Meade 8" (203mm) f/10.0 LX200GPS-SMT Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope, with UHTC Coatings, Computerized Altazimuth Fork Mount, Autostar II Computerized Hand Controller & Tripod

A new world standard in telescopes... Meade LX200GPS-SMT models take previous telescope technology to a level heretofore unimagined.

All-new LX200GPS-SMT fork mounts are the strongest, most rigid mountings ever made available for telescopes of these apertures. DC-servo-motor-controlled (12vDC) worm gear drives with almost 200 selectable drive speeds, combined with the Meade Smart Drive on both telescope axes, permit observatory-level precision in tracking, guiding, & slewing.

Photo-guide speeds are selectable from 0.01x to 1.0x sidereal, in increments of 0.01x; fast-slew speeds are selectable from 1°/sec. to 8°/sec. in 0.1°/sec. increments. Use the 8°/sec. speed for rapid motion of the telescope across the skies; once near the target, switch instantly to a speed of 1.5°/sec. or 3°/sec. for centering in the viewfinder. Observing in the main telescope, use the 16x or 64x sidereal speed to place the object in the center of the field.

Telescope alignment is accomplished automatically using signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS), a satellite system that enables extremely precise communication to the telescope of the observer's latitude & longitude, as well as local time.

Integrated true-level and North electronic sensors in combination with a 16-channel GPS receiver located in the left-hand fork arm result in accurate telescope alignment to the sky at the touch of a button: Just press the ENTER button on the Autostar II hand controller & watch as the telescope measures level, points North, & slews at 8°/sec. to its first alignment star. Magnetic declination compensation designed into the telescope software automatically engages during the alignment process.

Smart Mount: Improves the pointing accuracy of your LX200GPS telescope's "Go To"system. Despite careful efforts to calibrate & then align telescopes, they may fail to precisely center objects. Smart Mount allows your telescope to learn about, & then correct for any systematic pointing errors, regardless of the cause.

Autostar II Control System: Completely redesigned & updated for the LX200GPS-SMT series, the Meade Autostar II control system includes the widest array of telescope capabilities ever offered in a commercial telescope:

Autostar Suite AE Software: which includes selecting objects from the planetarium display and automatically slewwing to those objects, remote telescope control via internet,the creation of custom tours, talking telescope software, and the ability to control all autostar functions using your PC.

Enter into the Autostar II handbox any of the 145,000 celestial objects stored in the LX200GPS-SMT onboard database, press GO TO, and the telescope automatically slews (moves) to the object at 8°/sec., centering it precisely in the main telescope field. Additionally, the display reads out for each selected object its magnitude, size, object-type, visual quality rating, RA and Dec.