Coronado SolarMax II 60mm Doublestack Solar Telescope with Richview System and 15mm Blocking Filter

Product Specifications

• Coronado SolarMax II 60 Double Stack RichView Tuning Telescope - Mounting Rings - Cemax 25mm Eyepiece - Sol Ranger Solar Finder - Carry Case - Coronado Warranty
• Aperture: 60mm
• Focal Length: 400mm
• F/Ratio: F/6.6

• Bandwidth: Less Than 0.5A

  Product Description

Coronado by Meade SolarMax II 60mm Solar Telescope with RichView system. Includes 15mm Blocking Filter. This double stacked unit excels at observation of solar surface detail with a 0.5 angstrom bandpass. Features two fully tunable H-alpha etalon filters, one internal and one external.Used around the world by serious solar enthusiasts and professional research facilities alike for observation of surface detail and prominences on the Sun in hydrogen-alpha (Ha) light. Powerful but very portable, this high resolution Solar Telescope offers dedicated visual observation of the Sun as well as high quality imaging. The new Meade Coronado SolarMax II represents a breakthrough in solar observing with the new and revolutionary new RichView tuning assembly. This patented system allows direct tuning of the primary filter etalon. No other commercially available Ha telescope can provide the tuning range and accuracy of the SolarMax II. Now you can tune for the highest contrast views of active regions, flares, filaments and other surface detail, or quickly and easily re-tune for prominences on the solar limb. This fully integrated double stack system has the added advantage of being able to operate at a less restrictive .7A bandwidth by simply removing the external etalon. In this way image brightness is increased, enhancing the visibility of fainter limb detail. The stunning bright red views through a Coronado Ha telescope display astounding surface and limb detai

Product Reviews

Incredible views of our nearest star

With the upcoming solar eclipse, I decided to invest in a solar scope. I dove in and bought this scope so that I would have time before our eclipse viewing trip. I had no idea what the differences were between the different models and finally decided on this one because of the extra filters on the end of the scope.The scope arrived late in the day and the UPS guy brought it to the door, holding it like a dead baby. The single-ply cardboard that this ships in was in horrible condition. My stomach sank until I realized that the scope was nicely contained in the black carrying case which was padded with foam inside, and had packing blocks between the case and the single-ply cardboard. It turned out that there was no damage to the scope at all of the inside case.This scope does not come with a telescope mount. I got first-light for the scope with it mounted to my Manfrotto tripod with a ball-head. While not optimal, this setup worked in a pinch. I went ahead and purchased a video head for the same tripod for easier adjustment. I’m happy with this setup until I can afford a quality GOTO mount and tripod. Because focusing and tuning of the scope is fully manual, the scope will shake around a lot unless it is on a very sturdy mount. A manual mount would work out fine for this scope but I highly suggest having more fine-tuned adjustments that I currently have (even using the video mount).Consider a GOTO mount with the ability to focus on the sun(be aware that some GOTO mounts will not even let you select the sun as an object to follow for safety reasons). Expect to spend between $600 and $1500 for a GOTO tripod/mount of the same high quality as this scope. The sky is the limit obviously. I plan to buy a mount solution which can double as a photography platform when not in use with the solar scope.The scope come with a CEMAX 25mm lens which works great, but don’t expect the sun to be very big in the eyepiece using this lens. I had a much better experience with this scope when I swapped out the lens for my Tele Vue Delos 6mm lens which I already owned.Tuning the scope was trick at first and I was not getting a clear view. I re-read the manual and was eventually able to get everything in crisp focus. Wow. The views I got from the scope exceeded my expectations. Of course, the Sun was super –quiet with no major spots or prominences. With some additional tweaking of the external etalon I was finally able to see some small prominences around the edge and the surface detail really popped.The build of this scope is solid and I’m looking forward to a lifetime of viewing pleasure.

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