Meade LX65 Mount & Opticstar/Ascension 102ED Triplet APO Premium Plus bundle

Premium triplet APO offers fully multi-coated optics and sharp images.

  • Field Flattener included
  • Optics: 3-element Japanese FCD1 ED
  • Strehl Ratio 0.92 w/Interferometer report
  • Aperture: 102mm
  • Focal Length: 714mm (f/7)
  • 2" Dual-Speed Rack & Pinion Focuser
  • 2" Dielectric Diagonal (99%+ reflectivity)
  • 8x50mm wireless illuminated finderscope
  • Two (2) Wide Angle 70° eyepieces (FMC)
  • Retractable Dewshield
  • Payload capacity: 9.5kg (6.8kg + 3.2kg)
  • AudioStar handbox controller with speech
  • Steel tripod with accessory tray
  • FREE: accessories (see below)
  • UK warranty
Meade LX65 Mount & Opticstar/Ascension 102ED Triplet APO Premium Plus bundle
  • Product code: 68231
  • Availability: In stock
  • Despatch: 2 business days
  • Original Price: £ 1950.00
Shipping rates
England & Wales
£ 20.00
Scotland Central & South
£ 20.00
Scotland North
£ 40.00
Northern Ireland
£ 40.00
UK islands (from)
£ 40.00
European Union (from)
£ 30.00
Worldwide (from)
£ 80.00

Free accessories included (limited offer)

Description

High contrast and minimal colour aberrations are both highly desirable features in a modern telescope. Triplet lens designs incorporating exotic glasses present optical systems practically free of chromatic aberration (colour fringing) and capable of pin-point star images. An interferometer report with each individual telescope is provided.

The Opticstar/Ascension APO (apochromatic) refractors use a high quality made triplet lens objective made of premium Japanese ED (Extremely Low Dispersion) glass to achieve images of high contrast and virtually free of secondary colour. Fully (broadband) multicoated lenses ensure maximum light transmission.

Accessories

The telescope comes complete with the following accessories:

  • Field Flattener with adapters for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras.
  • 8x50mm wireless finder with adjustable illuminated reticle.
  • 2-inch dielectric diagonal (over 99% reflectivity) with 1.25" eyepiece adapter.
  • Wide Angle 10mm 70° fully multi-coated eyepiece.
  • Wide Angle 20mm 70° fully multi-coated eyepiece.
  • Bracket for 50mm aperture finderscopes.
  • Dovetail & mounting rings with carry-handle.
  • Sturdy Aluminium case.

LX65 Mount

The LX65 features a newly designed single-arm mount with Meade’s AudioStar™ Hand controller. This new mount is compact, yet sturdy, providing a great combination of portability and performance. Additionally, the LX65 has the ability to hold two optical tubes, making your experience twice as enjoyable! With its quick and portable setup, you’re ready to start observing in minutes. The LX65 system breaks down into 3 compact pieces and does not require any tools, making it a breeze to transport to your favourite dark sky location!

This versatile scope features two dovetail receivers that allow you to use two optical tubes at once, for a chance to observe your objects both in wide field or close up! The main saddle can hold up to 6.4 kg (14 lbs), while the secondary saddle can hold up to 3.2 kg (7 lbs). The max payload capacity for the LX65 mount is 9.5 kg (21 lbs). This added versatility makes the LX65 great for astronomy outreach or sharing the night sky with others and will be sure to impress anyone with its technology and optics.

Note: The maximum payload capacity for the LX65 mount is 9.5 kg (21 lbs) - that is the combined load capacity only. We don’t recommend anyone put 9.5 kg on the main dovetail saddle or the secondary saddle.


U.K. WARRANTY

ADVANCED

VISUAL

PHOTOGRAPHY

ASTRONOMY
▼ read more ▼

Optical performance

Designed with wide field observing and imaging in mind these triplet apochromatic telescopes offer an array of features including a versatile mounting system, precision 2-speed (11:1) Rack & Pinion focuser and removable dew shield.

The Opticstar/Ascension ED Triplet Premium Plus refractors guarantee an RMS of 0.047 (0.92 Strehl) or better clearly outperforming diffraction-limited (RMS 0.071, Strehl 0.82) apochromatic ED refractors.

