12" LX90 Telescope, Standard Field Tripod, AutoStar Suite Software, Series 4000 26mm Super Plossl Eyepiece, 1.25" Diagonal Prism
Meade 12-Inch LX90 GPS Telescope with UHTC
The LX90GPS can locate over 30,000 objects including itself. Turn it on and the built-in Sony GPS receiver immediately determines your precise date, time, and location. In just minutes, your scope is ready to give you a tour of the most spectacular sights in the universe with GPS precision. With all the features of a legendary LX90, plus the ability to track satellites, Meade's new LX90 GPS has it all.
When you consider competing methods of alignment (synchronizing your telescope's computer with the night sky), nothing is easier than Meade's AutoAlign. Not even competing three-object alignment methods. That's because LX90GPS telescopes are smart scopes that know the night sky right out of the box. When it comes to industry leading optics, oversized primary mirrors, depth of features, and value for your dollar, the LX90GPS is the best Schmidt-Cassegrains on the market.
The 12" LX90 has a 12” diameter f/10 optical system (focal length 3048mm) and Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) for maximum image brightness and contrast. Electronics include the advanced Meade 497 AutoStar computer system with over 30,000 object library, multiple guided tours, High Precision Pointing capability, and Meade SmartDrive with Permanent Periodic Error Correction.
All LX90 GPS models feature the solid and stable LX90 aluminum double fork mount, with fast slew speed adjustable from 1 to 7 degrees per second. Fine slewing and photographic guiding speeds can be adjusted from .01x to 1x sidereal in one one-hundredth increments. The mount and all electronics are internally powered by 8 (user supplied) C-cell batteries which will typically operate the telescope for a generous 60 hours (optional Meade Universal AC adapter also available). The mount also has mechanical locks in both axis allowing adjustment even without power.
The LX90-ACF comes fully equipped with a heavy duty height adjustable Meade Field Tripod, 1.25" diagonal prism, Series 4000 26mm Plössl eyepiece, and Meade AutoStar® Suite Astronomer Edition Software for PC.
Scope weight is 60 pounds with 19 pound tripod. Ships in 2 boxes.
GPS - LX90 can do more than track satellites. It talks to them as well. Turn it on and the built-in Sony® GPS sensor immediately determines your precise date, time and location. AutoAlign™ then uses this info to align your scope for a tour of the most spectacular sights in the universe.
EASY ALIGN™ –LX90s are smart scopes that know the night sky right out of the box. Easy Align picks two alignment stars for you and places them right in your viewfinder. Just center them to fine tune your alignment and the wonders of the universe are at your fingertips.
OVERSIZED PRIMARY MIRROR – Only Meade manufactures their primary mirrors in diameters larger than their listed aperture (e.g. the diameter of the 8" LX90’s primary mirror is actually 8.25").This additional 1/4" yields a wider, fully illuminated field-of-view, and allows you to see the light other telescopes leave behind.
8X50 VIEWFINDER – Quickly and easily locate and center deep sky objects.
SLEW SPEED – The LX90 slews (moves) from star to star at 7 degrees per second. That is more than twice as fast as the competition. This means that over the course of an evening, a Meade LX90 will show you two to three times more objects.
RIGID CAST ALUMINUM FORK MOUNT – The Meade LX90's Optical Tube Assembly is mounted on two sturdy fork arms giving you a rock solid platform for astrophotography.
LX200™ - SERIES TRIPOD – The LX90 comes standard with the same sturdy field tripod as the LX200-ACF series telescope.
SMART DRIVE™ – Meade’s AutoStar® provides Periodic Error Correction (in polar mode). Over the course of one or more training periods your LX90 will minimize guiding corrections during long exposure astrophotography.
NEW AUDIOSTAR CONTROLLER – Originally developed for the ground breaking series of Meade LS™ LightSwitch® telescopes, Astronomer Inside is built into the new AudioStar™ Handbox that is included with Meade's LX90™, LT™ and LXD75™ lines of telescopes. Now the intelligence integrated into these Meade telescopes provides the user with all the experience and astronomical knowledge that a professional astronomer could offer.
The incredible Astronomer Inside does all this:
Knows the sky so you don't have to.
Controls the telescope to find and track any of over 30,000 celestial objects automatically.
Takes you on a guided tour.
Shows you the best objects in your sky from your location and time and then plays audio descriptions of those objects so you learn the details of what you are seeing.
Has over four hours of audio descriptions of astronomical objects including planets, stars, constellations, clusters, nebula, galaxies and more that bring astronomy to life. It's like having a professional astronomer standing next to you at the telescope.
