Celestron Advanced VX 9.25" EdgeHD Telescope

• 9.25″ EdgeHD telescope and Advanced VX German equatorial mount package
• EdgeHD’s aplanatic, flat field Schmidt-Cassegrain optics result in pinpoint stars to the edge of today’s largest imaging sensors and widest eyepieces for best optical performance
• Aluminium optical tube with tube vents with mesh filter allows hot air to be released from behind the primary mirror for improved cooling
• 2350 mm focal length (f/10) with Celestron’s premium StarBright XLT coatings
• Advanced VX mount is the most compact and portable of Celestron’s German equatorial mounts offers the same rigidity as their larger mounts with minimal flexure and an improved industrial design
• Holds a maximum instrument capacity of 13.6kg (30 lbs)
• High-torque motors offer improved tracking performance & provide more power to overcome load imbalances and for smoothly driving heavy loads
• Every feature an astroimager wants: PEC, an autoguider port, the ability to image across the meridian, and more
• Ergonomic design for easy disassembly into compact portable components
• Track across the meridian without interference from the motor housings
• Latitude range for use between 7 – 77° latitude.
• Improved electronics with increased memory for future expansion
• NexStar+ hand control offers multiple language programming (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish)

The Celestron Advanced VX 8″ EdgeHD telescope package combines Celestron’s AVX computerised equatorial mount with the acclaimed EdgeHD optical system. With the telescope’s 8 inches of aperture and with the premium StarBright XLT coatings, this telescope gives you over 800 times the light gathering power than the unaided eye and is the lightest and most portable telescope in the range.

The EdgeHD telescope is an aplanatic, flat field Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that produces aberration-free images across a wide visual and photographic field of view. The optical system was designed to reduce more than just off-axis star coma; it also provides an astrograph-quality flat focal plane all the way to the edge of the field of view.

Many optical designs that advertise themselves as “astrographs” actually only produce pinpoint stars across a curved focal plane. While this may be acceptable for some visual observing, stars will appear out of focus at the edge when used with the flat chip sensor of a digital camera. EdgeHD optics produce a focal plane more than three-times flatter than a standard Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and dramatically flatter than competing coma-free designs. This guarantees you visibly sharp stars across some of the largest CCD chips available today.  The superior edge performance of the EdgeHD not only creates rounder, more pleasing stars, but actually improves the resolution and limiting magnitude when compared to telescopes of equal aperture. With Celestron’s StarBright XLT optical coatings on every surface, EdgeHD optics gives you maximum light throughput across the widest visual and photographic spectrum.

Every EdgeHD that ships has been tested not only for the surface quality of each optical component, but also with a camera and artificial star to ensure the imaging system meets our rigid quality assurance. This “final acceptance test” confirms the EdgeHD will perform in the field and deliver high-quality astroimages.

In addition to EdgeHD’s optimised optical design, the telescope tube has been redesigned to make sure you get the most from your optics each and every night and has the following mechanical features.

• Mirror clutches – Flexible tension clutches hold the mirror in place and reduce image shift when taking long exposure astro-images. Once focused, the flexible rods allow the mirror to be held in place without putting any force or pressure on the mirror assembly, keeping the image centered in the eyepiece (or on the sensor).
• Tube vents – Cooling vents located on the rear cell allow hot air to be released from behind the primary mirror. Each vent has an integrated 95-micron micromesh filter guaranteed to let warm air out without letting dust in.
• Fastar versatility – EdgeHD is the most versatile imaging telescope available today. At its native f/10, you can achieve the image scale necessary to capture the smallest of deep sky objects. Add the optional reducer lens—custom-designed for your size EdgeHD tube—and you can increase your field of view without sacrificing optical performance. A Barlow gives you added power for high-resolution planetary, lunar and solar imaging. All EdgeHD optical tubes are Fastar-compatible, allowing the secondary mirror to be removed and replaced with a third party lens accessory for ultra-fast f/2 wide field imaging.

Celestron’s Advanced VX (AVX) series mount is the smallest of its computerised GOTO equatorial mounts and is designed for use with up to medium sized telescopes with the mount able to carry just over 13kg of payload. The AVX has been designed and engineered from the ground up with astroimaging in mind and sets a new standard in mid-level telescope mounts. It provides many of the features that are found on Celestron’s more sophisticated German equatorial mounts, but at an extremely affordable price. It is designed to provide superior performance for small to mid-size telescopes while taking advantage of Celestron’s most advanced technologies: All-Star Polar Alignment, Celestron PWI telescope control software, SkyAlign, and permanently programmable periodic error correction (PPEC).

The mount includes ports for a hand control, an autoguider, and 2 AUX ports for optional accessories (e.g. StarSense). The NexStar+ hand control gives you instant access to all the functions the mount has to offer. With automatic slewing and menu descriptions, any level of astronomer can master this mount in just a few observing sessions. The AVX also has an impressive tripod with 2” diameter steel legs providing an extra-wide stance for improved stability.

The mount can now be used with Celestron’s PWI (CPWI) software, co-developed with the PlaneWave Instruments, which is an all-in-one solution offering you many of the same features used on PlaneWave’s observatory-class telescopes. The software features a graphical planetarium interface and includes PointXP advanced mount modelling which allows you to add 100+ points to your alignment model for the mount for the most accurate pointing and tracking possible. this makes the AVX with the CPWI software and ideal solution for remote access observatory setups. The mount can also be controlled via the ASCOM telescope interface so it can be used with third party software applications. For more information on CPWI and to see the user interface, click here.