Meade 12 Inch LightBridge f/5 Truss-Tube Dobsonian Telescope - 1205-05-03

The 12" Lightbridge is a very large telescope, with a light grasp and image brightness 2.25 times as great as an 8" telescope used at the same magnification and 40% brighter than a 10”. View deep sky objects in terrific detail, especially when used from a dark location.

The 12" LightBridge Deluxe Truss-Tube Dobsonian features a superior Meade quality multi-coated, diffraction limited 12" primary mirror, focal length 1524mm (f/5). The optics of this style of telescope are only as good as their mounting, which is why Meade engineers gave the LightBridge primary mirror a top of the line, fully adjustable, high strength but light weight aluminum stress free floating multi-point cell with built in cooling fan. The included battery pack for the fan takes 8 (user supplied) AA batteries and is used to speed the cool down process of the primary mirror, improving image quality.

Standard equipment includes a high quality, precision machined dual speed 2" Crayford style focuser with fine focus 10:1 speed reduction and 1.25" adapter so you can use either 1.25" or 2" barrel eyepieces. Includes a 2" diameter Meade Series 4000 26mm QX Wide Angle Eyepiece for stunning wide angle views. The viewfinder is an easy to use red dot unit with four user selectable reticle pattern options and seven step brightness control. Also includes bonus Meade AutoStar Suite Astronomer Edition Software for checking star charts and planet locations.

The open truss design of the LightBridge Dobsonians means portability of the telescope is dramatically improved over a solid tube design. Taking only moments to set up and take apart for travel, the extremely rigid truss frame design ensures a no-compromises view through the telescope. Hand driven Dobsonian style telescopes by their nature need good mounts with smooth and stable movement to be enjoyable, and here again the LightBridge excels. The sturdy laminated finish wooden Dobsonian mount includes premium features such as roller bearings on the azimuth (side to side) axis and large diameter aluminum altitude (vertical axis) bearings with a hand adjustable variable tension brake for smooth and stable movement.

Fully assembled weight of the optical tube is 47 pounds, mount weight is 33 pounds. Ships in 2 boxes with weights of 55 and 39 pounds.

Product carries full one year Meade limited factory warranty.