This item is currently out of stock.

Fabulous complete astronomy starter kit featuring the amazing fully computerised Meade StarNavigator™102 high-technology 102mm refractor and Meade’s revolutionary AudioStar™ Computer Controller GOTO system mount for just £299.99 inc UK p&p.

Click the link below to see our video presentation of this stunning telescope:

Video demo of the Meade Starnavigator 102 telescope kit

Special Edition fully computerised 102mm telescope kit Complete with computerised AudioStar handset controller(the latest sound equipped version of the world-beating Autostar GoTo hand controller), 5 premium quality Meade MA eyepieces (6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 17mm & 25mm), electronic red dot finder and FREE gift guide book. This stunning telescope package will give you amazing views of the Moon, planets, stars and nebulae, and what´s more - it´ll show you hundreds of such objects from your own back-garden at the merest touch of a button!

The Meade StarNavigator 102 has a fully computerised mounting, once set up (it takes just a few minutes) the Meade StarNavigator 102 knows the location of over 30,000 of the sky's most exciting targets - and can take you straight to them at the touch of a button.

How it works.

The telescope uses two ultra high-precision motors (like the ones used in the most sophisticated colour ink-jet printers, only much more powerful) that work in synchronization with an electronic brain that steers the telescope to any object in the sky that you select from the illuminated menu driven handset. It automatically compensates for the constant rotation of the Earth too, so that the object (planet, galaxy etc) appears stationary in the eyepiece and allows you to study it in high power detail and all night long if you choose while the telescope quietly gets on with the business of smoothly tracking the target and keeping it in the field of view.

Your personal on-board expert!

The Meade StarNavigator 102 was featured on the BBC's Stargazing Live*. We know this might sound too good to be true, but it really is like having the brain and knowledge of Brian Cox built-in to the telescope, ready to dispense tireless expertise and guidance every time you want it! And if you think it sounds almost too simple to use and will take away the fun of finding out and learning about the universe for yourself: think again. The best way to learn about almost anything is with the aid of an expert and patient teacher. The Meade StarNavigator is just that, a patient PhD-caliber teacher that will let you and your family learn at your leisure and have great fun doing it.

Accessories included in the Special Edition kit

AudioStar hand controller: total computer control system, automatically finds planets, stars, comets, and a host of other exotic targets and identifies interesting targets appearing in the night sky. The AudioStar will also talk to you and your family, and deliver interesting and important facts about the target you are viewing - it has a volume control and of course you can switch the audio facility off for those times when you just want to admire the heavens in peace and quiet.

Electronic red dot finder: This clever little finder works like a head-up display and appears to project a red dot on the night sky to indicate exactly where the telescope is pointing. Although you won't need to use it much to find things, because the StarNavigator is already equipped with one of the best built-in computer GOTO systems in the industry, you will find that it helpful and fun to be able to see exactly where in the night sky a faint galaxy or nebula you've been viewing with the telescope actually is, relative to the naked-eye stars.

The included Special Edition eyepieces offer a wide range of magnifications from 32x up to 133x (32x, 47x, 67x, 88x, & 133x). These premium quality Meade eyepieces give you a superb range of magnifications from low-power wide-angle (for big targets and deep sky viewing) through to high-power for planets and exploring the fine detail of Lunar craters and mountains.

Also included:

aluminium field tripod with integrated eyepiece tray.

Meade PC planetarium software on CDROM with additional video tutorial on DVD.

Star diagonal: Allows comfortable viewing of the night sky without neck ache by holding the eyepiece at an angle of 90 degrees to the telescope.

FREE astronomy guide book included (see top banner for details). An illustrated instruction manual as well a very helpful quick-start card (in well-written English!) is included with the telescope kit. And for additional guidance we have included a guide book including TV astronomer Robin Scagell's Stargazing with a Telescope FREE. This 192-page fully-illustrated book is a great read, and will guide the new telescope user in the methods of telescopic observation. It also introduces many of the truly amazing celestial targets that can be seen from UK back gardens.

With its handsome pre-assembled, aluminium adjustable tripod, the Meade StarNavigator 102 can be up and ready to use in a matter of minutes. The unique AudioStar alignment technology and the included electronic finder scope makes aligning and setting up a breeze.

