Explore Scientific 80mm f/6 Air-Spaced Triplet ED Apochromatic Refractor Telescope

The Explore Scientific 80mm f/6 Air-Spaced Triplet ED APO made Wired Magazine's Wish List for cool gifts and is a perfect instrument for demanding wide field observing and astrophotography.

Rugged and portable, unlike other "grab-and-go" small doublet ED refractors, this a true three-element apochromatic telescope capable of producing research-level image quality. Dr. Mike Reynolds used this telescope to make the first ever images of shadow bands on clouds during the total eclipse of the sun over Easter Island on July 11, 2010.

In addition to fine optical quality, the deluxe focuser, diagonal, finder scope, and case, make this telescope an extreme value!

Hoya ED Glass, a Critical Element of Explore Scientific ED Apochromatic Refracting Telescopes

Explore Scientific uses ED (Extra-low Dispersion) FCD1 (Dense Fluor Crown) glass developed by Hoya Optical of Japan to enable the production of lenses that offer superior sharpness and color correction by minimizing the color dispersion (chromatic aberration, or the "false" color fringing seen around bright objects that happens when light rays pass through standard crown-and-flint doublet objectives). This glass type offers a more durable and long lasting solution to produce an optic to minimize chromatic aberration over delicate fluorite crystal objectives that are prone to fracturing and absorbing moisture.

High Performance Optics Demand a High Precision Focuser

Exploring the fine features around the Moon's Hadley Rille will put to test observing skills of any astronomer as well as precision of telescope optics. Better optical quality dictates more precise focusing.

This is especially true when observing at high magnification or when making CCD images. With a standard focuser, you will find that a tiny nudge will throw out focus and turn your night into one of frustration.

So we included as standard equipment, on all Explore Scientific ED Apos, a ten-to-one, two-speed Crayford-style precision focuser with tension adjustment and lock to obtain and hold perfect focus. We think you'll agree that such precision is worth it.

Optical Alignment

One of the bonuses of ownership of a refractor is that, compared to standard reflector telescopes, they almost never require re-aligning of the optics (collimation). However, any telescope that is subjected to shock may require optical alignment.

Removing the dew shield, you can access the alignment screws, which you can adjust yourself by referring to the instructions. You can also send it to Explore Scientific’s Service Center for alignment. A standard service charge applies.

Viewing Comfort and the Preservation of Precious Light

The purpose of a diagonal is to securely hold your eyepiece and to give you a comfortable viewing angle.

Provided as standard equipment, Explore Scientific's Two Inch Dielectric Diagonal incorporates a light-weight, one-piece diagonal body that securely cradles the precision polished diagonal flat mirror, insuring precision alignment. Ultra-high reflective coatings (99% reflective) composed of multiple thin layers of dielectric material delivers maximum light output.

Both 2" and 1.25" eyepiece holders use compression rings instead of a simple set-screw to more securely hold your valued eyepiece (or imaging device) and to minimize scoring of eyepiece barrels. You can thread standard 48mm filters into the barrel.

We Keep You from Getting Lost in the Dark!

Many premium small refractors don't include some basic accessories like a viewfinder. This is often done to keep prices down. Those manufacturers rationalize that its owner simply will not need a viewfinder... wrong!

While it's true that ED Apos in this aperture usually have short focal lengths, it still is a challenge to successfully aim the telescope without a viewfinder. So we decided to offer a superior class 8x50 viewfinder as standard equipment.

The Explore Scientific 8x50 produces a wide 6° field of view and allows precision focus of both main objective and eyepiece illuminated reticle. A precision polished roof prism produces images that are right-side-up, left-to-right correct. In other words, things are not upside-down and backwards like most viewfinders. Our illuminated reticle is truly designed for finding objects with its open center (so you don't mask the object you are centering with cross hairs) and scale markings for 1.5°, 3°, and 4.5° (the edge of the field of view is the 6° boundary).

The 55° apparent field, long eye-relief eyepiece produces a bright 15.5mm exit pupil and will allow you to find faint galaxies, comets, and nebulae. All optics are fully-multicoated to insure maximum contrast.

Universal Mounting Plate

You can mount the ED 80 to many popular equatorial and Altaz mounts, including Explore Scientific's Mounts. Photographers, who are looking for super high resolution optics, can mount the optical tube assembly to their existing medium-duty camera tripod. A release knob allows the tube assembly to rotate so that the camera can be positioned at any angle.