Explore the wonders of the universe from your backyard--or just check out the activity down the street--with the Meade Polaris 60EQ-A 60mm diameter refractor telescope. Ideal for budding astronomers and beginning stargazers, the telescope features an easy-to-use design that sets up in seconds, so you can start peering at stars, planets, and distant galaxies almost immediately. Meade's high-quality optical design starts with a 60mm diameter objective lens, coated for pinpoint sharpness, and two 1.25-inch eyepieces (one MH9mm and one MA25mm) to ensure a wide field of view. The focal length of 900 mm (with an f/15 ratio), meanwhile, isn't as powerful as many high-end telescopes, but still keeps celestial objects looking razor sharp. All of this on a fully adjustable aluminum tripod (with an accessory tray) that ensures a stable viewing platform with minimal vibration--the bane of telescopes everywhere. The scope's equatorial mount is particularly appealing, as its deluxe slow motion controls help users keep fast-moving objects centered in the field of view during extended observations. Other details include a 5x24mm viewfinder and a 2x Barlow lens with a 1.25-inch diagonal mirror.

The telescope also comes with Meade's StarFinder software, which boasts a database of more than 10,000 celestial objects. The application offers an ideal way to virtually explore the heavens before looking through the telescope's eyepiece and finding the real planets, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. The software also includes detailed star charts for printing, along with easy-to-use Microsoft Windows pulldown menus and online help.

The Polaris 60EQ-A telescope is backed by a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
Telescope with viewfinder, software CD-ROM, user's manual.