Meade LX200
Encyclopedia
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
electronics. A 14" LX200GPS was later added to the line.
The advantage of the LX200 was price for its performance, which was accomplished by using electronics and software to equal the pointing performance of more expensive systems. Software and optical encoders corrected for errors, and the telescope also came with auto-guiding CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
and planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
software.
A related series starting about 2008 was the even higher end RCX400 (later renamed LX400-ACF), with new optics and a motorized focus/collimation system, and with upgraded fork mount electronics. These were available in the same 8 in. (20cm) to 16 in. (40 cm) size range on the new fork mount, and the 16" (40cm) optical tube assembly, along with a new 20 in. (50 cm) optical tube, were available on a new german equatorial mount. These were all f/8 optical systems, costing up to 50 thousand USD for the 20" on the german equatorial mount.
An f/10 version of the new optics later replaced the optics of the existing LX200GPS fork mount models, with the new product line now called the LX200R (later renamed LX200-ACF).. The revised optics are called advanced coma free (ACF) after a lawsuit disallowed implying that they were based on Ritchey–Chrétien optics.
Installations
Selected Observatories with LX200 telescopes.- Ball State University ObservatoryBall State University ObservatoryThe Ball State University Observatory is a collection of five permanently mounted telescopes on the Cooper Science Building on the campus of the Ball State University in Muncie, IN. Its largest telescope is a 16-inch Meade LX200. The observatory is used primarily for student astronomy classes and...
- Barus & Holley Observatory
- Bradstreet ObservatoryBradstreet ObservatoryBradstreet Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Eastern University. Built in 1996, it is located in St. Davids, Pennsylvania . It is named after the current astronomy professor, David Bradstreet.-References:#...
- Clavius Observatory, Universidad IberoAmericana, Mexico City, Mexico, www.clavius.astro.org.mx
- Junk Bond ObservatoryJunk Bond ObservatoryThe Junk Bond Observatory is located in Sierra Vista, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert.Established in 1996, observer David Healy began by using a Celestron 14 SCT and a 16-inch Meade LX200 telescopes in a roll-off shelter...
- Letchworth & District Astronomical Society
- Dodge City Community CollegeDodge City Community CollegeDodge City Community College is located on the Central High Plains in Ford County, southwest Kansas.-Campus:For 22 years, the College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 1601 First Avenue. By 1957, it had grown large enough to require a move to a different...
- David Cole ObservatoryDavid Cole ObservatoryThe David B. Cole Observatory is an educational astronomical observatory owned and operated by Barnstable High School. It is named after the late David Cole, the longtime trustee of the trust fund of the late Enoch Cobb. The observatory itself houses one telescope, while there are mounts outside...
- Frosty Drew ObservatoryFrosty Drew ObservatoryFrosty Drew Observatory is an educational astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Frosty Drew Memorial Fund. It is located in the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge in Charlestown, Rhode Island midway along the coast line between Westerly and Point Judith. It is named after Edwin...
- Givatayim ObservatoryGivatayim ObservatoryThe Givatayim Observatory was founded in 1968 by the Israeli Astronomical Association and the Givatayim municipality.-Activities:These are some of the activities taking place in the observatory:...
- Mead ObservatoryMead ObservatoryMead Observatory is operated by Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center at 701 Front Avenue, Columbus, Georgia. Established in 1996, the observatory has active night sky and solar study programs for students and the general public. The equipment can be controlled and monitored...
- Mount Albert Grammar SchoolMount Albert Grammar SchoolMount Albert Grammar School, or MAGS, is a co-educational secondary school in Central Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches from year 9 to year 13. Mount Albert Grammar is one of the largest secondary schools in the country...
Observatory - Northumberland Astronomical SocietyNorthumberland Astronomical SocietyThe Northumberland Astronomical Society was founded in 2000 by local amateur astronomers in Northumberland, UK. The society is informally known among its members as "Nastro"...
- Nyrölä ObservatoryNyrölä ObservatoryNyrölä Observatory is an amateur astronomical observatory in Finland. It is owned and operated by the astronomical association Jyväskylän Sirius ry, and located in the countryside village of Nyrölä near Jyväskylä....
- Observatorio Astronómico de MallorcaObservatorio Astronómico de MallorcaThe Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca is an observatory just south of Costitx, Mallorca, Spain.The observatory was inaugurated in May 1991 and was the first astronomical center in the Balearic Islands autonomous community and province of Spain....
- Project GalileoProject GalileoProject Galileo is an educational astronomy project, based at Clifton College in Bristol, in the United Kingdom.-History:Project Galileo started in December 2000, as a result of a telescope being donated to a Bristol school, with the overall aim of making the system available for other schools in...
- Red Barn ObservatoryRed Barn ObservatoryThe Red Barn Observatory was established in 2006 and is dedicated to follow-up observations and detections of asteroids, comets, and Near-Earth objects. Plans for the observatory began in 2002 and construction was completed in 2005. During the month of August 2006, the observatory code H68 was...
- Shattuck ObservatoryShattuck ObservatoryShattuck Observatory is the astronomical observatory of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is a small building with three wings and a two-story dome . Its foundations are granite blocks; the building itself is brick. It is notable as the oldest scientific building on campus...
- Starkenburg ObservatoryStarkenburg ObservatoryStarkenburg-Sternwarte is an astronomical observatory in Heppenheim, Germany. It was formed in 1970, and currently has about 150 members.The instruments at the observatory consists of:* 0.45m newtonian* 0.30m Meade LX200...
- Telus World of Science (Edmonton)
- Van Vleck ObservatoryVan Vleck ObservatoryVan Vleck Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Wesleyan University. It was built in 1914 and named after the former head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at the university, Prof. John M. Van Vleck. It is located in Middletown, Connecticut .-Directors:*...
- West Yorkshire Astronomical Society
- Widener University ObservatoryWidener University ObservatoryThe Widener University Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Widener University. It is located in Kirkbride Hall on Widener's main campus in Chester, Pennsylvania. The observatory is intended for student use and research within the physics and astronomy department...
- Yale Student ObservatoryYale Student ObservatoryThe Yale Student Observatory, also known as the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium, is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Yale University. It is located in Farnham Memorial Gardens near the corner of Edwards and Prospect Streets, New Haven, Connecticut .The observatory is...
- York University ObservatoryYork University ObservatoryYork University Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by York University. It is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It owns two telescopes housed in two domes, a Schmidt-Cassegrain and a Cassegrain , and other smaller portable telescopes.Telescopes 1 and 2 are located...
- Astronomical centre Rijeka