The Sky Watcher 8" SCT EQ5 Pro Telescope S11600 has a reflector design that reins supreme as the king of large aperture. So if large aperture is what is being craved, then this Sky Watcher telescope would be perfect for the serious amateur. The 8 inch SCT EQ5 Pro Telescope is more challenging to assemble which is why it is more expensive, but it has several advantages that off set the extra cost in the minds of a significant number of amateur astronomers. The major advantage is compact size compared to Newtonian reflectors and refractors. This telescope takes up less space and is easier to handle and transport. It is also known for excellent optical quality. The 8 in. SCT Eq5 Pro Telescope S11600 will provide razor sharp, high resolution images suitable for passionate lifelong guarantee in sky exploration. The amateur astronomer also benefits from computerized object location and tracking of over 30,000 astronomical objects. All things considered, Sky Watcher's 8" SCT EQ5 PRO Telescope will strike the perfect balance for many amateur astronomers between cost, aperture, and ease of use.

The Sky-Watcher 8in. SCT EQ5 PRO Telescope S11600 has potential to reveal fine detail that is impossible for smaller aperture telescopes to to reveal. With this Sky Watcher telescope the observer can view large craters such as Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel with their jagged crater walls, fine fault lines, and craterlets that are as small as 20 miles across. Saturn's ring structure is revealed in amazing detail including Cassini's Division. Jupiter's cloud bands show its dusky colors, while in the summertime sky, the gaseous, glowing Lagoon Nebula, fire red in astrophotographs, and the smaller Trifid Nebula, beautiful blue and light red in astrophotographs, are more examples of what can be explored by a serious amateur observer.

Sky-Watcher's 8 Inch SCT EQ5 PRO Telescope S11600 has some design advantages such as the Schmidt-Casegrain optical system which folds the light path back on top of itself in order to produce a powerful long focal length instrument in a compact optical tube. A shorter tube means less bulk and weight to lift and transport. The closed optical tube also serves to keep the optics cleaner.

Sky Watcher Schmidt Cassegrain optics are hand figured by skilled opticians and fabricated to the highest standards of optical smoothness and correction, ensuring diffraction-limited premium optical performance that is second to none worldwide. On each spherical shaped primary mirror of low thermal expansion glass, aluminum is vacuum deposited to the front surface and then over coated with hard quartz. Additional layers of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and (SiO4) are then applied. The white-water glass aspheric shaped "Schmidt" corrector lens is multi-coated with Metallic High-Transmission Coatings, MHC, (Magnesium Fluorite, MgF2, and Hafnium, HfO2) to insure maximum light through-put approaching 97%. The system's overall light transmission from 400 to 750nm approaches 84%. A secondary mirror is attached to the center of the corrector plate. This smaller mirror is fabricated similarly to the primary mirror. Internal light baffles and blackened interiors help prevent stray, unfocused light from reaching the focal plane and reducing contrast.

Optical focus on this telescope by Sky Watcher is achieved by micrometric mechanical movement of the primary mirror forward or backward on an internal "slider" shaft. The primary mirror is perforated in the middle and the observer views at the focal plane which is positioned just outside the back of the optical tube. The optical tube material is rolled steel, powder coated reflective gloss black with gold fleck accent. The front and back cells are cast aluminum painted black.

Shipping Weight:		84 lbs.
Optical Design:		Schmidt-Cassegrain
Lens Material:		Mirrors
Aperture (Diameter):		203mm
Focal Length:		2032mm
F-Ratio:		F/10
Secondary Mirror Diameter:		69mm
Highest Practical Power:		480x
Faintest Stellar Magnitude:		14
Resolving Power:		.68 arc sec
Finderscope:		8x50 Viewfinder
Focuser Diameter:		1.25", 2" optional
Diagonal:		1.25"
Eyepiece(s):		1.25" Super Plossl 32mm and 10mm
Mount Type:		Equatorial
Slow-Motion Control:		Computer micro-slewing
Counterweight(s):		2 x 11 lbs
Accessory Tray:		Standard
Ground Board Diameter:		N/A
Ground Board Weight(s):		N/A
Motor Drive:		Micro-step stepper
Go-To:		SynScan
Tube Weight:		12.5lb
Tube Dimension (dia. x length):		17" long
Tripod Height:		34" to 48"

• Very compact compared to Newtonian reflector and refractor telescopes
• Takes up less space and easier to handle and transport
• Reveals fine detail that is impossible to do with smaller aperture telescopes
• Features the Schmidt Cassegrain system
• Elegantly appointed equatorial body is cast from virgin aluminum and powder coated in classic scientific instrument white.
• Utilize high-torque DC stepper motors with 1.8? angle steps yielding resolution of 0.28764 arc-seconds
• Includes the revolutionary SynScan Computer Controller

• The Sky Watcher 8" SCT EQ5 Pro Telescope S11600
• Two high quality 1.25" eyepieces (32mm and 10mm)
• 8x50 optical Viewfinder with bracket
• Visual Back 1.25" and 1.25" Mirror Diagonal
• Includes the revolutionary SynScan Computer Controller