telescopes plus

Meades Newest Go To Telescope

Autostar and an 8-inch aperture its been worth the wait.

By Dennis di Cicco

ts probably safe to say that no

telescope design since World War II
has had a greater impact on amateur astronomy than the SchmidtCassegrain. And though they werent the
first, the 8-inch models introduced in
the 1970s got the lions share of the
credit. It was a design that was perfect
for the time. It was welcomed by a
rapidly growing subculture of amateurs
fascinated with deep-sky observing because it offered roughly twice the lightgathering power of 6-inch scopes, then
the hallmark of serious observers. Furthermore, the Schmidt-Cassegrain was
compact and portable ideal for hauling to dark-sky sites.
With a plethora of accessories, the 8inch Schmidt-Cassegrain was
S&T TEST REPORT
also a superb tool for deep-sky
astrophotographers. Indeed, it was a
chicken-and-egg situation, where the telescope itself was a driving force behind the
growing astrophotography movement.
The Schmidt-Cassegrain has evolved
throughout the years. Dozens of models
with apertures from 4 inches to more
than 20 inches have been available at one
time or another. They have been sold on a
variety of mounts, and for nearly a decade
there have been computer-controlled
models that automatically home in on
astronomical targets.
Despite the companys prominence in
the field, Meade Instruments did not
market the first Schmidt-Cassegrain tele-

The base price gets you

a complete altazimuth
LX90 the only thing
new owners need to supply to begin their computer-directed exploration of the heavens is
batteries. The telescope
accepts all optical accessories made for 8-inch
f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrains.

Autostar Grows Up: The LX90

8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope complete
with Autostar computer controller and heavyduty tripod
U.S. Price: $1,695
Meade Instruments Corporation
Available from Meade dealers worldwide (see
www.meade.com for a listing)
S&T photographs by
Craig Michael Utter

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

55

telescopes plus
Eight C batteries fit snugly in two compartments in the LX90 base. Alkalines provide upward
of 50 hours of operation at a cost of roughly 20 cents per hour.

scope, nor was it first to offer computer

pointing. Subtleties aside, those milestones belong to Meades competitor, Celestron International. Meade has, however,
been a major innovator. It is unlikely
that the Schmidt-Cassegrain would be as
sophisticated as it is today were it not for
the companys developments, especially in
the field of electronics.
The newest offering in Meades extensive
Schmidt-Cassegrain line is the 8-inch
LX90. The introduction of a large-aperture instrument with the Autostar controller, which until now has been available
only with Meades smaller, less expensive
scopes, seemed inevitable. When the companys 8-inch LX200 debuted in 1992, it
quickly became the standard to which all
computerized telescopes were compared.
Robust, reliable, and with consistently accurate pointing, the LX200 line remains
a solid performer. But when it comes to
brain power, Autostar by any measure is
a lot smarter than the LX200 software.
While Autostars features arent all musthave functions for a telescope (like calculating the dates of Moon phases or meteor
showers), many have universal appeal.
Examples include showing the rise and set
times of the Sun and Moon, calculating
the position of (and automatically pointing to) comets and asteroids, tracking
Earth-orbiting satellites, and taking the
observer on guided tours of the heavens,

complete with commentary.

At first glance the LX90s price, specifications, and features are very similar to
those of the Celestron NexStar 8, which I
reviewed in last Novembers issue (page
59). Like the NexStar 8, the announcement of the LX90 brought a torrent of
reader requests for a review. And like the
NexStar 8, the LX90 held a number of
pleasant surprises.
So the LX90 is the replacement for
the 8-inch LX200? I asked a Meade rep-

Meade still hasnt come up with a convenient

storage place for the Autostar controller, but
with the telescope used in altazimuth mode
the area atop the battery compartments
serves in a pinch. Caution: tall items placed
here can be knocked off if the telescope is
slewed to a high elevation.
56