The AudioStar computer controller with speaker helps you quickly find and GoTo over 30,000 objects in the night sky.
View planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, comets and more-all at the push of a button. Don't know what you want to view this evening? Then go to the Tonight's Best™ tour in your AudioStar. It automatically selects the best objects in the sky for that particular time and location.
The UHTC Advantage
Meade Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC) are an amazing scientific breakthrough that increases brightness by the equivalent of nearly an inch of aperture (depending on scope size). These coatings are exclusive to Meade and make a real difference over competing scopes. Image brightness is increased by 15% over standard coatings.
Meade High Precision Pointing HP Feature
This feature is most helpful to astrophotographers interested in imaging objects too faint to be confirmed with the naked eye. Or those who want to place an item dead center on a very small CCD chip. When you turn this feature on and ask the scope to slew to an object, the scope will first slew to a star right next to the object and ask you to center that star perfectly. The star is likely to be perfectly centered already (that's how accurate Meade telescopes are). But once you have confirmed the star's precise location, the scope will slew to the nearby deep sky object and place it exactly in the center of your field of view. For normal observing, this level of precision isn't necessary. But HPP gives you the confidence to kick off a two-hour long imaging sequence without even visually confirming a faint object's existence!
Choice of Schmidt-Cassegrain or Advanced Coma Free Optics
The choice is yours! New in 2009, Meade is now offering their LX90 series telescopes with your choice of Schmidt-Cassegrain (SC) optics or Advanced Coma Free (ACF) optics. Both telescopes and all included accessories are identical; the only difference is the optical system.
The Schmidt-Cassegrain option is a high-quality, economically priced telescope package. These optics deliver high performance at the best possible value. Meade uses water-white glass with superior light transmission across the entire visible spectrum. SC optics are great for both observation and astrophotography. For the person looking to get the most for their astronomical dollar, look no further.
The new Advanced Coma Free option is an upgraded optical system. For the truly discerning astronomer who demands nothing but the very best, ACF optics present an attractive option. Technologically superior to SC optical systems, ACF optics produce a flatter, coma-free field of view with pinpoint images all the way to the edge of the field. The performance of these optics rivals that of Ritchey-Crétien system at a fraction of the cost. ACF is the perfect solution for the astrophotographer or the visual astronomer looking for observatory-class optics.
Here's What We Recommend
If you're new to large-aperture telescopes and plan on using yours mainly for celestial observation, you will likely be extremely pleased with the images that the Schmidt-Cassegrain produces.
If you plan on using your telescope for astrophotography, the Advanced Coma Free option is likely worth the investment. Even if astrophotography is not your goal, you may want the best optics available for your telescope. That's exactly what you'll get with ACF optics. These optics produce tack-sharp, fully rounded stars without the crescent-shaped distortions known as "coma" - an optical aberration found on Schmidt-Cassegrains, and most other optical systems.
Supplier SKU 1210-90-05 12" LX90-SC (f/10) Schmidt-Cassegrain w/UHTC
Supplier SKU 1210-90-03 12" LX90-ACF (f/10) Advanced Coma Free w/UHTC
Product Number SC: 1210-90-05 ACF: 1210-90-03
Clear Aperture 12" (305mm)
Optical Design Schmidt-Cassegrain or Advanced Coma-Free
Focal Length 3,048mm
Focal Ratio f/10
Telescope Mounting Rigid Cast-Aluminum Fork mount; double-tine
Optical Coatings Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
Resolving Power (Dawes Limit) 0.380 arcseconds
AutoStar Controller AudioStar
Object Database 30,000 objects
Viewfinder 8x50mm with cross-hair reticle
Eyepiece 26mm Series 4000 Super Plossl
Diagonal 1.25" diagonal prism
Pointing Precision (High-Precision Mode) 3 arcminutes
Go-To Pointing Precision (Approx.) 5 arcminutes
Periodic Error Correction Polar mode only
Slow Motion Controls Electronic
Slew Speeds RA and Dec:1x, 2x, 8x, 16x, 64x, 128x sidereal and 1.5°/sec., 3°/sec., 6.5°/sec.
Tracking Rates Sidereal, lunar, or custom-selected from 2000 incremental rates
Tripod Standard field Tripod
Batteries (User-Supplied) 8 x C cells
Battery Life (Typical) 60 hrs.
