The Optics Review

The most widely used research telescope on earth now comes with the most advanced optical system in space. Meade’s all new LX200R brings Advanced Ritchey-Chrétien optics within reach of aspiring astronomers everywhere. Nearly every observatory reflector in the world is a Ritchey-Chrétien, including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Now you can own what the professionals own. The LX200R includes all the field-proven features of the LX200 including GPS, Primary Mirror Lock, Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser, Oversized Primary Mirror, SmartDrive™, Smart Mount™, AutoStar® II and more. Plus, the LX200R comes with observatory-class optics crafted in Irvine, California, and a Series 5000 26mm 5-Element Plössl eyepiece. The new LX200R. It’s the biggest news in astronomy since, well, the LX200.

 traditional Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) is a type of reflector that delivers a coma-free, flat field of view via hyperbolic primary and secondary mirrors. RC telescopes (from a variety of manufacturers) 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 Ritchey-Chretien design by combining a hyperbolic secondary mirror with a corrector-lens-and-spherical-primary-mirror combination that performs as one hyperbolic element. This Advanced version of the traditional RC design produces a coma-free, flat field of view that rivals traditional RC telescopes at a fraction of the cost. The design even eliminates diffraction spikes and improves astigmatism, both of which are inherent in the traditional RC design.

Specifications:

Power Source: Battery 
Battery: 8 X C cell 
Brand: Meade 
Usage: For the Enthusiast 
Weight Complete: 90 lbs. 
Finderscope: 8×50 
Lens Coating: UHTC 
GPS: Yes 
GoTo: Yes 
Good for Astrophotography: Yes 
Telescopes Series: LX200R GPS Advanced Ritchey-Chretien Telescopes 
Optical Design: Advanced Ritchey-Chretien 
Aperture: 10 Inches 
Focal Length: 2500mm 
Focal Ratio: f/10 
Mount Design: Alt-Azimuth Fork 
Battery Included: No 
Eyepiece 1: SP26mm 
Highest Useful Magnification: 500X 
Limiting Magnitude: 14.5 
Resolution: 0.46 Arc Seconds 
Resolving Power: 0.46 Arc Seconds 
Star Diagonal: 1.25 Inch