July 2001 Sky & Telescope

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

resentative when I first heard about the

new telescope. The answer was surprise
number one. Thats not the plan, I was
told. That answer instantly gave me a
mental image of the LX90 lightweight, lots of plastic, and an instrument
more closely related to Meades ETX series than to the beefy LX200 workhorses.
Surprise number two came as I unpacked one of the first LX90s made from
production parts a scope briefly
loaned to S&T as we prepared our annual
roundup of Hot Products for last Decembers issue. What emerged from the box
was a solid, mostly metal telescope with
silky-smooth bearings and drive motors
with a precise feel. In short, the LX90
seemed a lot like the LX200 that it wasnt
supposed to replace! That scope had to be
returned quickly, so I didnt get it under
the stars, but it was clear that the NexStar
8 was in for some serious competition.
In mid-January, with the LX90 in full
production, Meade loaned us another
scope. Then, at the beginning of April,
we anonymously purchased one from a
Midwest mail-order dealer. All measurements and optical evaluations in this report are based on the purchased scope,
which arrived in three boxes one for
the scope, another for the tripod, and a

third for the accessories.

Unpacking and setting up the instrument is a 15-minute job that requires no
tools. And unlike some of the earlier
Autostar-equipped telescopes, theres no
need to calibrate the drive the LX90 is
ready to use right out of the box. Although training the drive can improve
pointing accuracy, I never found it necessary to perform this simple procedure,
which is explained clearly in the user
manual.
Optics
Weeks of observing with the LX90s reinforces the comments I made in the
NexStar 8 review. You can see a lot with
this size telescope. Although in terms of
percentage increase it is a smaller jump
to move from a 6- to an 8-inch scope
than it is to go from an 8- to an 11- or
12-inch aperture, at the eyepiece I always
feel the 6-to-8-inch switch delivers a
more profound difference.
Deep-sky objects come alive in an 8inch scope. Globular clusters that appear
as fuzzy spots in smaller instruments
turn into mounds of diamond dust as
their stars become resolved into individual points of light. Nebulae and galaxies
exhibit internal structure, especially
bright mottling and dark lanes. These
objects dont appear in an eyepiece the
way they do on long-exposure photographs, but with an 8-inch you can
often make out the general structure
seen in such images.
This size telescope has plenty of lightgathering power, which invites you to
crank up the magnification when viewing
the Moon, planets, and double stars. Not
everyone considers a telescope with a central obstruction (due to a secondary mirror) ideal for high-resolution observing.
Nevertheless, as William Zmek pointed
out in his seminal articles in this magazine (July and September 1993, pages 91
and 83, respectively), a central obstruction
is not a fatal flaw. He specifically considered Meades 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain
design with its 3-inch-diameter central
obstruction and found the instruments
effective light grasp and, more important,
planetary contrast to be equivalent to un-

The optical quality of the anonymously purchased LX90 is apparent in these tests performed
with an artificial star created by aiming a red laser at a strongly convex mirror placed 360 feet
from the telescope. The straight bands of the Ronchi test (top) are indicative of well-corrected
optics free of major zones. The similarity of images inside (bottom left) and outside (bottom
right) of focus (obtained at an effective focal length of nearly 15 meters) is another sign of
well-corrected optics. Images are by the author.

obstructed instruments of 7.4- and 5-inch

aperture, respectively. This is impressive
performance in anyones book.
Jupiter and Saturn were sinking into
twilights poor seeing conditions by the
time the anonymously purchased LX90
arrived, and Mars was low and small in
the morning sky. Even so, I had moments when the views of Jupiter at 230
were exceptional, given the conditions. I
saw small details within the equatorial
belts as well as glimpses of the disks of
the four bright moons.
Our Moon was fascinating too. Riding
high in a springtime sky, the first quarter
offered prime viewing opportunities.
One evening I had superb sunrise light-

Tweaking the collimation of the LX90 (explained in the users manual) will ensure optimum optical performance. Meade gets a
thumbs up for using Allen screws that hold
the wrench while you are making the adjustments in the dark.

