The Celestron CGEM II 1100 HD telescope combines big aperture 11" aplanatic EdgeHD high definition optics, a precision Celestron CGEM go-to German equatorial mount, and an ultra-premium 82° field Axiom eyepiece in a superlative and surprisingly portable true astrograph-quality telescope.
The Celestron CGEMII 1100HD telescope puts unique new large aperture 11" aplanatic (free from coma and corrected for spherical aberration) EdgeHD high definition Schmidt optics on a precision Celestron CGEM II go-to German equatorial mount.
The advanced EdgeHD optical design - a Sky & Telescope Hot Product for 2010 - has a dual-element field flattener lens made from premium Schott optical glass mounted in its central baffle tube. The field flattener reduces off-axis coma and produces aberration-free images across a wide 42mm image circle (as large as the diagonal of a 35mm negative or large format CCD chip and ideal for astrophotography). And those images will look superb through the supplied ultra-premium 82° field 23mm 2" Celestron Axiom eyepiece.
In addition to reduced off-axis coma, the EdgeHD optical system delivers an astrograph-quality focal plane more than three times flatter than a standard Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and dramatically flatter than competing coma-free designs. Stars are smaller and more concentrated, creating brighter images and allowing you to see down to a fainter magnitude than other equally-sized telescopes. You see visibly sharp and point-like stars to the very edges of some of the largest CCD and DSLR chips available today.
Celestron's renowned Starbright XLT multi-coatings on every optical surface give you maximum light throughput across the widest possible visual and photographic spectrum. The big aperture CGEM II 1100HD's immense light grasp, almost 1600 times that of even the sharpest dark-adapted eye, reveals star clusters, nebulas, planets, and galaxies in amazing visual and photographic detail. The Fastar-compatible optical tube allows imaging down to an incredibly-fast f/2 focal ratio using optional accessories.
The smooth and precise Celestron CGEM II go-to mount makes finding over 40,000 of those stars and objects easy and automatic. You spend more time looking at celestial objects, and less time looking for them. The CGEM II mount combines portability and premium-level performance with a payload capacity of 40 pounds. This makes for very steady imaging and visual observing with the 28 pound 11" Celestron EdgeHD optical tube.
With a heaviest single component of only 44 pounds, the CGEM II 1100HD makes large-aperture astrograph-quality imaging and visual astronomy not only affordable, but highly portable. Its light weight individual components and easily assembled mount make it easy to set up and enjoy - either in your backyard or at a distant dark sky site. Its superb flat-field reduced-coma optical quality and reasonable price for a really big full-featured computerized go-to mount make Celestron CGEM II 1100HD a telescope that will provide years of affordable use and enjoyment for both the serious observer and the dedicated imager alike.
This Telescope'sOptical System . . .
EdgeHD Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube: 11" aperture (2800mm focal length f/10). Built-in dual-element field flattener in the central baffle tube. Guaranteed diffraction-limited optical performance, free from coma and corrected for spherical aberrations(aplanatic design). The optical design is a Sky & Telescope Hot Product for 2010. The 24" long aluminum optical tube has a large handle on the rear cell and weighs only 28 pounds, making it easy to transport and assemble the scope in the field.
Starbright XLT fully-multicoated optics: This high transmission/high reflectivity optical multi-coatings package is applied to all optical surfaces. Starbright XLT coatings give you visibly higher light transmission for visually brighter deep space images and shorter exposure times during imaging. They also increase the contrast on subtle lunar, planetary, and nebula details when compared with a scope with ordinary coatings or multi-coatings.
Tube vents: Two cooling vents located on the rear cell allow warm air to be released from behind the primary mirror when the scope is taken out for a night's observing or imaging. This shortens the amount of time needed for the optics to cool down to ambient air temperature for peak optical performance. Each vent has an integrated 60 micron micro-mesh filter guaranteed to let warm air out without letting dust in.
Fastar compatible: For the ultimate in wide-field catadioptric imaging, the EdgeHD optical tube is Fastar compatible to allow CCD imaging at a blazingly-fast f/2 focal ratio, although without the benefits of the dual-element field flattener built into the scope's baffle tube. An optional Fastar lens assembly lens replaces the telescope's removable secondary mirror (an exchange that takes only a few minutes). Your CCD camera is attached to the Fastar lens. This puts your camera at the f/2 position in the center of the Schmidt corrector lens at the front of the scope, rather than in its normal f/10 position at the Cassegrain focus at the rear of the scope.
Focusing: Focusing is accomplished by turning a knob at the rear of the scope body that moves the primary mirror fore and aft along a central baffle tube to adjust the focus. The Celestron focusing mechanism is supported by two pre-loaded ball bearings, minimizing the "mirror flop" typical of bushing focus mechanisms that causes image shift during critical focusing.
Mirrorlocks: Flexible tension locks hold the mirror in place after correct focus is achieved for imaging and reduce image shift when rotating the tube around the mount (while moving past the zenith during astrophotography, for example). Unlike other designs that have only one locking knob located off to one side of the mirror, the Celestron system uses three locks equally spaced around the mirror to distribute the mirror locking force symmetrically. The focuser itself acts as one of the locks, while two flexible rods spaced 120° away in either direction act as the second and third locks. Controlled by variable tension knobs on the rear cell, these rods act in conjunction with the focuser to hold the mirror in place without putting any asymmetrical force or pressure on the mirror. This keeps the image centered in the eyepiece (or chip) no matter what the orientation of the optical tube.
