IRVINE--- After 27 Years of Continuous Production, Meade Drops Schmidt-Cassegrain Optics in Favor of Its Own Advanced Coma-Free
Meade Instruments (NasdaqGM: MEAD), the leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes and optical accessories for both professional and amateur astronomy enthusiasts worldwide, announced today that it has completed its landmark transition from manufacturing Schmidt-Cassegrain optics to its proprietary Advanced Coma-Free (ACF ) optical technology. Bolstering the company’s commitment to serving the amateur astronomy community through innovative, professional grade products at an affordable price, Meade’s departure from the classic Schmidt-Cassegrain optics to the high-performance ACF optical system enables serious amateur astronomers to advance their hobby with an optical system that outperforms Schmidt-Cassegrain systems and delivers the benefits of a Ritchey-Chrétien viewing experience without the associated high costs.
Available exclusively in Meade’s LX90, LX200, LX400 and LXD75 8” telescopes (all formerly engineered using Schmidt-Cassegrain technology), Meade’s changeover from Schmidt-Cassegrain to the superior Advanced Coma Free technology is the product of years of engineering and manufacturing expertise resulting in a superior technology that delivers the same sharp, flat, coma-free field of view from edge to edge as a typical Ritchey-Chrétien telescope. In the hands of the serious astronomer or astrophotographer the Advanced Coma-Free telescopes produce razor sharp star images across the entire field of view that is on par with the view offered by the best professional observatories.
“World-renowned for producing stunning, tack sharp views of the night sky, Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes are used by the world’s top astronomers, but their high cost makes them unattainable for most amateur astronomers,” said Steve Muellner, CEO. “Over three and a half decades of experience in designing and manufacturing advanced optical systems for the amateur astronomy community puts us in a position to be able to provide an observatory-class viewing experience at an affordable price. Amateur astronomy has made tremendous strides over the past 30 years, and the advent of Advanced Coma-Free optics represents a massive leap forward for the astronomy world.”
Engineered using an aplanatic design like a Ritchey-Chrétien, Meade’s ACF optical design consists of a hyperbolic secondary and corrector lens/primary mirror combination that performs as one hyperbolic element, eliminating coma and diffraction spikes found in the much more expensive Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes. The patented technology results in a more concentrated light field that yields a high-resolution, high-contrast view of pinpoint stars and extended objects across a larger usable field of view. Well suited for wide field and photographic observations, the precision polished and figured front corrector lens minimizes the astigmatism inherent in the traditional RC designs and each lens is coated with Meade’s unsurpassed Ultra High Transmission Coatings (UHTC ) for maximum image contrast and brightness.
For more information on Meade’s Advanced Coma-Free optics as well as the LX and LXD families of telescopes, visit www.meade.com.
ABOUT MEADE INSTRUMENTS
Built on the pillars of exploration, discovery, imaging, and sharing, Irvine, Calif. Based Meade Instruments is the leading designer and manufacturer of telescopes and optical accessories with an enviable worldwide reputation for its well-engineered products that enable both professional and amateur astronomy enthusiasts to experience the wonder and excitement of exploring the universe we live in. Offering the industry’s broadest product line of astronomical telescopes, solar telescopes, binoculars, microscopes and related optical accessories, the company distributes its products worldwide through a network of specialty retailers, mass merchandisers and domestic and foreign distributors. Additional information on Meade and its products including its ETX, LX Coronado and MySky series is available at http://www.meade.com.