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

ing on the large crater Ptolemaeus, which

revealed numerous low ridges and depressions across its floor.
The LX90 got high marks on the optical bench as well. The overall optical
quality of Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes
we have tested recently has been quite
good. But even against that backdrop the
LX90 stood out. The telescope arrived in
near-perfect collimation (a bit better, in
fact, than the instrument loaned by the
company in January). A Ronchi test on
an artificial star showed the optics to be
smooth and well corrected. At high magnification, star images were nearly identical inside and outside of focus. These are
all favorable indicators that led me to
rate the overall optical quality as very
good and certainly in line with Meades
claim of diffraction-limited.
Typical of Meades line of SchmidtCassegrain telescopes, the focus knob has
a stiff but smooth feel to it. Focusing was
crisp and precise with a tiny 8 arcseconds
of image shift as the focus knob was
turned back and forth.
The LX90 comes standard with a quality 114-inch Super Plssl eyepiece from
the Meade 4000 series. With the 2,069millimeter (f/10.2) focal length of our
test LX90, this 26-mm eyepiece provided
80 and a true field 37 arcminutes across.
At bare minimum observers should consider adding the 18-mm (115) eyepiece
Sky & Telescope July 2001

57

telescopes plus

A traditional 8 50 optical finder with cross

hairs is a real plus when it comes to aiming
the telescope at faint stars or at terrestrial
targets in the daytime.

and 2 Barlow lens from the 4000 series.

This will provide four nicely spaced
magnifications from 80 to 230. The
114-inch star diagonal, like so many others we have tested recently, does not have
its eyepiece holder exactly concentric
with the optical axis. A minor flaw, but
one that is noteworthy if for no other
reason than its omnipresence in the
world of commercial telescopes.
The finder is a respectable 8 50 unit
with nonilluminated cross hairs and a
straight-through view. This traditional
finder will be appreciated by anyone who
wants to see faint stars or aim the telescope in a bright daytime environment.

make carrying and setting up the telescope a lot easier than its weight alone
might suggest.
The scope is supplied with the same
heavy-duty tripod (20 pounds) used for
the 8-inch LX200 model. With the LX90
set up in altazimuth mode, you can vary
the eyepieces height from the ground
between 43 and 60 inches by extending
the tripod legs. The setup is very rigid.
With the tripod in its lowest (most stable) position, vibrations damped out in

Mount, Tripod, and Drives

As mentioned above, the LX90 is a solidly
made instrument that will easily carry
the weight of 35-mm and CCD cameras.
It has finger-tightened clutches on both
axes, so the telescope can be used without having to fire up the electronics. The
complete telescope, including eight alkaline C batteries, weighs 30 pounds (1312
kilograms). While this is 6 pounds heavier than the NexStar 8, the extra weight is
offset by a pair of solid carrying handles
attached to the LX90s fork arms. These
With the optional 34-inch-thick adapter plate
for the LX90, the scope can be attached to
any wedge or support designed for the
LX200 series telescopes. Make a note: the
scope is shown here in the home position
required to begin Autostars initialization in
equatorial-tracking mode. Despite information that scrolls across Autostars display,
this position is not shown or explained in
the user manual.
58

