Meade 8" f/10 LX85 ACF Optical Tube Assembly
MSRP: $1,599.99
- 8" f/10 Advanced Coma-Free Optics - 2032mm focal length
- Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
- Oversized low-expansion Borosilicate primary mirror
- Vixen style mounting dovetail bar
- Includes 26mm Super Plössl eyepiece, 1.25" mirror star diagonal, and 8x50 optical finder scope
The Meade 8” f/10 LX85 ACF optical tube assembly offers large aperture in a very compact form. Designed to be portable and lightweight, and includes a Vixen-style dovetail bar mounted to the bottom of the tube which allow attachment to any Vixen compatible mount.
The Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optical system features Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC), an oversized low-expansion Borosilicate primary mirror, a glass corrector plate, and beautiful diffraction limited optics. The ACF optical system has brought the highest level of optical performance well within the reach of amateur astronomers at an affordable price. Using this Meade exclusive design, ACF optics achieve aplanatic performance - with a flatter field, reduced astigmatism and of course no diffractions spikes impeding the view as with a reflector design.
Designed and Manufactured in North America, and the ACF primary, secondary and corrector plate glass blanks are manufactured in the USA exclusively for Meade.
Interested in astrophotography? Meade ACF telescopes, with their long native focal lengths, are great instruments for photographing planets and the Moon in high-resolution detail with a DSLR or astro camera. And the addition of the optional Meade ACF 0.68x Focal Reducer optimizes any ACF for deep space imaging. This thread-on accessory converts an f/10 ACF into a faster f/6.8 system and transforms an f/8 ACF into a speedy f/5.5 imaging beast! The reducer shortens the long exposure times needed to record faint deep-sky objects by half and expands the field of view by nearly 50%, allowing capture of larger objects in a single frame. Your Meade ACF will become a powerful astrograph capable of capturing jaw-dropping astrophotographs with your DSLR or astronomical CCD or CMOS camera!
The optical path and components of the ACF telescope design
Optical features include an 8" (203mm) aperture, 2032mm focal length, and f/10 focal ratio. The internal single speed focuser provides fine control of focus and the UHTC coatings provide impressive views of brighter star clusters, more fine detail in nebulae, and greater surface features on planets. Includes a 1.25" 26mm Super Plössl eyepiece and an 8x50 optical finder scope. With included accessories, the optical tube weighs 11.5 lbs (5.2kg) with dimensions of 460mm length X 250mm diameter.
- Best for viewing
- Brighter deep sky
- Best for imaging
- Solar, lunar, planetary & Messier objects
- Astro-imaging capability
- Lunar, planetary & long exposure
- User level
- Advanced
- Optical design
- Advanced Coma-Free (ACF)
- Optical diameter
- 203mm
- Focal length
- 2032mm
- Focal ratio
- f/10.0
- Finder scope magnification
- 8x
- Finder scope lens diameter
- 50mm
- Backfocus Distance
- 109.7mm
- Eyepieces
- Super Plossl 26.0mm (1.25")
- Magnification with included eyepieces
- 78x
- Resolving power
- 0.57arc*sec
- Lowest useful magnification
- 29x
- Highest useful magnification
- 300x
- Highest theoretical magnification
- 406x
- Limiting stellar magnitude
- 14.2
- Optical quality
- Diffraction limited
- Finder scope
- 8x50
- Focuser
- Internal
- Mount type
- Optical Tube without Mount
- Tube material
- Aluminum
- Weight, optical tube
- 11.5 lbs.
- Additional included accessories
- Vixen style dovetail bar, 1.25" 90 degree diagonal mirror
- Other features
- Ultra High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
- Warranty
- Two year