In imaging terms the high quality FCD-1 objective ED triplet will bring the image in sharp focus when imaging unlike apochromatic ED refractors that rely on a doublet ED objective for imaging.

RMS Rating Strehl Ratio Comments Note
0.094 0.710 --- not diffraction limited
0.071 0.820 Rayleigh Limit (diffraction limited) good
0.057 0.880 --- ---
0.052 0.900 Ascension ED Triplet Premium very good
0.047 0.920 Ascension ED Triplet Premium Plus very good
The Strehl Ratio is calculated from the RMS rating value: Strehl ratio = 1 - (2π x RMS Rating)2

Features

The optical tube greatly benefits from metal knife-edge baffles that prevent light which has bypassed the optical system or which is outside the field of view from reaching the focal plane thus increasing image contrast. At f/7 (102mm) the focal ratio of the Opticstar/Ascension 102ED Triplet is well suited for wide field astrophotography.

Field Flattener

This Field Flattener has been designed with the premium Opticstar/Ascension ED Triplet refractors in mind. It offers field correction to the edge of field, making it a desirable accessory for imaging.

The field flattener slots directly into the telescope's focuser. Externally, it offers a male T-thread (M42x0.75) for cameras and other accessories to attach to it.

Two T-thread adapters are included as standard:

  • Canon EOS DSLR T-thread Ring adapter (M42 x 0.75).
  • Nikon DSLR T-thread Ring adapter (M42 x 0.75).

LX65 Mount

The LX65 are smart scopes that know the night sky right out of the box. Enter your site information, find level and North, and Easy Align picks two alignment stars for you and places them right in your viewfinder. Centre them to fine tune your alignment and the wonders of the Universe are at your fingertips.

AudioStar™

The LX65 are smart scopes that know the night sky right out of the box. Enter your site information, find level and North, and Easy Align picks two alignment stars for you and places them right in your viewfinder. Centre them to fine tune your alignment and the wonders of the Universe are at your fingertips.

LX65 telescopes.

AudioStar handbox controller

The AudioStar computer controller with speaker helps you quickly find and GoTo over 30,000 objects in the night sky. With the AudioStar Controller plugged into your Meade telescope the astronomical universe is in the palm of your hand. Never before has such powerful telescope technology been so easy to operate, even by the most casual observer. Coiled cord and instructions included.

View planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, comets and more-all at the push of a button. Don't know what you want to view this evening? Then go to the Tonight's Best™ tour in your AudioStar. It automatically selects the best objects in the sky for that particular time and location.

The Meade AudioStar handbox controller features audio files and an internal speaker. This amazing computerised celestial object locating system plugs into the telescope's handbox port allowing a quick telescope alignment.

Once aligned with the sky the AudioStar is ready to take you to any object in the over 30,000 object database. In addition to GOTO and tracking capability the AudioStar permits a wide array of fascinating and educational functions such as multiple Guided Tours, digital positional readouts, a database of up to 200 user-defined objects, 9-Speed dual-axis movement, the ability to link with a PC using optionally available software and cord, and much more.


AudioStar features

The AudioStar controller provides all of the telescope control functions of the previous AutoStar handboxes but adds unique Astronomer Inside digital audio software and a speaker built into the AudioStar body that can provide you with more than four hours of fascinating and professionally-recorded audio descriptions of the objects you are observing. With Astronomer Inside technology, everyone around your telescope can listen and learn about more than 500 of the celestial objects contained in the AudioStar database, including planets, nebulas, star clusters, the Moon, and much more. Astronomer Inside puts the experience and astronomical knowledge of a professional astronomer in the palm of your hand.

Included in the AudioStar’s database are all of the following 30,000+ astronomical objects and stars – a range of objects certain to keep even the most active amateur astronomer growing in his or her studies of the skies for years:

  • the complete Index Catalog (IC), containing 5,386 galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters of all types;
  • the complete New General Catalog (NGC), containing 7,840 galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters of all types;
  • the complete Messier catalog of 110 Messier (M) objects, the best-known catalog of heavenly showpieces for the amateur astronomer;
  • the 109 objects of the Caldwell Catalog, a new listing of the best objects for small telescopes that expands the Messier catalog;
  • 16,800 stars from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) catalog, including double stars, variable stars, and other stars of special note;
  • 50 Earth-orbiting satellites, 26 asteroids (including all of the brightest asteroids), 15 periodic comets, and the 8 major planets from Mercury to Pluto.

