Astro-Tech At60Edt 60Mm F/7 Ed Triplet Apo Refractor, White And Gray Tube

THIS PRODUCT HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.  THIS PAGE IS HERE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

The Astro-Tech AT60EDT is a very compact/very high quality apochromatic triplet refractor that is equally at home observing visually or doing serious wide field imaging . . .

THIS PRODUCT HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.  THIS PAGE IS HERE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

This Astro-Tech AT60EDT ED triplet refractor has:

• 60mm f/7 fully multicoated apochromatic ED triplet refractor optics
• dual-speed rotating 2" rack-and-pinion focuser with 10:1 ratio fine focusing
• 2" and 1.25" non-marring compression ring accessory holders
• combined dovetail/tripod bracket for use on a photo tripod or a German equatorial mount
• retractable self-storing lens shade
• amazing wide field astrophotographic capabilities
• long-lasting white and gray paint finish
• aluminum-frame foam-fitted hard case
• two-year warranty

The Astro-Tech AT60EDT is a superb grab-and-go visual scope, a fine wide-field astrograph, and a daytime spotting scope. Its 420mm f/7 ED air-spaced apochromatic triplet optics are essentially free from spurious color (chromatic aberration), even at high magnifications. The optical performance - both visually and photographically - is little short of astonishing.

The exceptional AT60EDT triplet optics are even more impressive when you consider the package they come in. The substantial (5.3 pounds) and finely-machined scope has a dual speed 2" rack-and-pinion focuser with a microfine 10:1 fine-focusing ratio. You can rotate the focuser a full 360° to put your eyepiece or camera in the most comfortable observing position. The supplied 2" and 1.25" eyepiece adapters use non-marring brass compression rings that won't scratch your eyepiece and accessory barrels. The Astro-Tech AT60EDT has a retractable lens shade and comes in a locking aluminum-frame hard carrying case.

This 11" long refractor optical tube (14" long with the lens shade extended) has the right balance of aperture and focal length to use as a low-power rich field telescope, as a medium-power planetary telescope, or as any kind of telescope in between. Its compact size and convenient removable L-shaped mounting foot that mounts on any photographic tripod also make it an excellent terrestrial spotting scope for vacations, birding, or nature studies. In addition, optional camera adapters turn the AT60EDT into a superb 420mm (8.4x with a 35mm camera or a large chip DSLR) f/7 daytime telephoto lens and nighttime wide-field astrograph. The photo tripod mounting foot is also a Vixen-style dovetail that mounts directly on many altazimuth and German equatorial mounts, such as those from Astro-Tech, Celestron, Meade, and Vixen.


Features of this Astro-Tech refractor. . .

ED triplet refractor optics: 60mm (2.36") aperture, 420mm focal length, f/7 focal ratio air-spaced triplet lens using premium Ohara glass from Japan, including an ED (Extra-low Dispersion glass) element to reduce spurious color halos and fringing to apochromatic levels.

Multicoated optics: The objective lens has the latest state-of-the-art broadband antireflection multicoatings on all air-to-glass surfaces for high light transmission and excellent contrast. This can easily be seen by looking into the objective lens of the scope. Virtually no reflection of your face will be seen, even in brightly lit situations. It's a sure sign that the high transmission coatings are doing their job, by letting virtually all the light enter the scope, rather than reflecting some light back to your eye.

Anti-reflection treatment: The interior of the optical tube uses special matte black paint and anti-reflection threading the full length of the focuser drawtube for truly dark sky backgrounds and high daytime terrestrial contrast. In addition, the edges of the objective lens are blackened to eliminate contrast-reducing stray internal reflections.

Full power range capability: The "highest useful magnification" is theoretically 140x. This is the power obtained with a 3mm eyepiece, which provides an exit pupil of 0.43mm (less than 1/50th of an inch) and 59x per inch of aperture. This is generally the smallest exit pupil recommended with any telescope before the images start to become too dim to be consistently useful.
Higher powers are possible for lunar and planetary observing, however, given excellent seeing conditions, although the increasing dimness of the image will start to limit the performance on all but the brightest objects.
The lowest useful power is 10.5x, achieved with a 40mm eyepiece (a 40mm 1.25" TeleVue Plössl will give you a 4.1° field at that power; while a 2" Explore Scientific 40mm 68° Series will give you a 6.48° field). At 4.4x per inch of aperture, this is very close to the 4x per inch of aperture generally regarded as the lowest practical power with any telescope. A 40mm eyepiece on the AT60EDT will give you a 5.7mm exit pupil, about the maximum to which most eyes can dilate. Any lower power would simply waste some of the scope's light gathering capacity, as some of its exit pupil, and some of the scope's collected light, would fall on your iris, rather than entering your eye.