Finderscope: 9 x 50mm straight-through achromatic design, with a wide 5.8 degree field of view, mounted in a spring-loaded easy-adjust quick release bracket..
Star diagonal: 2" first-surface mirror type, with 1.25" adapter.
Eyepiece: premium 2" 23mm 82° field Axiom (122x), a much higher quality eyepiece than those supplied with competitive scopes. The eyepiece field of view is 0.67° wide, a third wider than the full moon, and an exceptionally wide field for the 122x magnification.
This Telescope's Mount. . .
Heavy duty CGEM II computerized German equatorial mount: The CGEM II mount includes dual-axis slewing/tracking motors on each axis for go-to computer control. There are nine motor drive speeds: 0.5x and 1x sidereal for guiding; 4x, 8x, 16x, and 64x for centering; and 0.5°, 2°, and a fast 4° per second for slewing. Preset tracking rates include sidereal, solar, and lunar for precise tracking of celestial objects inside the solar system as well as out in deep space.
Powering the CGEM II 1100: The mount comes with a car battery cord to operate from the cigarette lighter plug of your car or from a rechargeable 12VDC battery pack. The 17 amp hour capacity Celestron Power Tank #4517V is recommended and will operate the scope all night long without danger of running out of power.
Polar alignment: To make a casual polar alignment for visual use quick and easy, there's a latitude scale with large ergonomically-friendly altitude and azimuth adjustment knobs. A unique Celestron All-Star Polar Alignment program built into the NexStar hand control helps you do a very precise computerized polar alignment in mere minutes, using any bright star, even when Polaris is hidden by trees or buildings. The program works in both northern and southern hemispheres.
Adjustable height tripod: The tripod has 2"diameter stainless steel legs with a metal center leg brace for rigidity, for excellent vibration damping characteristics. The tripod also includes graduated markings on the tripod legs that will assist in quickly leveling the instrument. The center leg brace is drilled to form a convenient accessory tray that holds 1.25" and 2" eyepiece to keep them up out of the dew-soaked grass.
Mounting the scope: New for the CGEM II mount is a dual saddle plate. The saddle plate will now accept both the CGE/Losmandy wide dovetail plate as well as the AVX/Vixen style dovetail plate. The dovetail slot on the top of the mount holds the long dovetail slide bar mounted under the optical tube. This allows you to slide the optical tube fore and aft in the dovetail slot to quickly and precisely balance the optical tube in declination when you add or subtract accessories, eliminating the need for an extra counterweight to balance a camera or other accessories. Setup and take down times are exceptionally fast, as a single large hand-tighten knob holds the optical tube in place. A second lock knob prevents the tube from sliding off the mount should the hand-tighten knob loosen. The oversized dovetail mounting platform assures secure vibration-free tube attachment.
Balancing the scope: The two sliding 17pound counterweights are locked in place on the counterweight shaft with asingle large hand-tighten knob each. This makes it easy to rebalance the scope in right ascension if you add heavy photographic accessories.
NexStar computer hand control: The supplied NexStar computer hand control has a built-in database of more than 40,000 stars and objects that it can find and track for you. These include the complete RNGC, Messier, Caldwell, IC, and Abell catalogs; selected SAO stars; the planets, the Moon, and others. The custom database lists of all the most famous deep-sky objects by name and catalog number; the most beautiful double, triple and quadruple stars; variable stars; non-planetary solar systems objects; and asterisms.
TheNexStar display: All of the database and scope operation information is displayed on a double line,16-character, liquid crystal display on the hand control. There are 19 fiber optic backlit LED buttons to make it easy for you to control the computer without affecting your dark-adapted vision. The NexStar hand control provides a constant and easily-visible illuminated right ascension and declination readout of the scopes position on the sky. This provides much greater accuracy than conventional (and hard to see at night) manual setting circles for star-hopping or locating objects by their celestial coordinates alone, should you want to observe the old-fashioned way without using the computer to find objects for you.
SomeNexStar features: New for the CGEM II mount, a USB 2.0 communication port on the hand control allows you to operate the telescope via a personal computer using a USB cable and NexRemote software CD-ROM. The hand control and motor control software is flash-upgradeable to allow you to download the latest product updates over the Internet to keep your CGEM II mount always at the cutting edge of technology. An autoguider port is located on the electronic pier for guided, but unattended, long exposure astrophotography.
Aligningon the sky: Five different alignment methods are built into the NexStar computer - 2-star align, quick align, 1-star align, last alignment, and solar align - allowing you to choose a level of computer accuracy in automatically finding objects with which you are comfortable. Alignment is easily accomplished in only a few short minutes. You can be observing in less than 15 minutes after you first take the scope outdoors. There's even a new and unique "All-Star" software-assisted alignment of the mount's polar axis using a single bright star that will have you ready for imaging before it's even dark enough to see the North Star.
Two-year warranty: All Celestron go-to telescopes have a two-year warranty.
