Product Catalog
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DI AG ON A L M IR ROR PA R AB OLIC PR IM ARY M IR RO R
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AS PH ER IC
CO RR EC TI NG PL AT E
DI AG ON A L M IR ROR
SPH ER IC AL
PR IM AR Y MI R ROR
What is it? A long tube with a mirror at the bottom and an
eyepiece at the top.
What About It? In 1668, Isaac Newton designed a telescope
that collected light with a mirror instead of a lens. Reectors
capture light in a bowl-shaped mirror at the bottom of an open
tube, then reect the light and bring it to a focus near the top
of the tube. As the least expensive design per inch of aperture,
reectors are known for giving astronomers the serious light-
gathering capability necessary to explore the depths of space.
Who Uses Them? Reectors are great for portable deep
sky observing by all ability levels. Traditional closed-tube
Dobsonians are not easily portable in apertures over 8" but
Meade LightBridge
™
truss-dobs are easily portable in all
apertures. Schmidt-Newtonians are popular for their wide elds
of view and astrophotographers love their fast (f/4) focal ratio.
For What? Highly rewarding resolution of faint deep sky
nebulas, clusters, and galaxies (particularly from dark sky
locations). Not suitable for daytime use or land viewing.
Meade Scopes Available: Newtonian: LXD75 6"
Newtonian (pg. 38), 114EQ-ASTR, DS-2114, DS-2130 (pg.
110). Dobsonian: LightBridge 8", 10", 12", 16" (see pg. 20),
Schmidt-Newtonian: LXD75 6", 8", 10" (see pg. 39).
Newtonian: Newtonian Reflectors are the classic Reflector design. They may also
be mounted on an equatorial mount for computer-guided GoTo capabilities. (See pg. 38)
Dobsonian: Dobsonian telescopes are Newtonian Reflectors defined by their
mount—a simple box-like design that allows the scope to rotate side-to-side
and pivot up and down. They are the most simple, no-frills telescopes you
can buy and are popular in larger apertures as the most inexpensive cure for
“aperture fever.”
Schmidt-Newtonian: Technically a compound telescope (see next page), this hybrid
optical design adds a front corrector lens to the standard Newtonian reflector.
Exclusive to Meade, this design provides pinpoint stellar images over an
astoundingly wide field of view for brilliant high-resolution observing and
imaging of nebulas, star clusters, and galaxies. Meade Schmidt-Newtonians are
mounted on the LXD75 German Equatorial Mount for GoTo capabilities.
a s t r o p h o t o g r a p h y : j a s o n w a r e / n g c 7 2 9 3 - h e l i x n e b u l a / l x 4 0 0
TELESCOPES 101. A basic guide to optical systems.
Optical Systems
EXHIBIT 3