Meade 8" f/10 LX85 ACF Telescope with Mount and Tripod
MSRP: $2,799.99
- 8" f/10 Advanced Coma-Free Optics - 2032mm focal length
- Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
- 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 26mm Super Plössl eyepiece, 90 degree star diagonal, 8x50 optical finder scope with bracket, 2" diameter steel leg tripod, and more!
Where To Buy?
The Meade 8" f/10 LX85 ACF telescope with mount and tripod combines portable but powerful optics with an equatorial GoTo mount that both observers and astro-imagers will appreciate.
The patented Advanced Coma Free (ACF) optics produce impressively flat fields of view with none of the coma distortion inherent in some other designs, even out to the edges of larger format cameras or extreme wide angle eyepieces. With its big 8" aperture and long focal length of 2032mm, the 8" f/10 LX85 ACF telescope penetrates deep into space to resolve stunning views of distant star clusters, planetary nebulae, and elusive galaxies — objects that are virtually out of reach of the wide-angle telescopes so common today.
The optics feature an oversized low-expansion borosilicate primary mirror and glass corrector plate. The corrector plate produces no diffraction spikes because there are no secondary spider vanes, as are standard on other optical designs such as Newtonian reflectors and Ritchey-Chretiens. The Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) yield maximum image brightness and contrast at the eyepiece or camera sensor, serving up beautifully bright images of deep-sky objects, with excellent contrast of surface features found on the Moon and planets.
The optical path and components of the ACF telescope design
Proudly Designed and Manufactured in North America
The ACF primary, secondary, and corrector plate glass blanks are manufactured in the USA exclusively for Meade. Meade ACF telescopes and mounts are all manufactured and assembled in North America, with meticulous oversight of quality control throughout the production process.
A Rock-Solid Platform for Your Telescope
Enthusiasts will appreciate the stability, pointing precision, and engineering craftsmanship embodied in the LX85 Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount. This fine-quality German equatorial mount, which features fully automated GoTo slewing to thousands of objects via its innovative AudioStar controller, sets the standard for mid-sized telescope mounts. It features a Vixen-style dovetail cradle for mounting telescopes and camera gear weighing up to 33 lb. Supporting the mount is a beefy tripod with 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. Of course, if your primary interest is visual, you might consider the LX90 series of fork-mounted Alt/Az telescopes, as there is no need for critical polar alignment when observing. But for long exposure photography, the LX85's equatorial configuration and capability for pinpoint polar alignment will set you up better for success.
Advanced Tracking and Guiding Performance
The 8" f/10 LX85 ACF 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!.
The 8" f/10 LX85 ACF Telescope's optical tube measures only 18" long, and weighs just 11.5 lbs. An internal single-speed focuser lets you dial in the perfect focus. The telescope comes with a Meade 26mm (78x) Super Plössl eyepiece, 1.25" mirror star diagonal, 8x50 crosshair viewfinder, tripod accessory tray, 25' DC power cable, one 9-lb counterweight, and AutoStar Suite software available as a download. Requires a 12V power source or 110V AC to 12V DC power converter (sold separately). Weighs 46 lb fully assembled. And like all Meade products the LX85 8" f/10 LX85 ACF Telescope is backed by Meade's Two Year Limited Warranty.
Powerful, nicely portable, and versatile enough for visual or astrophotographic pursuits — those qualities make the Meade LX85 8" f/10 LX85 ACF Telescope with Mount and Tripod an instrument you can growth with as you go deep exploring what the night sky has to offer.
Please note this product was not designed or intended by the manufacturer for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.
- Best for viewing
- Fainter deep sky
- Best for imaging
- Solar, lunar, planetary & Messier objects
- Astro-imaging capability
- Lunar, planetary & long exposure
- User level
- Intermediate
- 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
- 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
- 400x
- Limiting stellar magnitude
- 14.2
- Optical quality
- Diffraction limited
- Finder scope
- 8x50
- Focuser
- Internal
- Diagonal degrees
- 1.25" 90° Mirror Star
- Mount type
- Equatorial
- Tube material
- Aluminum
- Length of optical tube
- 18.1 in.
- Weight, optical tube
- 11.5 lbs.
- Additional included accessories
- 26mm Super Plossl eyepiece, 8x50 finder scope, 25' DC power cable
- Other features
- ACF optics for coma-free images, Smart Drive w/ Permanent Periodic Error Correction, AudioStar Controller with multiple guided tours
- Warranty
- Two year
How To Videos:
- How to Set Up Your LX85 Telescope
- How to Polar Align Your EQ Telescope Mount
- How to Align Your LX85 Telescope
Instruction Manual:
- EN: Meade LX85 Series Quickstart Guide
- EN: Meade AudioStar Controller
- EN: LX85 EQ Series with AudioStar