Power 12V DC, 5 amp power supply (optional)
Additional Features
GPS Receiver Included
Smart Drive Yes
Oversized Primary Mirror Yes
AutoStar Suite Planetarium Software Included
Materials
Primary Mirror & Secondary Mirrors Low expansion borrosilicate glass
Correcting Plate/Lens Schott Water-white Glass
Optical Tube Aluminum
Mount Aluminum
Weights and Dimensions
OTA Dimensions 14 in x 14 in x 26 in
Tripod Weight 19 lbs.
Tripod Dimensions 30" to 44" variable
Telescope weight (not including tripod) 60 lbs.
Weight
19 lbs Tripod , 60 lbs Telescope
Recommended Usage
Viewing Galaxies/Star Clusters , Viewing the Moon , Viewing the Planets
Power Source
Battery
Battery
8 X C cell
Battery Life
60 hours
Features
Alt-Az Mount , GoTo , GPS
Brand
Meade
Weight Complete
90 lbs.
Finderscope
8x50
Telescopes Series
Meade LX90 GPS Telescopes
Optical Design
Schmidt-Cassegrain or Advanced Coma Free
Aperture
305mm
Focal Length
3048mm
Focal Ratio
f/10
Mount Design
Dual Fork Arm
Eyepiece 1
26mm (117x)
Highest Useful Magnification
600x
Resolving Power
0.380 arcseconds
Star Diagonal
1.25 inches
User Level
For the Expert
Optical Coating
UHTC
Object Database
30000 objects
Type: Schmidt-Cassegrain, Advanced Coma Free
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 4 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
100%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Reviewed by 4 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-4
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Meade 12 Inch LX90 GPS Telescope with UHTC:
Review: Meade LX90 ACF 12 inch
Three weeks after placing my order with Telescopes.com, my Meade LX90 ACF 12 inch arrived in two boxes. The box with the tripod was manageable, but the optical tube box needed two burley Fed Ex men to hoist it into my kitchen. I knew then that I was going to have to step up my gym weightlifting regime. The good news is that the scope will fit in a small car. I drive a small Honda hybrid and both boxes will fit through the rear hatch when the back seats are folded down. With the assistance of a wheeled cart one person can manage this scope.
I was pleased to see how well the scope was packaged. No need to collimate. On my first night of viewing, I was relieved when I focused Capella in the eyepiece, defocused the image, and found that the scope needed no collimation. Good job Meade! The LX90 came with a 1¼ inch diagonal and a 26 mm 1¼ inch super plossl. The 4000 Series Meade Superplossels are OK, but I choose instead to use a 2-inch Celestron diagonal and a 2-inch eyepieces such as the Baader Planetarium Hyperion-Aspheric Modular 31 mm. Unfortunately, the eyepiece holder on the tripod only accepts plossl-sized 1 ¼ inch eyepieces.
First Night
Setting up the Meade LX90 for the first time takes patience and is best started before the sun sets. The 8x50 viewfinder has eight screws and it took me about one half hour to align the viewfinder to the scope. A cell tower, about one half mile away was a good target. When Venus emerged in the twilight, I fine-tuned the alignment. Once the viewfinder is aligned to the scope you can remove it by loosening the two mounting slot screws; the next time of use is easy as you only have to do a small amount of tweaking. The 8x50 viewfinder with crosshairs and 5 degree FOV works very well. The Pleiades look great in the viewfinder (not to mention the scope). The variable-height tripod is solid. I would recommend not fully extending the legs especially if you are going to be looking at objects low on the horizon. I am 6'2" and, at full tripod leg-extension, I need a ladder when the scope is pointed near horizontal level.
The Autostar computer is user-friendly. I took some time to level the tripod before attaching the scope. Then I, per the manual instructions, placed the included compass/ level bubble in the diagonal, leveled the scope and pointed it to magnetic north. One press of a button and the scope knows its location, the time and date. I choose the Easy Align (2 star). The LCD display let me know that it was slewing to Vega. Unfortunately it was off by several degrees. If I knew nothing about the night sky my first night of stargazing with this scope might have ended early, but fortunately, I do know alpha lyrae and I quickly centered it. Then the display informed me it was slewing to the second alignment star, Capella. To my relief, it centered it perfectly and I was ready for a night of viewing. Easy!
The AutoStar handbox (#497) has an audio component and, as I took the Tonight's Best Tour , it was nice to have the audio give me information on what I was viewing. AutoStar has a nice menu of galaxies, nebulae, SAO catalog, etc.
