Product Description

If you have been on the fence about purchasing a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope for astrophotography, you should hop off it now and take a look at the new Orion 12" f/8 Truss Tube Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph. It features premium quartz mirror optics housed in an ingenious truss tube support structure originally developed back in 1935 for the 200" Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory! This exquisitely engineered telescope is optimized for large-aperture astrophotographic excellence and will take your imaging pursuits to a whole new level!

Unlike conventional Newtonian reflector and Schmidt-Cassegrain designs that are susceptible to displaying coma away from the center of the field, the Orion 12" f/8 Truss Tube Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph utilizes hyperbolic primary and secondary mirrors to achieve wonderfully flat images that are virtually coma-free. Plus, since there are no lenses involved, images are delightfully free of chromatic aberration, for true-color performance. Both the 12" (304mm) primary mirror and the secondary mirror are figured from low-expansion quartz glass and boast enhanced aluminum coatings to provide 96% reflectivity. The primary mirror is fixed in place to eliminate annoying "image shift" that plagues Schmidt- and Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes. The secondary mirror is precisely center-marked to facilitate collimation.

The Serrurier carbon fiber truss system is thermally very stable, minimizing the effect of ambient temperature changes on the telescope's focus. Plus, since it's an open tube, the optics cool down faster than solid tube versions. The Serrurier system utilizes two sets of opposing truss tubes on either side of the declination pivot plane, which keep the optical elements parallel to each other no matter how the telescope is oriented, thus keeping optical collimation precisely intact. Stainless steel ball and socket hardware connects the truss tubes to the telescope's three large CNC-machined aluminum support plates.

The focuser on the Orion 12" f/8 Truss Tube Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph is a masterpiece of rigidity and precision. The CNC-machined 3.3" dual-speed (10:1) linear bearing Crayford focuser features a stainless steel rail on the drawtube that provides extra support for up to 9 lbs. of imaging gear without flexure or slippage. The focuser can be rotated 360º for image framing. Both 2" and 1.25" non-marring compression ring accessory collars permit the use of 2" or 1.25" accessories.

The Orion 12" f/8 Truss Tube Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph tube assembly is equipped with a D-style dovetail mounting bar on both the bottom and top. A dovetail finder scope base is also installed for attachment of any Orion finder scope or reflex sight (sold separately). Three 1.5" 12V DC cooling fans are mounted on the rear cell to help accelerate optical equilibration to ambient temperature. A battery holder is included (requires eight user-supplied AA batteries), as are one 2" and two 1" threaded extension rings for use in reaching focus with various configurations of imaging cameras and accessories. Primary and secondary mirror dust covers are also provided. Weighing 52 lbs. without any additional accessories, this telescope requires an equatorial mount that can support that load, such as the Orion HDX110 EQ-G equatorial mount.

Superb optics, superior design, and sensational affordability come together to make the Orion 12" f/8 Truss Tube Ritchey-Chrétien Astrograph one spectacular instrument for capturing bright, detailed images of deep-space objects with CCD cameras and APS-C and full frame DSLRs. Get yours today!