Sky-Watcher EvoStar 80ED / ProED 80mm Doublet APO Refractor Telescope with Allview Mount

ky-Watcher Pro SW 80ED APO 80mm ED Refractor
The Sky-Watcher Pro SW 80ED APO 80mm ED Refractor Telescope produces the sharpest, highest quality imaging obtainable from any telescope optical design due to the unobstructed textbook-like diffraction patterns and exotic optical properties. The Sky-Watcher ED-APO 80mm is a modestly wide-field telescope offering bright, wide swaths of sky in a single view. It is well suited for wide-field astronomical observation of prominent nebulae, star clusters and galaxies from a dark-sky location, or can be used as an astrograph for sky photography.

As a terrestrial spotting scope or telephoto lens, the ED-APO's performance is absolutely superb. Ultra high contrast allows the subtlest of details to be easily scrutinized under conditions of good seeing. The petite silhouette of the SW ED-APO 80mm makes for an excellent compact, portable telescope that travels light and fits a small space. At about 50-power structural detail becomes apparent in the solar system's gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter. The Moon also exhibits striking crater detail along the lunar terminator.

As an astrograph, the SW PRO 80ED delivers superb performance imaging a wide spectrum of astronomical phenomenon. In a given aperture size, refractors will always exhibit sharper images than other optical designs because the refractor concentrates more light into the central airy-disk and first diffraction rings. There is no diffraction pattern interference caused by a diagonal mirror, or secondary mirror being suspended in the optical path (central obstruction) as is the case with reflectors.

Sky-Watcher ED-APO refractor provides the finest images obtainable-bar none-in their design class. Sky-Watcher ED apochromatic refractor delivers dramatic coal-back skies and faithful, contrast-rich views of planetary and deep-space phenomenon that are second to none. Sky-Watcher ED-APO refractor is the logical choice as an investment in advanced instrumentation for exceptional viewing or photography.

The Sky-Watcher ED-APO design assures virtual elimination of secondary, residual "false color" normally present in 2-element achromatic lens designs using Crown and Flint glass. Sky-Watcher APO refractors utilize a second lens element made from the mineral fluorite instead of Flint glass. Fluorite, CaF2, is a halide with unique properties and a hardness of only four. It is an exotic and difficult material to fabricate into a lens.

Sky-Watcher Allview Mount
This multi-purpose computerized mount is designed and intended for a wide variety of applications such as panoramic photography, daytime viewing, videography and astronomical viewing.The AllView is capable of automatically moving to various preprogrammed positions and controls the camera shutter to take a picture at each position automatically, taking the complexity out of producing panoramic video or photographs.

This multi-purpose mount was designed to be used as:
• An alt-azimuth go-to computerized astronomical mount (using an optional telescope optical tube)
• A motorized platform for taking panoramic photographs
• A stable platform for panning while taking time lapse video or still images
• A motorized base for smooth panning video

Some of the many standard features of the AllView mount include:
• Multi-purpose mounting bracket for attaching an optical tube, still camera, or video camera
• Dual optical encoders - the mount never loses position even when moved by hand
• Sturdy stainless steel tripod
• Computerized mount can point to 42,900 astronomical objects
• Includes an electronic shutter release cable for most Canon DSLR cameras