The optical perfection of a large-aperture Maksutov, combined with the electronic elegance of an LX200GPS-SMT.

The Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design has long been favored by lunar, planetary, and deep-space observers for the richly detailed, high-resolution images that it presents. And, in the Meade 7" LX200GPS-SMT the design has perhaps achieved the embodiment of its fullest potential. No other telescope offers this combination of state-of-the-art features:

Exquisite f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain Optical System: Hand-figured by master opticians, the optics of the 7" LX200GPS-SMT easily pass, under favorable seeing conditions, all of the test criteria for optics of their aperture. The double-sided spherical meniscus correcting lens is manufactured of Grade-A crown BK7 optical glass and is free of the striations and imperfections that could otherwise degrade optical performance.

Virtually alone among large-aperture commercial Maksutov telescopes, the 7" LX200GPS-SMT includes an oversize, 8.25"-diameter primary mirror that results in a significantly wider fully illuminated field of view than would otherwise be possible. The result is that stars of equal magnitude appear of equal brightness throughout the field, from center to edge.

Perhaps even more importantly, the aspheric figure of the 7" LX200GPS-SMT's fast f/2.5 primary mirror yields field corrections of a level rarely observed in commercial Maksutov-Cassegrains of this aperture. Meade 7" LX200GPS-SMT owners often exclaim about the

sharpness of stellar diffraction images, a sharpness owed to the optical corrections enabled by the telescope's aspheric primary mirror.

Field Stops and Baffle Systems: Essential to the performance of the 7" LX200GPS-SMT, the telescope's series of internal light baffles and field stops greatly inhibits the passage of unwanted, off-axis light rays to the prime focus. A conical baffle attached to the correcting lens in combination with the cylindrical baffle tube projecting from the primary mirror serve to reject virtually all of these rays. In addition a series of field stops, common to the primary baffle tubes of all Meade Cassegrain telescopes, effectively eliminates undesirable light which might reflect from the inside surface of the baffle tube. The result of these baffle systems is extremely high-contrast images observed against an unusually dark sky-background.

Plus the full complement of LX200GPS-SMT features , including:

• Automatic GO TO Capability to a precision of one arc-minute;
  
  
• Smart Mount Software which improves the pointing accuracy of your LX200GPS telescope's "Go To" system. Despite careful efforts to calibrate and then align telescopes, they may fail to precisely center objects. Smart Mount allows your telescope to learn about, and then correct for any systematic pointing errors, regardless of the cause.
  
  
• Autostar Suite Software which includes selecting objects from the planetarium display and automatically slewwing to those objects, remote telescope control via internet, the Lunar Planetary Imager (LPI), the creation of custom tours, talking telescope software, and the ability to control all autostar functions using your PC.
  
  
• A dual-axis Smart Drive^™ that routinely achieves a tracking periodic error of 5 arc-seconds or better, an observatory standard;
  
  
• Dual-Axis Control Systems with almost 200 drive speeds that cover every possible contingency of telescope positioning - from 0.5x photo-guiding, to 64x image centering, to 8°/sec. slewing across the sky;
  
  
• A 4-speed Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser;
  
  
• An Onboard Database of over 145,000 objects that you can center in the telescopic field just by entering and pressing GO TO on the hand controller.