July 2001 Sky & Telescope

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

about 112 seconds. Meade offers optional

vibration-suppression pads ($49.95) that,
when placed under each tripod leg, reduced the damping time to less than 12
second.
One very noteworthy aspect of the
drives on the LX90 is how quiet they are.
With both axes slewing at full speed, the
scope is a little quieter than the 8- to 12inch LX200 instruments and any of the
ETX series. But it is virtually silent when
tracking or slewing at any but the two
topmost speeds. I felt as if I was moving
the joystick of a muted video game when
I looked through the eyepiece and
pressed any of the direction buttons with
the scope set at the midlevel slew speed
of 14 per second. Some may consider it
trivial, but I really enjoyed hearing the
spring peepers instead of the telescope
when observing.
The altazimuth tracking was excellent.
One evening I centered the Whirlpool
Galaxy, M51, in the eyepiece and let the
scope track unattended as the galaxy rose
in the northeast and passed near the
zenith. After more than four hours it was
still dead-center in the field. On another
occasion I watched with a calibrated-reticle eyepiece as the scope followed the
star Regulus, then near the meridian, for
more than 35 minutes. The star stayed
within a 30-arcsecond-diameter circle
the whole time.
The computer pointing is also remarkably accurate. Heeding the advice that
altazimuth-mounted Go To scopes work
best when placed on a level support, I
spent an extra minute or so each night to
make sure the tripod was reasonably
level before placing the scope on it. The
result was not only pointing that was 100
percent accurate (scouts honor, not one
miss in hundreds of Go To moves), but
my target often ended up within the central third of the 26-mm eyepieces field
of view. It became obvious after a few
nights that if I slewed to some unfamiliar
deep-sky object and didnt see anything
in the field, then I could be pretty sure
that the object was too faint for my observing conditions rather than that the
telescope had missed its mark.
I measured the maximum slew
speed of the LX90 with relatively
fresh batteries as almost exactly 6

per second. This is about 10 percent slower than advertised. In about a dozen sideby-side races the LX90 and NexStar 8
took almost exactly the same time to slew
between objects, regardless of the distance covered.
Autostar
The Autostar controller is the brains of
the LX90; only a minimal amount of
electronics is resident within the telescope base. This is the full-up, 20-key
handbox with 10 digit keys (a junior
version of Autostar for the AT line lacks
the digit keys). We have covered Autostar
in four reviews during the past two
years, and its main features are summarized in Meades advertising. So Ill mention only a few highlights from my time
with the LX90.
Anyone familiar with the original Autostar that debuted with the ETX-90EC
(reviewed in the May 1999 issue, page
61) will instantly recognize the latest version. The most noteworthy difference I
found had to do with system crashes.
Most of the new genre of low-cost Go To
systems we have tested work well, but
they all left us with reminders that they
are computers by occasionally locking up
or misbehaving for unexplained reasons.
Whether it was this Autostar (I tested
version 21Ek), the LX90, or both I cant
say, but during weeks of testing I never

Both axes of the LX90 have worm-gear drives

that are smooth, accurate, and exceptionally
quiet at all but the two fastest slewing
speeds. A 28-minute unguided exposure of
Regulus (above) made through the LX90 with
the polar axis offset from the celestial pole
reveals a very smooth 27-arcsecond periodic
error. Unlike the LX200 series, the LX90 has
no periodic-error correction. But, as explained
in the text, the telescope can easily be guided manually or with autoguiders.

had a single failure. Time after time I

would set up the scope at dusk, only to
shut down after midnight without ever
having to reboot Autostar or even reinitialize its star alignment. Autostar has
now matured to the point that it is as reliable as the LX200 control system.
Another refinement is in the telescopes satellite-tracking ability. The motion now flows smoothly (rather than
with discrete steps) as the LX90 follows
the varying speed of a satellite across the
sky. Autostar comes with a 50-satellite
database, and the user can add more. But
be forewarned, you need to have a satellites updated orbital information (often
within a day or two of your observations) for the scope to track it accurately.
Nevertheless, the LX90 appears to me to
have the most sophisticated satellitetracking features of any general-purpose
commercial telescope. I can see people
interested in this type of observing really
getting a kick out of the scope.
One of Autostars strongest features, in

my opinion, is its guided tours. The

LX90 comes with three, but others can
be uploaded from a computer (youll
need an optional cable connector kit). I
can foresee lots of tours eventually being
available from various sites on the Internet, but the LX90 user manual explains
how you can write your own with an
ASCII text editor.
The preprogrammed tours are Tonights
Best (includes the Moon, planets, stars,
and deep-sky objects), How Far Is Far?
(an outward walk through the universe),
and A Stars Life (a firsthand look at various stages of stellar evolution). Autostar
uses its brains to custom-create its tours
for the time and location of the observations, and each tour includes readable
commentary that can be scrolled across
Autostars display.
A Night Out
For all their sophistication, Autostar and
the LX90 are very easy to operate. With
the scope attached to the leveled tripod, I

The back-illuminated 20-key version of Autostar supplied with the LX90 makes data entry a
breeze. All of Autostars extensive menu system is easily navigated with the Mode, Enter, and
two arrow keys. After a night or two the system becomes intuitive, even for those of us baby
boomers who view computers with a wary eye.

