Meade LS 8" ACF LightSwitch Telescope

The new LS 8" ACF telescope combines Advanced Coma Free optics with the latest LightSwitch goto technology from Meade. Like the ETX-LS the LS 8" will align itself on the night sky by simply flicking the switch giving you access to thousands of objects. Using GPS and the Eclips CCD camera this telescope requires no knowledge of the night sky to operate, with 78% more light grasp than 6" models this is a serious instrument that anyone can use.
Includes a highly rigid single fork mount featuring aluminum construction with massive 4.875" precision worm-gears. Standard equipment also includes a sturdy, adjustable height tripod with steel legs for great stability and vibration damping and a Series 4000 Meade 26mm Super Plossl eyepiece (77X magnification).



Additional eyepieces available separately, compatible with all Meade and other brand 1.25" barrel size eyepieces.

Meade LightSwitch technology- bringing the fun back to Astronomy. This changes everything.

Sky & Telescope said...
Only time will tell how Meade’s achievement of packing "serious" aperture, excellent optics, and foolproof Go To performance in a competitively priced telescope will impact the amateur astronomy hobby. But there’s no question that LightSwitch technology works beautifully, and that by itself is a really big deal. Senior editor Dennis di Cicco



LightSwitch Technology
The LS knows where it is in time and space even if you don’t. Just flip the switch and be ready to explore the cosmos. Innovative technology is applied to make using the LS simple, easy and fun. Meade's self alignment system aligns a telescope with just one touch of the power switch. No stars to center. No time, date, or location to enter. Just flip the switch.

Astronomer Inside
Learn the secrets and details of the objects you observe while you are viewing them with both audio through the built-in speaker and video (if connected to a video monitor or TV). The Astronomer Inside will tell you about the planets, stars, constellations, clusters, nebulae, galaxies and more in a fun and interesting way.

Eclips CCD Camera
Includes the built in Meade ECLIPS colour CCD camera (640x480 resolution) primarily for aligning the LS but also lets you capture images of your favorite celestial wonders and display them in real time on an external (user supplied) monitor or store them on a (user supplied) mini SD card so you can do CCD imaging your very first night out.

Advanced Coma-Free Optics
Meade’s exciting optical innovation delivers stunning performance only seen previously with systems costing thousands more. With the standard Ultra-High Transmission Coatings, the LS gives you the sharpest, brightest optical system for its size available at any price.

AutoStar® III TOTAL CONTROL
The easy-to-use hand-held controller lets you select from a huge object database, with over 100,000 celestial objects. Just select an object and push the “GoTo” button and the telescope will automatically put your object in the eyepiece. The AutoStar III also gives you complete control of the Astronomer Inside multimedia features only available from Meade.

Click Here for Autostar updates

Specifications:
Optical Design Advanced Coma-Free
Clear Aperture 8" (203.2mm)
Focal Length, Focal Ratio f/10 2000mm, f/10
Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC™) Included
Optical Tube Dimensions (diameter x length) 9" x 15.75"
Viewfinder Red dot
Diagonal 1.25"
Eyepiece 26mm Super Plossl 1.25"
Telescope Mounting Aluminum, single arm alt-azimuth
GoTo Pointing Precision (approx.) 5-arc mins.
Pointing Precision, High Precision Mode 3-arc mins.
Slow-Motion Controls Electric, RA and Dec.
AutoStar III Toshiba® microcontroller; 2 line x 16 alphanumeric display; 20-button keypad, red LED backlit
Batteries (user-supplied) 8 x C-cells
Battery Life (approx.) 3 to 5 hours
Onboard Celestial Object Database over 100,000 objects
Slew Speeds RA and Dec: 1x, 2x, 8x, 16x, 64x, 128x sidereal and 1.5°/sec., 3°/sec., 6.5°/sec.
Tracking Rates Sidereal, lunar, or custom-selected
Tube Body Aluminum
Mount Castings Aluminum
Primary, Secondary Mirrors Pyrex® glass
Correcting Plate/Lens Clear water white glass
Telescope Weight 30 lbs.
Tripod Weight 9 lbs.
Field Tripod Height all models 25.5" to 43.5" variable
OTA Master Carton (Size / Weight) 21.2" x 16.5" x 31.75" / 48 lbs.
Tripod Master Carton (Size / Weight) 29.1" x 10.6" x 10.6" / 12 lbs.

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