Celestron Advanced VX 6" f/5 Newtonian Reflector Telescope

Description

The Advanced VX 6" f/5 Newtonian Reflector Telescope from Celestron is a complete astroimaging platform including a 6" Newtonian Reflector optical tube, 20mm eyepiece, Advanced VX computerised German Equatorial mount, adjustable stainless steel tripod, and NexStar hand controller. By pairing the reflector tube with their redesigned Advanced VX mount, Celestron has created an optical instrument ready for deep sky observation and image capture. The fusion of lightweight materials, compact design, and astroimaging technology equip this telescope with the portability and functionality to satisfy amateur stargazers and novice astrophotographers.

The reflector optical design, like other catadioptrics, utilises a system of lenses and mirrors to produce long focal lengths with a more compact tube length than refractors. This 6" reflecting optical tube features a 750mm focal length using a tube less than 2.5 ft long. In addition to the relatively compact design, reflector optical tubes are also lightweight for their size. An aluminium optical housing not only minimises flexure and helps equalise the temperature inside the tube, it also reduces excess weight, making this 6" tube only 10 lbs.   EXEB Celestron's Newtonian Reflector corrects some of the optical distortions common to all catadioptrics, including chromatic and spherical aberrations that become more pronounced at higher magnification. By using a parabolic primary mirror, this optical tube can transmit sharper and more colour faithful images than standard reflector telescopes, improving image quality for both observation and astrophotography. The resulting images are sharper along the edge of the transmitted field of view and have reduced colour fringing artefacts.

Celestron's Advanced VX German-Equatorial mount is an integrated telescope support, alignment and guiding system optimised for astrophotography. Celestron engineered the Advanced VX mount from the ground up to deliver the functionality and affordability required by astroimagers on a budget. This telescope mount delivers some of the features found on more sophisticated German Equatorial mounts but without the added bulk or cost associated with more robust options. The Advanced VX mount is designed to accommodate an optical tube weighting up to 30 lb, enough payload capacity for most Schmidt-Cassegrain OTAs with up to an 8" aperture.

The core technology driving the Advanced VX mount is Celestron's All-Star Polar Alignment. This alignment system features a 2-Star alignment mode that uses multiple guide stars to assist tracking across the night sky while keeping the optical tube parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. Maintaining alignment with either celestial pole while following the path of guide stars provides a high degree of pointing and tracking accuracy. Digitally-encoded low-cog DC servo motors drive telescope movements on both axes in fine increments that keep the observed (or photographed) object centred in the field of view. This level of precision reduces optical aberrations and minimises star trails, which translates into improved image quality and sharper photographs.

Complementing the Advanced VX's alignment and tracking capability is the mount's permanently programmable periodic error correction that eliminates recurring track errors inherent to all worm drives. Additionally, a 7-77° latitude range enables extended observations and photo exposures by allowing the telescope to track passed the meridian without the meridian flip common with German Equatorial mounts.

Included with the Advanced VX mount is the NexStar hand controller that will slew the telescope to any planetary, stellar, or nebulous object in its pre-loaded database at the touch of a button. The NexStar controller software is flash upgradeable, which allows operating system updates and even refinements to telescope-specific functions. This computerised mount is also compatible with Celestron's proprietary NexRemote telescope control software, which enables the observer to control the telescope using their personal computer.

This fully-integrated telescope mounting system also includes an adjustable stainless steel tripod that has two-inch diameter legs, locking spreader, and a caddy for the NexStar hand controller. The combination of digitally encoded servo motors, broad tracking latitude, and an array of sophisticated alignment and tracking technology equip the Advanced VX with the mechanical precision needed to observe and photograph any nearby or deep sky object.

In addition to the 6" optical tube, NexStar hand controller, Advanced VX German-Equatorial mount and tripod, this telescope includes a 6x30 finderscope for easy object acquisition and a 20mm eyepiece equalling 38x magnification when mounted. This collection of components makes the Advanced VX 6" Newtonian Reflector a full-featured telescope for a wide range of stargazing and astroimaging applications.

Key Features

Optical Tube Assembly

• Newtonian Reflector optical design, aluminium construction
• Parabolic primary mirror minimises spherical aberration
• 6" (150mm) aperture, f/5 light gathering
• 750mm focal length, 354x maximum magnification
• 20mm eyepiece with 38x magnification
• 10 lb (4.5kg) OTA weight

Advanced VX German Equatorial Mount

• Computerised go-to capability
• 30 lb (13.6kg) payload capacity
• 7-77° latitude range for tracking passed meridian
• Permanently programmable periodic error correction
• All-Star Polar Alignment with 2-Star alignment mode
• Aeq North / Aeq South tracking modes, Sidereal / Solar / Lunar tracking rates
• Digitally-encoded low-cog DC servo motors on both axes
• Dedicated Autoguider communication port
• Two AUX communication ports
• 17 lb (7.7kg) mount weight
• Includes 12" counterweight bar with one 11 lb weight

NexStar+ Hand Controller

• Pre-loaded 40,000 object database
• Flash upgradeable operating system
• LED-backlit interface buttons
• RS-232 serial communication port
• Selectable language programming (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish)

Tripod

• Stainless steel construction
• 2" diameter upper leg
• 44-64" (112.8-162.6 cm) height adjustment
• 18 lb (8.2kg) tripod weight

Specifications