CGEM II 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain

The 700 Maksutov-Cassegrain CGEM II telescope (CGEM II 700 Mak) is a specialized instrument designed for detailed, high contrast views of smaller celestial objects like the planets. With the Maksutov-Cassegrain optical tube and sturdy equatorial mount and tripod, this kit will provide unparalleled views of the planets and up-close views of the lunar surface. Maks are also well suited to hunting smaller, fainter, deep sky objects such as globular clusters and planetary nebulae.  Astronomers located in urban astronomers will appreciate the Mak’s ability to bring out more contrast in celestial objects. 

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 your 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.

CGEM II Mount & Tripod

CGEM II is a sturdy equatorial mount capable of rigidly supporting the 700 Mak. Its 40 lbs load capacity can handle the 19 lbs optical tube with ease, leaving lots of capacity to spare for your camera and any accessories. The 700 Mak connects directly to the CGEM II with its CGE dovetail mounting bar.

The fully computerized mount will automatically “GoTo” any of the 40,000+ astronomical objects selected from the NexStar+ hand controller’s database and automatically track the object as it appears to move across the night sky.

CGEM II can image past the meridian with ease and not requiring a meridian flip until the object is a full 20° past the meridian.

The NexStar+ also has dozens of other functions to control every aspect of the mount’s behavior. These include:

• Multiple ways to align the mount to the night sky
• Adjustable slew rates up to 5°/second
• Northern or Southern hemisphere compatibility
• Adjustable autoguiding rates
• Hibernate mode so the mount can be powered down without loss of alignment
• Continual firmware development, with new features added regularly

Accessories Included
The CGEM II 700 Mak comes complete with a 2” Visual Back, a 2” Star Diagonal with 1.25” adapter, a 28 mm wide-field 2” eyepiece, and a large 8x50 straight-through finderscope. The optical tube accommodates the larger 2” accessories, such as 2” Barlows and larger wide-field eyepieces.

Ships in 4 boxes.

• 700 Maksutov Cassegrain OTA
• CGEM II Equatorial Head
• Tripod with Accessory Tray
• 1 x 17 lbs counterweight
• 1 x 11 lbs CGEM counterweight
• NexStar+ Hand Control
• DC Power Cable (plugs into cigarette lighter socket)
• 8mm Allen wrench (contained in rear carry handle)
• 2” Visual Back
• 2” Star Diagonal with 1.25” adapter
• 28mm wide-field 2” eyepiece
• large 8x50 straight-through finderscope