Questar 7" f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope

Observe through a Questar Seven, and you'll see detail and clarity in the skies that you have never seen before. This writer has compared his Questar Seven Classic to a customer's 14" Schmidt on deep space objects such as the Sombrero galaxy, the Saturn Nebula, and Omega Centauri - with the superior contrast and resolution of the Questar Seven easily visible . . . even to the owner of the 14" scope. The Crêpe Ring and Encke's Division in the rings of Saturn are routine with a Seven in good seeing, as are myriad whorls and festoons in Jupiter's belts and hundreds of sub-kilometer craters on the lunar surface. The Questar Seven optical tubes may be mounted on the new Questar German equatorial mount, if the buyer does not have an existing mount of suitable quality. Two versions are available, identical except for the pier height. The short pier version puts the eyepiece approximately 45" above ground level, for comfortable observing from a seated position. The tall pier version puts the eyepiece at a 70" height more convenient for a standing observer. Each mount has worm gear drives in both right ascension and declination. Their high torque DC servo motors have optical encoders for the supplied digital readout and 3900-object computer library. A built-in Powerguide II drive corrector powers the tracking motors from a 9-volt transistor radio battery, providing lunar and sidereal tracking rates, object centering at 30x sidereal, and dual axis drive correction at 1.4x the sidereal rate. Adjustable-tension slip clutches allow manual motion at any time. Other mount features include altitude and azimuth adjustments for aligning on the celestial pole, provision for an optional through-the-bore polar alignment scope, a Delrin clamping ring suitable for both 7" scope barrels (although most convenient for the Astro Seven), fold-up legs, and a fold-up accessory shelf on the mount's pier. Total weight of the Questar German mount is only 54 pounds, making transporting to a dark sky sight an easy matter. While designed primarily for use with the Questar Seven optical tubes, the mount can also be used with many other telescopes of comparable size and weight. For those individuals who appreciate the very finest that life has to offer, a Questar Seven will prove to be an absolutely eye-opening revelation.