any SCT
accessories (thread-on star diagonals, visual backs, camera adapters,
off-axis guiders, etc.) can be used with the Meade OTA. The front and
rear cells are drilled and tapped with the same hole pattern as a
fully-mounted 12” Meade scope, so a wide variety of finderscope brackets
and accessory dovetail rails can be fitted to the OTA with ease.
The Meade optical tube uses a progressive tension primary mirror
locking system that locks the mirror firmly in place once the
photographic focus has been achieved. This eliminates the possibility of
the system changing focus while taking an image.
While this
12” Meade optical tube will perform well under mildly light-polluted
suburban skies, it is at a remote site with truly dark and steady skies
that you’ll best be able to take full advantage of its superb coma-free
optical performance and the extra light transmission of its UHTC optics.
It’s not a scope that’s at its happiest staying in a heavily
light-polluted city or suburban observing environment.
This
12” Meade optical tube has enough premium Advanced Coma-Free performance
to keep you busy observing and imaging for the rest of your life. If
you need a top-quality optical tube to put on your existing German
equatorial mount, at a price that’s far from astronomical, this 12”
Meade with Advanced Coma-Free optics and UHTC multicoatings may be the
perfect OTA for you.
Optical Design
Hybrid catadioptric
Optical Lens Diameter
12.0" (305mm )
Focal Length
120.0" (3048mm )
Focal Ratio
f/10.0
Maximum Useful Magnification
750x
Resolving Power
0.38
Optical Coatings
UHTC Ultra-High Transmission Coatings
Optical Tube Dimensions
13.6 x 25.0" (34.5 x 63.5 cm ) WxL
Eyepiece Barrel Diameter
2.00" (includes 1.25" adapter )
Finderscope
None
Weight
44.0lb
Meade LX200-ACF 12"/305mm Catadioptric Optical Tube Assembly (3048mm f/10.0)
Dust Cover Universal Sliding Mounting Bracket
1-Year Warranty Against Manufacturer Defects
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