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- 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope with f/15 focal ratio provides high contrast views of the planets and lunar landscapes, perfect for serious planetary imagers and visual observers.
- Celestron’s premium StarBright XLT coatings ensure maximum light transmission.
Maksutov-Cassegrain Optical Design
The Mak is a catadioptric telescope, which means the optical design includes both a lens and a mirror. The light coming through a Mak passes through the corrector lens to the primary mirror and back to a spherical secondary mirror before it hits the eyepiece. Images are bright, sharp, and virtually free of chromatic aberration.
The Maksutov-Cassegrain’s optical design offers several unique benefits. Instead of a secondary mirror, the Mak features a “secondary spot” of reflective coating applied directly to the inside of the corrector plate. Because of this, the telescope does not require frequent collimation like a Schmidt-Cassegrain. Also, the secondary spot is significantly smaller than a traditional Schmidt-Cassegrain secondary mirror, giving the Mak its signature high-contrast views.
One important thing to note about Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes is that the larger, heavier Maksutov corrector plate takes longer to cool down and adjust to ambient air temperature compared to a Schmidt-Cassegrain of the same aperture.
| Optical Deisgn | Maksutov-Cassegrain |
| Aperture | 180mm (7.08") |
| Focal Length | 2700mm (106.3") |
| Focal Ratio | f/15 |
| Focal Length of Eyepiece 1 | 28mm (1.1") 2" eyepiece |
| Magnification of Eyepiece 1 | 96x |
| Finderscope | 8x50 Straight Through |
| Star Diagonal | 2" Star Diagonal with 1.25" adapter |
| Optical Tube | Aluminum |
| Highest Useful Magnification | 420x |
| Lowest Useful Magnification | 67x |
| Limiting Stellar Magnitude | 13.9 |
| Resolution (Rayleigh) | 0.64 arc seconds |
| Resolution (Dawes) | 0.52 arc seconds |
| Light Gathering Power (Compared to human eye) | 661x |
| Central Obstruction Diameter | 42mm (1.65") (5.45% of aperture area; 23.3% by diameter) |
| Optical Coatings | StarBright XLT |
| Optical Tube Length | 571.5mm (22.5") |
| Optical Tube Diameter | 222.25mm (8.75") |
| Optical Tube Weight | 19 lbs (8.6 kg) |
| Dovetail | CGE Dovetail Bar |