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Sky & Telescope July 2001

59

How do you make the LX90 damp vibrations

in less than 12 second? Add a set of Meades
optional vibration pads under each tripod
leg. They work like magic. Even without the
pads, vibrations damped in a remarkably
short 112 seconds.

would simply eyeball the telescope tube

so that it was level to the ground and
pointed north, using Polaris as a guide.
(Unlike some earlier models, there are no
hard stops on the LX90 mount that place
restrictions on how the scope is initially
positioned.)
After turning on the power I entered
the date and time with a few keystrokes
and selected an alignment method. The
one I like is appropriately called Easy
Align. Autostar automatically figures out
what bright stars are then visible and begins slewing to one of them. Often it is
the only bright star in a given part of the
sky, so there is less chance of confusion
(even so, beginners and those unfamiliar
with star names might be wise to keep a
basic star chart, such as the one at the
center of this magazine, at hand). I manually centered the star in the eyepiece
using the direction buttons on the hand
control and then hit the Enter key. Autostar thinks again and heads to another
star where the process is repeated. Thats
it; I was ready for a night of observing.
Elapsed time? Typically about three minutes. If you set up in an area where trees
or buildings obscure the sky (as I often
do), it can be faster to select the alignment stars manually from Autostars internal list, thus avoiding those that might
be hidden from view.

Astrophotography
If theres anything that separates the
LX90 from the NexStar 8 on paper, its
claims of the telescope being suitable for
long-exposure astro imaging. Celestron
makes no claims; Meade does. Nevertheless, as I pointed out in last Novembers
review, the NexStar 8 works fine for snapshots of the Sun, Moon, and brighter
planets with film, video, and CCD cameras. But youre in for a challenge if you
try guided exposures.
With a strong background in astrophotography, I was particularly interested to see if the LX90 would live up to its

While setting circles may seem unnecessary

in light of Autostars computerized pointing,
they are a great benefit for anyone trying to
polar-align the telescope for long-exposure
astrophotography.
60

July 2001 Sky & Telescope

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

claims. The short answer? It certainly

does, and then some. Indeed, for a general-purpose telescope, this is one of the
best ones Ive ever tested out of the box
for long-exposure imaging. Of course, for
this kind of work you need the optional
polar-alignment wedge and adapter plate
($150 as a set) to use the instrument in
equatorial mode.
The main drive has a total periodic
error of only 27 arcseconds. Furthermore, the error is exceptionally smooth
and, with a period of about 913 minutes,
very easy to manually guide out. The
slow-motion controls are responsive, and
at the guiding rate the declination drive
had less than three seconds of hesitation
when reversing directions. It was easy to
manually guide this scope. One caution,
however: Autostars coiled cord connects
to the telescopes right fork arm, and if
you tug on it you can disrupt the guiding
by moving the scope.While theres adequate cord to allow you to sit comfortably holding the hand box, its still a
good idea to move carefully during guiding. Todays serious astrophotographers
usually use CCD autoguiders. To connect
one to the LX90 requires Meades Accessory Port Module, a $49.95 option.

ceptionally attractive package. While few

would consider $1,695 (plus shipping)
cheap, it is a reasonable investment for
anyone with a serious interest in observing. So too was the roughly $1,000 I
scrapped together as a college student in
the early 1970s to buy a Celestron 8 a
telescope that served me well for more
than a decade. Considering that in current dollars that $1,000 equates to more

telescopes plus

Conclusions
By now its probably apparent that Im
enthusiastic about the LX90. Ive long
maintained that there is no such thing as
an all-purpose telescope, but the 8-inch
Schmidt-Cassegrain comes pretty close.
It is an instrument that does many
things well. When you take into account
cost, features, quality, performance, and
standard equipment, the LX90 is an ex-

than $4,000 and that the LX90 (with far

more features than scopes 30 years ago)
costs less than half that amount, you can
understand why I believe that observers
today are fortunate indeed.
It is only during brief moments of rational
thinking that senior editor Dennis di Cicco
can convince himself that he doesnt need to
own another telescope.

