Fabulous complete astronomy starter kit featuring the amazing fully computerised Meade 90 high-technology 90mm refractor and a complete kit of accessories for just £199 inc UK p&p.

Fully computerised, and self-guiding 90mm telescope kit Complete with computerised hand controller, 5 eyepieces, electronic red dot finder and illustrated 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 1000s of such objects from your own back-garden at the merest touch of a button!

Even better than 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 3" or 75mm refractor as a minimum ideal astronomy instrument. The Meade 90 is a 90mm (or 3.5" - in old money) refractor so the Meade 90 generously exceeds this sage advice.

The Meade 90 has a fully computerised mounting with 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 and steer the telescope to any object in the sky that you select from the illuminated handset. It automatically compensates for the constant rotation of the Earth so that the object (planet, galaxy etc) appears stationary in the eyepiece and allows you to study it in detail.

We know this might sound too good to be true, but it really is like having the brain and knowledge of Patrick Moore or Carl Sagan built in to the telescope, ready to dispense tireless expertise every time you want it! And if you think it sounds almost too simple 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 90 is just that, a PhD-caliber teacher that will let you learn at your leisure and have great fun doing it.

If you or someone you know has always wanted a top quality telescope for astronomy observation but were worried about the challenge of finding the things you want to see in the night sky, then the Meade 90mm is the ideal scope.

Accessories included in the kit (see picture)

1. Autostar hand controller: total computer control system, lets you find planets, stars, comets, etc, and identify interesting targets appearing in the night sky.

2. Set of five eyepieces: 25mm, 20mm, 17mm, 12mm and 6mm offering a wide range of magnifications from 32x to 133x. Supplied in foam filled storage case.

3. Electronic red LED finder: the easy-to-use finder has two brightness levels and can be used day or night.

4. AligMate eyepiece tool: This handy gadget helps you to set up the Meade 90 in seconds.

5. 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.

6.Support pack The instruction manual (in well-written English!) is illustrated, and if this is not enough guidance we have included 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 90 can be up and ready to use in a matter of minutes. The unique Autostar alignment technology and the included electronic finder scope with a red LED (see 3) makes aligning and setting up a breeze.

A wonderful first-time astronomical scope, the Meade 80 can also be used as a great, high powered land-based spotting telescope with optional erect-image diagonal (see recommended accessories, below left).

Meade 90 features

Red dot finder The StarFinder 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 (see 3)!

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 Autostar computer-control technology.

The on-board target database allows the telescope to effortlessly locate thousands of celestial objects.

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

And as an extra bonus, to make sure you can see what you are doing without spoiling your dark-adapted vision, we've included a special red LED torch FREE that only emits red light of a wavelength that will not reduce the eyes' dark-adapted sensitivity.

This outfit is one of our best-ever GOTO telescope astronomy starter kits - in fact, all you will need to supply is a clear night!

SPECIFICATIONS

OPTICAL DESIGN: Refractor

APERTURE: 90 mm (3.5 in)

FOCAL LENGTH: 800 mm

MOUNT: Motorised & Computerised Alt-azimuth

EYEPIECE 1: 25 mm

MAGNIFICATION 1 32 x

EYEPIECE 2: 20 mm

MAGNIFICATION 2 40 x

EYEPIECE 3: 17mm

MAGFIFICATION 3 47x

EYEPIECE 4: 12mm

MAGFIFICATION 4 67x

EYEPIECE 5: 6mm

MAGFIFICATION 5 133x

TRIPOD: Aluminium

OPTICAL RESOLVING POWER: 1.3 arc seconds

LIGHT GATHERING POWER 144 x naked-eye

OPTICAL COATINGS Fully-Coated

AUTOSTAR COMPUTER HAND CONTROL Fully Computerized / Flash Upgradeable

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

DATABASE 36,000 Object Database

What can you see with the Meade 90mm 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 face 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 cloudy 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 90 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.