Carries full one year UK warranty.

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▼ show specification ▼
Opticstar/Ascension 102ED Triplet APO Premium Plus & Field Flattener
Attribute Specification
Opticstar Product Code / sku 68231
Universal Product Code (UPC) n/a
Warranty 1 year UK warranty
Series Ascension APO
Experience Level Advanced
Clear Aperture 102mm
Focal Length 714mm
Focal Ratio f/7
Optical Design Apochromatic Refractor
Optical Elements 3-elements
Optical Glass Japanese FCD-1 Premium ED (extremely low dispersion)
Strehl Ratio 0.92 or better
Optical Coatings Fully (Broadband) Multi-Coated
Focuser 2-speed Rack & Pinion (11:1)
Focuser Drawtube 2-inch with 1.25-inch adapter
Focuser Design Rotatable
Focus Travel 12cm
Baffles Knife-edge
Dew Shield Fully extendable dew shield with aluminium cap
Dovetail Vixen-style
Interferometer Report Included with each invidvidual telescope
Finderscope Bracket Included (bracket for 50mm aperture finderscopes)
Hard Case Sturdy aluminium case
Eyepieces Two (2) high quality 10mm & 20mm 70° wide angle fully multicoated eyepieces
Diagonal 2" dielectric diagonal (over 99% reflectivity) with 1.25" eyepiece adapter
Viewfinder 8x50mm wireless finder with adjustable illuminated reticle
Field Flattener Included
Assembled Product Weight 5 kg (w/supplied rings & dovetail)
Assembled Product Dimensions 59cm x 13cm x 13cm
Length with Extended Dew-shield 74cm
Transit Weight 12 kg
Transit Dimensions 72cm x 41cm x 30cm
Meade LX65 Mount
Attribute Specification
Meade Product Code / sku 228000
Universal Product Code (UPC) 709942998856
Warranty 1 year UK warranty by Opticstar Ltd on behalf of Meade Instruments USA
Series LX65
Experience Level Intermediate
Hand Controller AudioStar™
Object Database 30,000 objects
Mount Type Aluminium, single arm alt-azimuth. Ability to hold two optical tubes. Up to 6.8 kg (15 lbs) for the primary tube and 3.2 kg (7 lbs) for the secondary tube.
Power Requirements • Eight (8) C-cell batteries (user supplied);
• Power supply 12 Volt DC, 5 Amp (user supplied);
Control Panel Ports • Handbox • Aux1 port • Aux2 port • 12v power
Dovetail receivers Vixen-style on primary and secondary dovetail receivers
Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) Removable, allowing the user to take the scope off the fork mount for customization
Bubble Level / Compass Fits 1.25" eyepiece holder
Tripod Steel tripod with accessory tray
Software Planetarium software on DVD for Microsoft Windows 10
Mount / Tripod Weight Mount: 9 kg (19 lbs), Tripod: 4 kg (8.5 lbs)
Mount / Tripod Dimensions 86cm x 99cm x 161cm (33.5" x 39" x 63.5")
Transit Weight 15 kg
Transit Dimensions 76cm x 61cm x 25cm
▲ hide specification ▲
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2.5 MB • 19 June 2018
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8.3 MB • 12 November 2019
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Videos
News
11 November 2022

What is more important? Premium optics or ease of use? Now you can have both! The up and coming LX65 telescope series from Meade is packed with more features than any other telescope in its class.

1 December 2021

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8 October 2021

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8 September 2021

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30 September 2020

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18 September 2019

BBC Sky at Night magazine reviews the Meade LX65 8” ACF in the October 2019 issue. The review mentions the features that stand out, including the two Vixen-style saddles;

06 June 2019

Meade’s freshly minted LX65 8-inch telescope certainly has extras. It boasts Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optics, a computerized GoTo mount with motorized tracking,

27 May 2019

The LX65 series from Meade Instruments provides amateur astronomers with (1) a simple-to-use and portable deep sky visual observation rig and (2) a budget-friendly way to pursue planetary/lunar astrophotography.

19 December 2018

Christmas is almost here and so are the new LX65 and LX85 telescopes from Meade! The Maksutov, Newtonian and refracting models arrive in the UK this week.

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