Description
Its 8″ parabolic primary mirror has 800mm of focal length, making the fast f/3.9 Newtonian an ideal wide-field astrophotography telescope. A substantial 70mm minor axis secondary mirror provides full field illumination to CCD and/or DSLR cameras for efficient astrophotography performance. This provides less than 10% light drop-off around the corners of very large APS-C sized sensors. Both primary and secondary mirrors boast enhanced reflectivity (94%) aluminum coatings with a protective silicon dioxide (quartz) overcoat. Three easy-grip, push-pull collimation hand knobs on the primary cell make collimation adjustments easy. Once aligned, three locking thumbscrews secure the 8″ parabolic mirror.
Images acquired with the 8″ f/3.9 Newtonian Astrograph will exhibit maximum contrast thanks to sophisticated telescope features any astrophotographer will appreciate. Nine precisely positioned baffle rings along the inside of the reflector optical tube minimize internal reflections of pesky off-axis light for pristine imaging performance. To further optimize contrast and avoid off-axis light intrusion near the front of the telescope, the dual-speed 2″ Crayford focuser has been installed a full 6.3″ back from the front of the 30″ long reflector optical tube. What’s more, the entire inside of the rigid, rolled steel optical tube is coated with high-quality flat black paint to ensure high contrast.