A traditional Ritchey-Chrétien is a type of reflector that delivers a coma-free, flat field of view via hyperbolic primary and secondary mirrors. RC telescopes 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. The design eliminates diffraction spikes and improves astigmatism, both are inherent in the traditional RC design.
When reviewing Meade's LX400-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.
Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC™) increases total light transmission and image brightness by nearly 20% over Meade's standard coatings. Objects such as stars, galaxies and nebulae will appear significantly brighter.
Primary Mirror Lock locks the mirror in place during long-exposure astrophotography.
Oversize Primary Mirror diameters are greater than their listed aperture (e.g., the diameter of the 8" LX200-ACF is actually 8.25"). This additional 1/4" yields a wide, fully illuminated field-of-view.
The optical tube is supplied without accessories
Optical Design Advanced Coma Free
Clear Aperture 356mm (14")
Focal Length 3556mm
Focal Ratio f/10
Maximum Practical Visual Power 850X
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