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Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA


The Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope optical tube assembly packs a lot of resolving power and focal length into a compact telescope. This 2700mm focal length telescope is only 22 inches long and tips the scales at less than 16 pounds.


Item #ProductStock StatusPriceShipping
09969Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA
Normally Ships in 7-10 Days
$1,249.95
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Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA Telescope

Orion's Largest Maksutov Takes Resolution to the Next Level!

Looking for something to satisfy your appetite for power? Try a big Mak! For the most demanding enthusiast, our new 180mm Mak sets a new standard for superb planetary performance in a remarkably compact design. With 7.1" of aperture and that long focal length Mak aficionados love, you'll get tack-sharp, high-contrast views and clearly defined photos with subtle detail.

The reason for the outstanding high-power performance is the 180mm (7.1") optical system with its 2,700mm focal length (f/15). With 44% more light grasp than the 150mm Mak, you'll get brighter images and better resolution. And the Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design produces larger images with less eyepiece magnification than other scopes. It's the perfect combination of brightness, contrast, and definition for planets, close double-stars, clusters, and well-defined deep-sky targets.

No other optical design can deliver such potent optical specifications in a package that measures just 22" long and weighs in just under 16 lbs. The meniscus lens is fully multicoated for maximum light transmission, further enhancing the bright, well-defined images.

The visual back accepts 1.25" eyepieces and accessories, and a dovetail bracket on the rear cell accepts any Orion finder scope or EZ Finder. The dovetail rail on the underside of the tube attaches to your Orion SkyView Pro, Sirius, or Atlas mount, so you can swap out optical tubes in the field for more productive evenings of observation and imaging. Attach an Orion StarShoot™ Solar System or Deep-Space CCD Color Imaging Camera and you'll capture gorgeous high-resolution color images on your PC!

Power, versatility, portability - if you're a serious big Mak fan then this one is for you! One-year limited warranty.

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Optical Specifications: Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA
Type Maksutov-Cassegrain
Aperture (mm) 180 mm
Aperture (in.) 7.1 inches
Focal Length 2700 mm
Focal Ratio f/15
Accessories and Features
Included Eyepiece(s) None
Finder None
Star Diagonal None
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> No
Physical Parameters
Weight, Optical Tube 16 Pounds
Optical Tube Length 22 Inches
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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>