LX90 or NexStar 8?

lmost without exception, reader requests for a review

piece), then you should think carefully about your purchase. The

of the LX90 asked for a comparison with the NexStar 8,

LX90 is fine for the budget minded, but other options exist, such

which I reviewed last November, page 59. Clearly

as the Meade LX200 series, with the 8-inch model currently sell-

these two instruments with similar specifications appeal

ing for $2,295. This scope has the same optics as the LX90, but

to the same segment of the telescope-buying market.

on a heavier mount with a drive that has excellent periodic-

The table here summarizes basic information about each

error correction. There are also Celestron alternatives, including

unit. For strictly visual observers with a basic knowledge of the

the NexStar 11 GPS. Its pending debut is generating a lot

sky, the LX90 and NexStar 8 are nearly indistinguishable from

of buzz among astropho-

one another. Such observers will mostly call objects from the

tographers. Will this new

telescopes internal database or manually enter the celestial co-

Schmidt-Cassegrain live up

ordinates of a target methods that work equally well on both

to expectations?

instruments. Each telescope has pluses and minuses, any one of

which might be the deciding factor for someone trying to

Specifications at
a Glance

choose between the two. The NexStar 8 is lighter, but the LX90
has carrying handles; the Meade runs longer on a set of batteries, but the Celestron comes with an AC adapter; perhaps blue is
favored more than silver.
If you are very new to the night sky or are interested in astro
imaging, then the balance begins tipping toward the LX90. Autostars advanced tour features make it a wonderful teacher. And
while the NexStar 8 is suitable for some imaging applications, the
LX90 has subtle features that make even simple imaging tasks
easier. These include an 8 50 finder (good for closing in on targets when any type of camera is attached to the main telescope)
and slow-motion controls that are smooth and precise.
If you have more than a passing interest in imaging, then the
LX90 gets the nod. Out of the box, the LX90 is great for short exposures of the Moon, planets, and Sun (using proper filters) with
film, video, and CCD cameras. Add the optional wedge and a
suitable device for off-axis guiding (numerous ones are available), and youre ready for long-exposure deep-sky imaging. Add
one more option the Accessory Port Module and the LX90
will function with any CCD autoguider presently on the market.
If you have settled on a compact Schmidt-Cassegrain and your

raison dtre is long-exposure imaging (you are one of those

people who wonders why a telescope even comes with an eye-

LX90
Price
$1,695
Focal length*
2,069 mm f/10.2
Central obstruction * (diam.) 3 inches (37.5%)
Supplied eyepiece
26 mm
Magnification*
80
True field*
37
Image shift while focusing*
8 arcseconds
Power supply
Batteries
8C
Battery life*
about 50 hr
External
optional transformer
Weight
Scope*
30 lb
Tripod*
20 lb
Slewing speeds
Maximum*
6.0/second
Minimum*
15/second
Internal database
Solar system
50
Deep sky
13,235
Stars
16,888
User defined
200
Other
50 artificial satellites

NexStar 8
$1,499
2,123 mm f/10.4
234 inches (34.4%)
40 mm
53
45
36 arcseconds
8 AA
58 hr
supplied transformer
24 lb
18 lb
6.0/second
13/second
10
8,059
10,385
25
20 asterisms

both instruments are sold as a complete package, including telescope, tripod, finder,
eyepiece, diagonal, and computerized hand control

* measured by Sky & Telescope

2001 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

includes asteroids and comets

Sky & Telescope July 2001

61