Meade Polaris NGC-60AM Achromatic Refractor Telescope

The Meade Polaris NGC-60AM telescope, which hails from Meade's Next Generation series, incorporates an advanced industrial design and high-quality instruments, making it a perfect fit for budding backyard astronomers and serious hobbyists. The scope's large, precision-bearing surfaces yield smooth manual motions as you track an object, while the ultra-modern appearance adds a cutting-edge touch to your sunroom or patio. The scope also offers a computer controller that directs you how to move the optical tube to best view more than 1,400 celestial objects. The computer display is great for viewing the major planets, star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae that otherwise might be difficult to locate, instead helping you center them directly in the lens's field of view. Plus, the NGC-60AM makes a nice choice for such terrestrial tasks as bird watching, nature gazing, or neighborhood surveying.

Meade's topnotch optical design starts with a 60mm diameter objective lens, coated for pinpoint sharpness, and three 0.965-inch eyepieces (one SR4mm, one H12.5mm, and one H25mm) to ensure a wide field of view in a variety of conditions. The focal length of 700 mm (with an f/11.7 ratio), meanwhile, isn't as powerful as many high-end telescopes, but still keeps objects looking razor sharp. The instruments are housed in a durable aluminum tube assembly and balanced on a fully adjustable aluminum tripod (with an accessory tray) with an altazimuth single-tine mount. Other details include a 5x24mm viewfinder and a 3x Barlow lens with a 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 NGC-60AM telescope is backed by a one-year warranty.

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