700 Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA

• 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.

Features

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 frequent 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.

Specifications