Meade 6" f/4.1 LX85 Astrograph Reflector Telescope (217011)

Meade 6" f/4.1 LX85 Astrograph Reflector Telescope

• Solidly built 6" reflector telescope and LX85 equatorial mount is a great choice for visual or astrophotographic forays into deep space
• Precision-made 150mm (6") parabolic primary mirror reflector telescope with fast 610mm focal length (f/4.1) will provide years of enjoyment
• LX85 equatorial mount and tripod with GoTo slewing and tracking, and AudioStar controller for automated pointing to over 30,000 night sky objects
• Requires 12v DC power source, or AC-DC power inverter
• Includes robust 2" dual speed linear bearing Crayford focuser with 1.25" adapter, 8x50 finder scope, 26mm Super Plössl eyepiece, 2" diameter steel leg tripod, and more!

The Meade 6" f/4.1 LX85 Astrograph Reflector Telescope comprises a compact wide field telescope riding atop the versatile LX85 Equatorial GoTo Mount and Tripod. Featuring a fast f/4.1 optical system, this telescope and mount combination is ideally suited for taking high-resolution images of the night sky with very short exposures, or simply automatically locating and tracking your favorite deep-sky objects for observation, as they drift overhead throughout the night.

With a 610mm focal length, pairing this telescope with a DSLR or other astro camera will yield a spectacularly wide field of view, perfect for framing some of those "showpiece" deep-sky objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula. And with the 2" linear bearing Crayford focuser, popping in a low power 2" eyepiece will reveal thrilling views that'll knock your socks off! The focuser features a 10:1 reduction fine focus knob, brass compression rings (so you don't mar the barrel of your eyepieces or camera adapters) and a 2" to 1.25" step down adapter (also with a brass compression ring).

Proudly Designed and Manufactured in North America

The LX85 equatorial Goto mount was designed and is manufactured in North America, with meticulous oversight of quality control throughout the production process.

Enthusiasts will appreciate the stability, pointing precision, and engineering craftsmanship embodied in this fine-quality German equatorial mount, which features fully automated GoTo slewing to thousands of objects via its innovative AudioStar controller. The mount features a Vixen-style dovetail cradle and supports telescopes and camera gear weighing up to 33 lb. Its beefy tripod boasts 2"-diameter stainless steel legs and a wide stance for stability. The mount readily accommodates the optional Meade LX85 Illuminated Polar Scope, ensuring spot-on polar alignment in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Accurate polar alignment is essential for precise tracking, especially at high powers, and for astrophotographic guiding.

Versatility for Visual Use or Astrophotography

The equatorial design of the LX85 lends itself to both visual use and deep-sky astrophotography. For the latter, the equatorial mount allows the precise polar alignment that is necessary to prevent "field rotation," which degrades long exposures taken with telescopes on Alt/Az mounts.

Advanced Tracking and Guiding Performance

The 6" f/4.1 LX85 Astrograph Reflector telescope's low-cog servo motors ensure smooth tracking and guiding capability. Their integer drive gearing lets you track through long exposures using Meade's Smart Drive feature, which records permanent periodic error correction (PPEC) to improve tracking accuracy over time. Backlash compensation trains out the intrinsic play between gears to further dial in GoTo and tracking precision. Fine slewing and photographic guiding speeds can be adjusted from .01x to 1x sidereal, with faster slewing up to 4 degrees per second.

Take Aim with AudioStar and Its "Astronomer Inside" Tech

With the included AudioStar controller you will enjoy quick access to over 30,000 celestial objects, which you can view with pushbutton ease. The object library includes the planets, double stars, and thousands of nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters from the Messier, NGC, and IC catalogs. Up to 100 custom user-defined objects can also be added, with filters to create custom object lists.

AudioStar's Astronomer Inside technology features a built-in speaker that plays over four hours of educational content about the celestial objects you are viewing — more than 500 of them! Additional helpful functions are right at your fingertips, including directional slewing keys, Guided Tours of the best objects based on date and location, digital positional readouts, several different star alignment procedures, the ability to link with a PC running optional astronomy software, battery monitor, and updating via the internet through its serial port. AudioStar's intuitive menu-driven user interface and two-line red LCD screen make observing the heavens efficient and easy, for new users and experienced stargazers alike. The top of the AudioStar even has a built-in red LED utility light!

The Meade AudioStar features audio files and an internal speaker.

This computerized celestial object locating system plugs into the mount's handbox port. After an easy star alignment, AudioStar is ready to take you to any object in the over 30,000-object database. Enjoy its intuitive object menus and two-line illuminated LCD screen, plus hours of audio descriptions of what you're viewing. What a fun and informative way to explore the heavens!

This complete telescope package includes a 26mm (23x) Super Plössl eyepiece, 8x50 viewfinder with crosshairs, 2"-diameter eyepiece extension tube, hinged tube rings, Vixen-style dovetail rail, tripod accessory tray, 25' DC power cable, one 9-lb counterweight, and AutoStar Suite software available as a download. Weighs 46.8 lb fully assembled.

Depending on the size of your camera sensor, an optional coma corrector is recommended to eliminate the inherent coma in a reflector design. This would prove beneficial when using low power 2" eyepieces, or camera sensors larger than ~4:3 format.

Advances in camera sensitivity mean that you don't need a giant telescope nowadays to capture wall-worthy, jaw-dropping astro images. The pleasantly transportable, immensely capable Meade 6" f/4.1 LX85 Astrograph Reflector Telescope will fulfill your astrophotographic aspirations, whether you're shooting from your back yard or your favorite remote, dark-sky site. Get yours today!