Meade 14 Inch LX200-ACF Advanced Coma Free Telescope with UHTC

What's Included

14 Inch LX200-ACF Telescope, Giant Field Tripod, AutoStar Suite Software, Series 4000 26mm Super Plossl Eyepiece, 1.25" Diagonal Prism

Description

Meade 14 Inch LX200-ACF Advanced Coma-Free Telescope with UHTC

 

The most widely used research telescope on earth now comes with the most advanced optical system. Meade's LX200-ACF brings Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optics within reach of aspiring astronomers everywhere. Nearly every observatory reflector in the world uses an aplanatic (coma-free) optical system like the Ritchey-Chrétien (RC), including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Now you can own optics similar to what the professionals use. The LX200-ACF includes all the field-proven features of the LX200, including GPS, Primary Mirror Lock, Oversized Primary Mirror, SmartDrive™, Smart Mount™, AutoStar® II, and more. The new LX200-ACF:  It's the biggest news in astronomy since, well, the LX200.

 

The "advanced" in Advanced Coma-Free.
A traditional Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) is a type of reflector that delivers a coma-free, flat field of view via hyperbolic primary and secondary mirrors. RC telescopes (from a variety of manufacturers) are found in most of the world's top observatories and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Because the mirrors in these telescopes have always been very expensive to make, few amateur astronomers could enjoy them. Fortunately, Meade engineers developed a radical new Advanced Coma Free design by combining a hyperbolic secondary mirror with a corrector-lens-and-spherical-primary-mirror combination that performs as one hyperbolic element. This ACF design produces a coma-free, flat field of view that rivals traditional RC telescopes at a fraction of the cost. The design even eliminates diffraction spikes and improves astigmatism, both of which are inherent in the traditional ACF design. When reviewing Meade's LX200-ACF Advanced Coma Free, Sky and Telescope magazine said, " It does indeed perform like a Ritchey-Chrétien. The difference between the off-axis images (compared to a Schmidt-Cassegrain) was dramatic to say the least."

 

f/10 Advanced Coma-Free Optics: Building from a classic RC design, Meade has created a new design with the same coma-free pinpoint star images and flatter field that discerning astrophotographers and most professional observatories have come to expect from classic Ritchey-Chrétien optics. Meade's Advanced Coma-Free system also reduces the astigmatism and eliminates diffractions spikes found in classical RCs. The LX200-ACF is the perfect platform for the demanding researcher and imaging enthusiast with telescopes available in apertures of 8 inches, 10 inches, 12 inches, 14 inches and 16 inches.

 

Primary Mirror Lock - Locks the mirror in place preventing movement during long-exposure astrophotography.

 

Smart Drive - Provides permanent periodic error correction (PPEC) on both axes by learning and averaging error over the course of one or more training periods, thereby minimizing guiding corrections during long-exposure photographs.   PPEC is available on both axes and functions in both polar and altazimuth modes.

 

Sony GPS Receiver Sensor - automatically inputs precise time, date, and geographical location to help quickly and precisely align the telescope.

 

AutoAlign - Telescopes with Meade's new AutoAlign are smart scopes that know the night sky right out of the box.  AutoAlign picks two alignment stars for you and places them right in your viewfinder.  Just center to fine tune your alignment and the wonders of the universe are at your fingertips.

 

AutoStar II Controller - features "Hot Keys" for quick access to a 145,000 celestial object database.  AutoStar II can be updated with the latest software upgrades, guided tours and timely objects like comets free at meade.com

 

Meade High Precision Pointing HP Feature

 

This feature is most helpful to astrophotographers interested in imaging objects too faint to be confirmed with the naked eye.  Or those who want to place an item dead center on a very small CCD chip.  When you turn this feature on and ask the scope to slew to an object, the scope will first slew to a star right next to the object and ask you to center that star perfectly.  The star is likely to be perfectly centered already (that's how accurate Meade telescopes are).  But once you have confirmed the star's precise location, the scope will slew to the nearby deep sky object and place it exactly in the center of your field of view.  For normal observing, this level of precision isn't necessary.  But HPP gives you the confidence to kick off a two-hour long imaging sequence without even visually confirming a faint object's existence! 

 

Supplier SKU 1410-60-03 14" LX200-ACF (f/10) Advanced Coma-Free w/UHTC

 

Product Number 1410-60-03
Clear Aperture 14" (356mm)
Optical Design Advanced Coma Free (ACF)
Focal Length 3,556mm
Focal Ratio f/10
Telescope Mounting Heavy-duty fork type; double-tine
Optical Coatings Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
Resolving Power (Dawes Limit) 0.326 arcseconds
AutoStar Controller Autostar II
Object Database 145,000 objects
Viewfinder 8x50mm with cross-hair reticle
Eyepiece 26mm Series 4000 Super Plossl
Diagonal 1.25" diagonal prism
Pointing Precision (High-Precision Mode) 1-arc min.
Periodic Error Correction Both Axes
Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PPEC) Yes
Slow Motion Controls Mechanical & electronic
Slew Speeds RA and Dec: 0.01x to1.0x sidereal, variable in 0.01x increments; 2x, 8x, 16x, 64x, 128x sidereal; 1°/sec. to 2°/sec., variable in 0.1° increments.
Tracking Rates Sidereal, lunar, or custom-selected from 2000 incremental rates
Tripod Giant field
Batteries (User-Supplied) 8 x C cells
Battery Life (Typical) 20 hrs.
Power 12V DC, 5 amp power supply (optional)
Additional Features 
GPS Receiver Included
True Level & North Sensors (LNT) Included
Time Chip Included
Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser Optional
Smart Mount Yes
Smart Drive Yes
Mirror Lock Yes
Oversized Primary Mirror Yes
AutoStar Suite Planetarium Software Included
Materials 
Primary Mirror & Secondary Mirrors Low expansion borrosilicate glass
Correcting Plate/Lens Schott Water-white Glass
Optical Tube Aluminum
Weights and Dimensions 
OTA Weight 57.79 lbs.
OTA Dimensions 16 in x 16 in x 32 in
Tripod Shipping Weight (approx.) 50 lbs.
Tripod Dimensions 40" to 50" variable
Total Net Telescope Weight 166 lbs.
Telescope Shipping Weight (approx.) 225 lbs.

Dimensions & Specifications

Videos

Meade 14 Inch LX200 ACF Advanced Coma Free Telescope Video

Learn more from a knowledgeable Hayneedle representative about the Meade 14 Inch LX200 ACF Advanced Coma Free Telescope, with this informative video.