Celestron Advanced VX 7" Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope

The Celestron Advanced VX 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope (Advanced VX 700 Mak) is a specialized mid-level telescope designed for detailed, high-contrast views of the night sky. Combining a Maksutov-Cassegrain optical tube with the sturdy Advanced VX equatorial mount and tripod, this system provides an excellent platform for exploring planets and examining the Moon in impressive detail. The Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design is particularly well suited to high-contrast planetary observing, allowing you to explore the surfaces of planets while also enjoying close-up lunar views. The telescope reveals details across the Moon, including prominent craters and maria, making it an engaging choice for observers who enjoy studying nearby celestial objects. The Advanced VX mount provides a stable foundation for the optical tube while maintaining the versatility expected from a computerized equatorial telescope system. Its design makes the Advanced VX 700 Mak suitable for observers who want detailed views without moving to a larger and more demanding telescope setup. Astronomers observing from urban locations can particularly appreciate the Mak's ability to bring out contrast in celestial objects. When darker skies are desired, the entire system can be disassembled into separate, lightweight, manageable components, making transportation to dark-sky observing sites more convenient.

Maksutov-Cassegrain Optical Design

The Mak is a catadioptric telescope, which means the optical design includes both a lens and a mirror. The light coming through a Mak passes through the corrector lens to the primary mirror and back to a spherical secondary mirror before it hits the eyepiece. Images are bright, sharp, and virtually free of chromatic aberration.

The Maksutov-Cassegrain’s optical design offers several unique benefits. Instead of a secondary mirror, the Mak features a “secondary spot” of reflective coating applied directly to the inside of the corrector plate. Because of this, the telescope does not require occasional collimation like a Schmidt-Cassegrain. Also, the secondary spot is significantly smaller than a traditional Schmidt-Cassegrain secondary mirror, giving the Mak its signature high-contrast views.

One important thing to note about Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes is that the larger, heavier Maksutov corrector plate takes longer to cool down and adjust to ambient air temperature compared to a Schmidt-Cassegrain of the same aperture.

Features

• 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope with f/15 focal ratio provides high contrast views of the planets and lunar landscapes, perfect for serious planetary imagers and visual observers.
• Celestron’s premium StarBright XLT coatings ensure maximum light transmission.
• Advanced VX, the most compact and portable of Celestron’s German equatorial mounts, offers a maximum instrument capacity of 30 lb with the same rigidity as our larger mounts and minimal flexure.
• Every feature an astroimager wants: PEC, an autoguider port, the ability to image across the meridian, and more.
• Dual saddle plate is compatible with narrow CG-5 dovetails and wider CGE dovetail. Also compatible with Vixen format dovetails longer than 100mm, but not compatible with Losmandy D format plates.
• Accessories included: 2” Visual Back, 2” Star Diagonal with 1.25” adapter, 28mm eyepiece (2”), 8x50 finderscope.