Meade ETX70AT Telescope w/882 Tripod and Software

Meade ETX70AT Telescope w/882 Tripod and Software Reviews

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Meade ETX70AT Telescope w/882 Tripod and Software Feature

• Exclusive multicoated, air-spaced achromatic objective lenses
• Razor-sharp images of both astronomical and terrestrial subjects
• Extremely portable at only 6.8 pounds
• Telescope can be used on any flat surface
• Meade 882 tripod included

The ETX70AT is my favorite of all the low-cost computerized telescopes, because of its compact body and also because it is so easy to use. The ETX70AT package includes everything a beginner needs to get started (except batteries). So what can you see, exactly, with this little telescope? It will show you craters on the Moon, the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter. Take it with you to dark country skies and the little ETX70AT will even show you galaxies and reveal the Milky Way as a brilliant river of stars.

I found the low power views with the included MA25mm eyepiece, about 14X magnification, to be sharper from edge to edge than my 15X70 binoculars. Wide-field, low-power views allow you to take in the full picture of bright star clusters like the Pleiades. The Pleiades are known as the Seven Sisters because sharp eyed people can often see seven or eight stars with the naked eye, and though I've only ever been able to make out six, with the ETX70 on a good clear night, I counted 77 stars! The low power view of a rising moon, one day past full, was simply beautiful--the lunar rays splashed out of the major impact crater Tycho sharply etched against the Maria (the lunar seas).

Higher magnification with the MA9mm eyepiece did begin to reveal the optical defects that short focus achromatic refractors always show. The moon was rimmed by a bright green glow, and the craters were no longer quite as sharp. When I turned my gaze to Saturn, I could plainly see the rings and Saturn's moon Titan, using either the MA9mm (39X) or my own SP6.4mm eyepiece (55X), but the image was not as sharp as it would have been in a classic style long focus refractor.

The Autostar controller makes it easy to find more than 1400 celestial objects.

The Autostar computer included with the ETX70AT is simply amazing. Plug in the Autostar and the batteries, point the tube North and level, and the Autostar's easy alignment routine will pick two alignment stars and help you find them. You will still need a guide book, like Nightwatch by Terrence Dickinson, to introduce you to the bright stars by name, but this is about the only detail Meade left out of the ETX70AT package. Take Autostar's guided tour of "tonight's best," and you'll soon be looking at galaxies and star clusters. Yes, you really can see galaxies with a little telescope like this. All you need are dark skies and knowing where to look. And Autostar takes care of the "knowing where to look" part. Once the telescope is aligned, bring up M31 on the menu and press "GO TO." You'll find yourself looking at the Andromeda Galaxy, two million light years away. Even from a dark location in the country you'll see why amateur astronomers refer to galaxies as "faint fuzzies." This view of faint and fuzzy galaxies is very much the way they looked to comet hunter Charles Messier who first discovered these so called "M" objects.

A surprising number of people with bigger telescopes also own one of these little ETX refractors. There's no doubt about it, a compact, computerized telescope that actually finds things for you is just plain cool. --Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• It's easy to find objects with the Autostar computer
• Wide field views

Cons:

• Planet views could be better

2/8/200615-19-33...

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Jun 23, 2011 03:51:04