ETX-80AT Astro Telescope w/ Tripod & Autostar Controller

by Meade

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 22.5 x 9.8 x 31.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 23 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00005BZ3Z
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #52 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Telescopes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 14, 2007

Product Description

Explore the Galaxies far away, or the wildlife in this one, all at the touch of a button, with this fantastically priced, all-inclusive telescope.

Now even the most novice of amateur astronomers can locate and explore the planets, asteroids, and comets, as well as nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, and hundreds of other deep-space objects, all at the push of a button with the included Autostar Hand Controller. The Meade ETX-80AT Astro Telescope brings the full range of celestial images to your eye with an astonishing level of clarity and resolution. And, carrying on Meade's incredible ETX tradition of optical and mechanical excellence, the 70mm ETX includes many of the same features as their larger ETX telescopes, and is 36 percent brighter than the ETX-60AT.

For the introductory student of astronomy, or for the casual observer, the Meade ETX-80AT opens up the skies at modest cost to an amazing breadth of celestial detail utterly invisible without the telescope.

For the non-celestial inclined, the Meade ETX telescopes make excellent land-view instruments for the birdwatcher, the naturalist, or for the home with a view as well. ETX image quality and resolution typically far exceed the levels normally expected of terrestrial telescopes. Terrestrial observers quickly appreciate the advantages afforded by the Autostar hand controller, notwithstanding the Autostar's primary applications to astronomical observing. Using Autostar, many land objects can be readily followed, or tracked, from a distance, using one of nine selectable speeds from slow to fast .

Sky & Telescope Magazine calls the Autostar Hand Controller "the greatest happening in amateur astronomy yet." For all of Meade's advanced imaging capabilities, portability, ease of use, and contemporary cosmetic design, Meade ETX telescopes are above all uniquely defined by the revolutionary Autostar hand controller. This great device is included as standard equipment with ETX 70mm Telescope. The 4

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent little portable telescope, September 1, 2009

By 

CAH "CAH" (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ETX-80AT Astro Telescope w/ Tripod & Autostar Controller (Electronics)

I purchased this scope when, after being out of the hobby of astronomy (more or less) for 20 years, I was bitten by the bug and got back in. I was looking for a telescope that was portable and had a goto ability. This little scope delivers. If you're looking for a scope that will deliver Hubble like views, you're not going to find it here (or in any amateur instrument). However, since June this scope has showed me eclipses on Jupiter by one if it's satellites (Io), one of the rare(of late) sunspot groups on the sun (using a solar filter I purchased elsewhere), Jupiter - Uranus - Neptune - Venus all in the same night. Beautiful star clusters, colorful double stars, a few galaxies (albeit, the galaxies were just faint smudges of light) and quite a few nebulae. If you're already familiar with using a binoculars for your astronomical viewing, think of this as one half of a giant binocular...the views will be similar, but with the added bonus of being able to increase the magnification by changing eyepieces.

If you do purchase this scope, I highly recommend that you also purchase the Meade 6.4mm eyepiece...this will offer greater magnification for viewing the moon and planets and for splitting very close double stars. For clusters and nebulae the included eyepieces are just fine (I use the 9.7 the most).

Is the scope perfect? No...the focus mechanism takes a little practice to get used to and requires too many turns to refocus when using the barlow. Also, the batteries don't last as long as Meade claims (figure about 5 - 10 hours of use). However, this scope is an excellent bargain...very good optics, highly portable, and a goto system that makes it easy to find your targets in light polluted skies or when time is short and you need to make the most of it. Highly recommended.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great multi-use scope!, January 7, 2009

By 

D. Lockwood "spritegeezer" (Elk Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ETX-80AT Astro Telescope w/ Tripod & Autostar Controller (Electronics)

I purchased this for my science teacher wife. She was thrilled. It is of exceptional quality and durability. Very compact and the fact that it can be used for both astronomical and terrestrial purposes is a big plus. The tripod is of good quality and light weight. Even so it seems quite sturdy. I would highly recommend a 5-10 lb weight suspended from the scope mount center. It will make images far more stable. If you have difficulty picking out night-sky objects the Autostar can be a big help in getting started. This is not a deep sky scope, more for lunar and planetary observations, bird watching and spying on neighbors (reviewer's note: the last is a joke...honest!).

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Telescope, December 28, 2001

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: ETX-80AT Astro Telescope w/ Tripod & Autostar Controller (Electronics)

This telescope is great for beginners entering the world of astronmy! It has a suceficent amount of power to see many great cestial bodies in the sky. I saw highly detailed craters of the moon and the craters of mars. The autostar controller guides you and can give a tour of the night sky for those wondering what to see in the sky . It also works with a camera to take pictures on land or sky.