Dew shield: A self-storing retractable dew shield slows the formation of dew on the lens in cold weather to extend your undisturbed observing time. It also improves the contrast, similar to the effect of the lens shade on a camera lens, when observing during the day or when there is excessive ambient light at night, such as a neighbor's backyard security light.

Dual speed microfine 2" rack-and-pinion focuser with 1.25" adapter: The precision-made 2" focuser has dual-speed focusing. There are two coarse focusing knobs. The right knob also has a smaller concentric knob with 10:1 ratio reduction gear microfine focusing. This provides exceptionally precise image control during high power visual observing or critical DSLR or CCD imaging. The focus knobs have knurled rubber and ribbed gripping surfaces so they are easy to operate, even while wearing gloves or mittens in cold weather.
The drawtube has a very long 95mm (3.75") travel for imaging, with a scale marked in 1mm increments so you can note individual focuser positions for easy return to the correct focus when switching between visual use and photography. A large knurled lock knob under the focuser lets you solidly lock in your photographic focus.
The new heavy-duty patent-pending focuser has a precisely-machined 20mm brass rack with a unique slot machined down the center of the rack. When the lock knob on the focuser drawtube is tightened, a slotted shaft on the knob engages the lip of the slot in the rack. This provides a solid metal-to-metal grip on the rack (not merely added friction) to provide an absolute lock of the photographic focus. There is no possibility of focuser slippage once the lock knob is tightened firmly, no matter what the weight of the photo accessories.    
The focuser drawtube terminates in a 2" compression ring accessory holder to accept a 2" star diagonal or 2" photo accessories. A lock knob on the top of the scope allows the focuser to be rotated a full 360°. This lets you rotate the focuser to line up a camera in either a landscape or portrait orientation (or any orientation in between), as well as put a star diagonal and eyepiece into the most comfortable observing position, and then temporarily lock the focuser in that position.
The supplied 1.25" accessory adapter slips onto the 2" accessory holder and uses a soft brass compression ring to hold 1.25" star diagonals and photo/visual accessories in place. The 1.25" and 2" compression rings won't scratch the barrels of your star diagonal or accessories as an ordinary thumbscrew can.

Combined equatorial dovetail/tripod adapter: The AT60EDT has a removable L-shaped dovetail mounting foot/tripod adapter. The 1.75" wide x 3.25" long mounting foot is sized and shaped (with slanted sides) to fit the Vixen-style dovetail slot on the head of many altazimuth and equatorial mounts. It will fit, without modification, the Astro-Tech Voyager altazimuth mount and the Celestron CG-5 and Advanced Series, Meade LXD-75, and Vixen Great Polaris German equatorial mounts, among others.
In addition, the mounting shoe has a 1/4"-20 thread mounting hole that allows it to be installed on any camera tripod that has a standard 1/4"-20 thread mounting bolt.
Cork pads on the underside of the mounting shoe help keep the scope from swiveling when mounted on a photo tripod. The dovetail is removable to allow the 75mm diameter optical tube AT60EDT to be used with optional guidescope rings as a photoguide for a larger telescope.

Tube finish: The optical tube is finished in a durable and subtly-textured white automotive-grade paint with black trim and a gray and black focuser.

Other supplied accessories: A slip-on metal dust cap is standard. Two threaded holes for installing a finderscope mounting bracket are located on the upper side of the rotating focuser so you can install a finder on either the right or left side, as you prefer.

Shipping/storage case: The scope comes in a 15.5" x 10" x 7.5" aluminum-frame locking hard case with carry handle. The foam-fitted case has cutouts for the scope, a 1.25" or 2" star diagonal, and up to three eyepieces (two 1.25" and one 2").
Astro-Tech is one of the very few manufacturers to provide a case at no charge for protection during shipping and as a storage convenience when the scope is not in use. Unfortunately, FedEx, UPS, and the Postal Service are very good at treating packages roughly. Occasionally, your scope can arrive in perfect condition, but with the walls of the shipping case dented in transit from rough handling, or the aluminum frame sprung, rendering the appearance of the case less than pristine. Damage to the shipping/storage case in such instances is not covered by warranty.

Two year warranty: As an expression of the confidence Astronomy Technologies has in the quality of their products, the Astro-Tech AT60EDT is protected by a two-year limited warranty against flaws in materials and workmanship (shipping case excluded).