The 7" Maksutov Cassegrain is a fantastic instrument just begging to get out under the stars and bring its high contrast optics to your eye.
The 7" Maksutov-Cassegrain is a specialized instrument designed for detailed, high contrast views that sets a standard in mid-level telescopes. The Maksutov-Cassegrain optical tube provides unparalleled views of the planets and up-close views of the lunar surface, including craters and maria.
Astronomers located in urban areas will especially appreciate the Mak’s ability to bring out more contrast in celestial objects. But since the entire kit disassembles into separate, lightweight, and manageable pieces, it’s also a great choice for transporting to dark sky sites.
The OTA itself isn't even available as a stand alone part from Celestron. Every so often we will receive an OTA/Mount combo and pull it apart so people have the opportunity to own the scope without having to purchase an entire new setup.
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.
Included Accessories
The 7" 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.