Viewing conditions on my first night started out fair but quickly deteriorated. The moon was a 7% waxing crescent, but the atmosphere was jumpy. I did get a good look at Jupiter using a TeleVue Ethos 13 mm. The atmospheric bands were distinct and the scope brought out nice color. For the first time, I saw the shadow of Io transit the surface of Jupiter. Betelgeuse, though still low in the sky, was a brilliant red and was a thrill to view in the 12 inch scope as opposed to my 6 inch SE.
3 Months Later
After 3 months and six viewing sessions with the Meade LX90 I am now much more comfortable with the telescope and AutoStar menu. I can set this scope up in about 15 minutes. Instead of using batteries, I added a Celestron battery pack. Autostar has a train-the-drive feature which I use every so often to fine tune the alignment.
In summary, I am pleased with this scope and would recommend it to the intermediate amateur astronomer.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Meade 12 Inch LX90 GPS Telescope with UHTC:
This is my first SCT scope, and by far the largest I've ever had. I was a bit nervous buying a 12" right off the bat, but am happy that I did, as I expect this scope to serve me for years to come - ie, I shouldn't outgrow it anytime soon!
My main concern was size and portability. Through my research, the 12" LX90 was largest telescope one could reasonably be expected to setup/use alone. It is, of course, rather heavy, and cannot be moved through doors without collapsing the tripod. That's ok, though it does mean a bit more hassle to get it outside and setup. Even so, I have had it out a couple of times already, and have also already taken it to a friend's house and set it up over there with no issues.
Assembly was easy, though as stated, it is heavy and a bit bulky. The AutoStar controller took a bit of learning, but after a few minutes, I figured it out and it is easy to use now. Still need to work on the best way to align the scope, but I don't see that as an issue (mainly just initial ignorance on my part).
I ordered one extra eyepiece (9mm), a 2x Barlow, and a car power adapter. Future planned accessories include more (and better) eyepieces, filters, and the Astrofinder software & connection kit so that I can hook the telescope up to my Notebook.
Overall, very nice product. Pricey, but I think it is the best overall deal out there in the >10" apeture range.
Service and delivery comments:
Delivery was quick, on time, and shipping boxes were in good condition. Note that it came in two different deliveries on the same day:
- The scope came in a large, almost 90 lb box via a truck (because of weight)
- The tripod plus accessories I ordered came in two separate boxes via a normal FEDEX truck.
A telescopes.com representative called me the day after delivery to ensure that everything came, was in good condition, etc. Nice! One quick comment on that; the call came through with an "unknown number". I don't normally answer those, and I suspect many other folks do not either. I suggest Telescopes.com change that to show where the call is coming from if they'd like more feedback.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Images shared by Bob
My new 12" LX90!
(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- You may also flag this review
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Meade 12 Inch LX90 GPS Telescope with UHTC:
Love the scope and also the eyepeices ordered as well. Trying to make up castors or some kind of moveable platform to get it in the location at my home.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Meade 12 Inch LX90 GPS Telescope with UHTC:
This is a wonderful telescope. I use this telescope in my backyard, local observatory, and at dark sites. Its a very accurate goto system with 30,000+ objects in its database. It's the largest telescope I'd go with by myself or without my own observatory. At 60 lbs. it gets a little heavy if your not used to it. I was looking at the LX200ACF 12", but it requires two people to assemble that because of its weight and this is more compact for the back of the car and transporting but is getting heavy. It's sturdy but because of the big optical tube and on the standard Meade tripod for 7-10" telescopes, this tripod should come with their 12-14" LX200 tripods for added stability. Its a wonderful visual scope. The LX200s are more precise, which is why they are better for astrophotography. The LX90 are a more simple scope. Less things can go wrong on the LX90s than the LX200s. I've had both and the LX90 wins for visually astronomy. This is a perfect scope for picking out those faint objects. It can resolve down 15.1 magnitude under regular skies.
Displaying reviews 1-4
Q1: Would this scope work well for astrophotography?
A: With the computerized mount, large aperture, and crystal clear optics, this is an ideal choice for taking photos of astronomical objects.
Don't see the answer you need? Ask a Product Expert! The answer will be emailed to you and then posted here.
This Meade ETX-90 telescope is available in two ...
This Meade ETX-90 telescope is available in two versions. In the standard "Telescope and Tripod" configuration that includes the Telescope, #884 Steel Tripod with Tripod Bag, 497 AutoStar Controller, and a 26mm Super Plossl Eyepiece. ...
Easy Just got bigger
...Easy Just got bigger
The most sophisticated, easiest-to-use telescope anywhere is now available in an 8" aperture. The LS-8 - only from Meade
Meade ups the ante with the ...
