Meade LX850 10" ACF Cassegrain with Starlock

Meade 10" f/8 ACF LX850

10" f/8 ACF Cassegrain, with Equatorial GoTo-mount & automatic Autoguiding

Based upon Meade´s award-winning Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optics, the LX850 employs a fast f/8 optical system with high-contrast baffling that assures crisp, pinpoint imaging to the very edge of the field.

The all-new OTAs feature an internal Crayford-style, zero image-shift focusing system with a two-speed, 7:1 control that rigidly holds the primary mirror, eliminating the need for a mirror lock. In addition, with the LX850s optional large-format, three-element f/5 focal reducer/field flattener, you gain even wider fields, faster exposures and a flat field on larger sensors.

The MEADE LX850 equatorial mount is made from machined high-strength aluminum and stainless steel and is the stable and precise mounting system for optics up to 14" for visual observing and astrophotography. This precision is reached through the use of large 147mm worm drives and 17mm diameter worm gears. The GPS assisted AutoStar computer control positions 144.000 celestial objects from its database. The ultra-stable tripod is a solid base.

The MEADE StarLock is a extremely precise system, allowing for precise positioning and tracking. The two built-in cameras using two different focal lengths complement each other well. The wide field camera helps with rough positioning, whilst the long-focal length optics is used to precisely locate guiding stars with an accuracy up to one arc minute.
The alignment is also done using these two cameras. They bring the alignment stars in the center of the field of view and therefore provide the basis for optimal GOTO function.
To enhance the tracking accuracy to the maximum possible, the StarLock provides a permanent and automatic autoguiding. After slewing to the desired position (e. g. after using the GOTO function), the guiding camera automatically picks an appropriate guide star up to mag 11. This star is tracked to guide the system, until it is slewed to another object.

The "Drift Alignment Assistant" enables the perfect parallactic positioning of the mount. The LX850 selects the appropriate star. Automatic inspection of a 30 seconds image using the wide field camera yields the misalignment in relation to the true north. Now the LX850 slews to the nominal position. Using the fine adjustment of the mount, the pointing of the RA axis is subsequently corrected.

The two StarLock cameras are also capable of aligning the LX850 fully automatic, without any user interaction. This alignment method has been invented with the popular MEADE LightSwitch Telescope.