Meade 70mm Quadruplet APO Astrograph on LX85 GoTo Equatorial Mount - 217010

Meade 70mm Quadruplet APO Astrograph on LX85 Computerized Equatorial Mount

Meade's 70mm LX85 Astrograph includes an apochromatic refractor optical design as well as the Meade GoTo Equatorial Mount and tripod. This impressive LX85 package is ideal for astrophotography, planetary and lunar work, as well as deep-sky observations of brighter galaxies, nebulae, star clusters and more. The 70mm astrograph weighs only 4.5 pounds, which means you can add all kinds accessories, like a camera, guider, and more.

Please Note: This mount requires a user-provided 12V DC power source and supply. We recommend the Meade Universal AC Power Adapter (07584) or the #607 DC Power Cord (07043) and a 12V Power Supply. 

About the Meade LX85 German Equatorial Mount

The Meade LX85 is a lightweight yet sturdy, classic German equatorial mount that has been upgraded with an AudioStar hand controller for state-of-the-art GoTo electronics. The LX85 GEM is fitted with 12v DC low-cog servo motors on both axes (right ascension and declination). Meade's Smart Drive offers PPEC training so that you can easily track through long exposures or just keep objects in your eyepiece for a good, long time without the need to adjust for drift. Also, there is no need to perform a meridian flip with the LX85 and an integrated guide port is ready and waiting to accept your favorite autoguider.

The LX85 mount is made of metal and is anodized with a white finish, while a few components, like the setting circles, are finished in “Meade Blue”. The LX85 mount breaks down into three lightweight pieces. The mount head weighs just 19.9 pounds, the tripod weighs 12.4 pounds, and the counterweight weighs 9 pounds. With weights as low as these, even older children and teens can set it up!

Use the AudioStar controller to find objects, do an easy alignment, move the mount electronically, or take a tour of the night's best objects.

With a database of over 30,000 objects and a built-in speaker, the Meade AudioStar will not only help you find objects with its easy, user-friendly interface, it can talk to you about a wide range of objects for a truly interactive experience.

If you don’t know what’s up in the sky on a particular evening, or don’t have a particular observing schedule in mind, let the Meade AudioStar show you “Tonight’s Best”. Choose the Tonight’s Best tour on the controller and you will be shown, you guessed it, the best objects in the sky for that particular date and time. The AudioStar controller has a multitude of functions for you to explore, such as digital positional readouts, a database of up to 200 user-defined objects, 9-Speed dual-axis movement, and much more.

The Meade LX85 has a weight capacity of approximately thirty-three (33) pounds, which allows you to ride a wide variety of telescopes on the mount and still have capacity left for accessories. Just attach an OTA with a Vixen-style dovetail to the saddle and add extra counterweights, if necessary, to balance the load. One 9-lb. counterweight is included with the LX85 mount package.

The adjustable aluminum and steel tripod included with the LX85 weighs just 12.4 pounds. The height of the steel legs can be adjusted so that the tripod will stand anywhere from 31.5” to 43.5” tall. A metal tripod leg spreader bar, which helps immensely with tripod stability, doubles as an accessory tray.

About the Meade 70mm Quadruplet APO Astrograph

This Meade 70 mm Astrograph is a true quadruplet-element Apochromatic Refractor (APO) telescope and thus offers unbeatable sharpness in wide field observing and imaging. For any price, Meade LX85 APO Refractors are among the finest on the market.

With 350 mm of focal length (f/5), the impressive LX85 Quad APO Refractor is perfect for performing advanced astrophotography. Contains a fully multi-coated quadruplet objective lens constructed from the highest quality FPL53 ED (extremely low dispersion) glass for remarkable contrast and sharpness along with almost no noticeable chromatic aberration or "color fringing."

The Meade 70mm astrograph optical tube assembly comes with a 2.5" rack and pinion focuser for fast and easy focusing. A 2" 90-degree mirror diagonal is included, as is a 2" to 1.25" adapter. This flexible arrangement allows you to use either 2" or 1.25" eyepieces or other barreled accessories. To start you off right, Meade is including two 1.25" eyepieces (a 26 mm and a 9 mm Super Plossl) as well as an 8 X 50 optical finder with the LX85 package. Your new telescope will be ready for observing right out of the box!