A wonderful first-time astronomical scope, the Meade 102 can also be used as a great, high powered land-based spotting telescope with optional erect-image diagonal (see recommended accessories, below left).

Meade StarNavigator 102mm additional features

Red dot finder Electronic LED finder scope helps with alignment and accurately locating objects. It's a clever little gadget that you switch on and it appears to project a red dot on the sky - simply place the red dot on the target you wish to look at! (The red dot finder can even be used during the day to find terrestrial targets). And of course, if you want to know exactly where something the automatic system has found for you actually is, relative to stars you can see with the naked eye - simply check the position with the red dot finder!

The telescope features a quick-release cradle mount for quick no-tools set up.

The sturdy aluminium full-height field tripod has a useful accessory tray that stays conveniently attached to the centre stay for easy set-up and break down.

Reliable patented Meade AudioStar with celebrated Autostar computer-control technology inside.

The on-board target database allows the telescope to effortlessly locate over 30,000 celestial objects, including planets, galaxies, nebulae, comets and even man-made satellites.

Ultra-simple alignment allows you to align the telescope in seconds, making for a fast and easy set-up process.

Flash upgradeable hand-set for downloading product updates over the Internet

With its five included eyepieces (3 more than the standard version) this outfit is one of our best-ever GOTO telescope astronomy starter kits - in fact, just about all you will need to supply is a clear night!

SPECIFICATIONS

OPTICAL DESIGN: Refractor

APERTURE: 102 mm (4in)

FOCAL LENGTH: 800 mm

MOUNT: Motorised & Computerised Alt-azimuth

EYEPIECES: Five included: 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 17mm & 25 mm (in di-cut foam filled storage case)

MAGNIFICATIONS: 32x, 47x, 67x, 88x, & 133x

TRIPOD: Aluminium

OPTICAL RESOLVING POWER: 1.2 arc seconds

LIGHT GATHERING POWER 172 x naked-eye

OPTICAL COATINGS Fully-Coated

AUDIOSTAR/AUTOSTAR COMPUTER HAND CONTROL Fully Computerized / Flash Upgradeable / Sound equipped

SLEW SPEEDS Nine slew speeds: 4°/sec, 2°/sec, 1°/sec, .5°/sec, 32x, 16x, 8x, 4x, 2x

DATABASE 30,000+ Object Database

What can you see with the Meade StarNavigator 102 GOTO telescope?

At low to medium power, the ancient landscape of the Moon becomes a fabulously intricate panorama of craters, rays and rills. At higher powers, individual crater systems can be explored. The planet Mars will show many details on its surface, and the polar cap can be seen during ideal observing conditions. At good observing times, when observed at just 50x or higher magnification, the planet Jupiter will appear as a banded disc larger in size than you normally see the full Moon with the unaided eye! The cloud belts of Jupiter will show ever changing detail that will show drift across the planet's disk in just a few minutes. The four main moons of Jupiter can be seen orbiting the giant planet, sometimes casting shadows onto Jupiter's dense upper atmosphere. The planet Saturn will show its magnificent ring system and its bright famous moon Titan. These are just a few of the things that can be seen in our own solar system with the Meade 102 computerised telescope. Outside of our solar system, exotic targets ranging from star factories or nurseries to star grave yards can be seen. Outside our galaxy hundreds of island universes can be found - from your own back-garden galaxies millions of light-years distant can be seen with this truly amazing telescope.

As recommended by Sir Patrick Moore Anyone who has read the great astronomy books by Sir Patrick or watched the Sky at Night will know that he often recommends a good quality 3" or 75mm refractor as a minimum ideal astronomy instrument. The Meade StarNavigator 102 is a 102mm (or 4" - in old money) refractor so the Meade StarNavigator 102 generously exceeds Sir Patrick's advice.

And the optical qulity isn't just good, it's excellent! The pin sharp 102mm optical design features Meade's trusted air-spaced achromatic doublet system. The sophisticated compound lens system uses two lenses of slightly different glass type combined with a very small precision controlled air gap between the lens elements to produce an optical system that produces bright, sharp, high contrast images with a high degree of colour fidelity - ideal for viewing planets and other colour and detail rich targets.

* This telescope was actually featured in the Monday 16th Jan. transmission.