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Meade 8-inch LX80 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope


Meade's 8-inch LX80 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope offer both an attractive price and greater flexibility than competing models. This is perhaps the best option we know of for getting started with an eight-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope without compromising on a mount that is not really suitable for any kind of astrophjotography. The LX80 Multi-mount offers you both the simplicity of altazimuth operations and the power of a German equatrial mount, all in the same package.


Item #ProductStock StatusPriceShipping
0810-08-01Meade 8" LX80 SCT
Normally Ships in 7-10 Days
$1,699.00
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Meade 8-inch LX80 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope

Meade LX80 Multi-Mount Features

The LX80 Multi-mount operates in three modes, offering unprecedented flexibility. The equatorial mode, depicted at right, is preferred for astrophotography with instrument loads of up to 40 pounds. There is a general rule of thumb in astrophotography stating that you should attempt to "over mount" your instrument package by a factor of two. The LX80 with 8-inch ACF leaves sufficient headroom for most cameras without violating this rule of thumb.

The LX80 Multi-mount also supports simple altazimuth operations with an advertised load up to 40 pounds, or a dual-scope side-by-side configuration with an advertised load of up to 75 pounds. We suspect that these load figures may be a little ambitions; your mileage may vary. The alternate modes are usually preferable for visual observing due to the ease of setup; there is no need for a polar alignment in altazimuth mode.

The LX80 brings together an astonishing array of technological and mechanical achievements that provide the kind of innovation and quality that only Meade can deliver. This one-of-a-kind, three mode system features:

  • Industry-standard Vixen Saddle and Dovetail: The LX80 features the industry-standard Vixen saddle and dovetail bar, providing an open platform capable of supporting many other optical tubes.
  • Heavy-duty mount: Rock-solid, stable platform with precision worm gear drives on both axes for both visual and astrophotographic requirements.
  • Sectional counterweight shaft: Allows for selecting the ideal shaft length for counterbalancing or dual-tube configurations.
  • Multi-mount adjustment: Quickly change between alt-az mode and German Equatorial mode.
  • Control panel: Includes power connector, handbox port and two auxiliary ports for connecting optional equipment.
  • Audiostar™ computer-control handbox: Meade’s revolutionary AudioStar computer controller finds and points your telescope to over 30,000 objects in the night sky. With its Astronomer Inside™ digital audio technology, everyone around the telescope can listen and learn about the 500-plus celestial objects contained in its database, including planets, nebulae, star clusters, the Moon and much more.
  • Fine-tune tripod adjusters: Quickly and easily level your tripod for optimum pointing accuracy.
  • Stainless-steel tripod legs: Two inch diameter legs provide a stable foundation

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Optical Specifications: Meade 8" LX80 SCT
Type Schmidt-Cassegrain
Aperture (mm) 203.2 mm
Aperture (in.) 8 inches
Focal Length 2034 mm
Focal Ratio f/10
Magnification (w/supplied eyepiece) 78
Accessories and Features
Included Eyepiece(s) 26mm Plossl
Go-To System Meade AudioStar with 30,000 object library
Star Diagonal 1.25-inch prism type
Accepts 2" Eyepieces <p><b>Telescope Eyepiece Formats</b><br /> Virtually all telescope eyepieces available today conform to one of two barrel diameter standards: 1.25 or 2 inches. Most amateur astronomers will be perfectly content with 1.25" eyepieces. Two-inch eyepieces have only one inherent advantage. That advantage is a potentially larger field of view, but not every telescope can take advantage of that potential. </p> <p>A Telescope and eyepiece work together to collect parallel light rays over a large area, compress those light rays down into a smaller area, and the re-orient them so that they are nearly parallel once again. Essentially light arriving at a telescope with any given aperture is compressed into a smaller aperture or exit pupil. The ratio of the telescope aperture to eyepiece exit pupil determines the magnification.</p> <p>There are cases at very low magnifications where the eyepiece barrel diameter becomes the constraint on maximum field of view. The eyepiece barrel itself actually blocks some of the available light that the telescope is collecting, thus limiting the field of view. Two-inch eyepieces overcome this constrain by allowing a larger light cone to enter the eyepiece. We must conclude this discussion by restating that 2" eyepieces have no inherent advantage over 1.25" eyepieces other than the potential for a larger field of view when used with a telescope capable of benefiting from that advantage. </p> No
Adaptable for 2" Eyepieces <p><b>Two-inch Eyepiece Upgrade</b><br /> Some telescopes that are factory configured for 1.25" eyepieces can be upgraded to accommodate 2" eyepieces. Other telescopes are designed to handle only 1.25" eyepieces and cannot be upgraded due to their focuser size or other constraints. </p> <p>Sometimes this upgrade is possible but not recommended. This could be due to clearance issues caused by the addition of a larger 2" star diagonal,which in some cases will bottom out on the base of a fork mounted go-to telescope. This is potentially damaging the drive mechanism. In other cases the light cone exiting the telescope may not be large enough to derive any benefit from a 2" eyepiece.</p> Yes
Physical Parameters
Weight, Optical Tube 14.1 Pounds
Weight, Mount 35 Pounds
Mount Weight (including tripod and counterweight) 66.5 Pounds
Weight, Fully Assembled Estimated 91.6 Pounds
Counterweights 1 x 11lb.
Optical Tube Length 17 Inches
Suggested Accessories
Item #NameDescriptionPrice 
07622Meade LX80 11 Pound Counter Weight
Meade LX80 11 Pound Counter Weight
Meade 11 pound counterweight #07622 may be required when adding heavier instrument loads to the LX80 Multi-mount, especially when operating in equatorial mode.$28.00
Eyepiece Calculator
Enter your eyepiece's specifications:
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Exit Pupil: <p>Exit pupil represents the diameter of the column of light exiting the eyepiece. Magnification is simply the ratio of telescope aperture to exit pupil. Fox example, using a telescope with 100mm aperture and an exit pupil of 2mm yields a magnification of 50X.</p> <p>There are both upper and lower limits to the useful range of exit pupils. The typical human eye pupil dilates to a maximum of 7mm when fully dark adapted. This figure decreases with age. Using an exit pupil that is larger than this upper limit simply spills the light onto an area of the eye not capable of receiving data. At the opposite end of the range, a smaller exit pupil means less area on the eye is collecting data. Images brightness decreases with decreasing exit pupil. Deep space objects grow dimmer rapidly as the exit pupil falls below 1 mm. The planets also start to become noticeably dimmer when the exit pupil falls much below 0.5 mm.</p> <p>Our eyepiece calculator provides warnings and error messages based upon the value of the exit pupil. These are intended to be guidelines as opposed to hard rules. There is no harm in violating these gidelines, but your enjoyment of the telescope may be diminished if you do. </p>