More Information  · Supplied Accessories Price $199.00 List Price $299.00 Highest Useful Magnification 180x Visual Limiting Magnitude 12.3 Focal Length 900mm Focal Ratio f/10 Resolution 1.29 arc seconds Aperture 3.5" Warranty 1 year

• Fully-coated achromatic refractor optics: 90mm (3.5”) aperture, 900mm focal length, f/10 focal ratio. Field stops inside the optical tube prevent off-axis light from reaching the focal plane, enhancing the contrast for sharper and more detailed views. Antireflection coatings on all air-to-glass lens surfaces provide high light transmission.

• Finderscope: SmartFinder non-magnifying variable brightness red dot finder with multicoated viewing window for higher visibility. The red dot SmartFinder is a quick and easy way to point your telescope exactly at the desired object. There’s no need to worry about the inverted images you see through traditional magnifying finders. Just line up the red dot seen on the finder’s viewing window on the desired object seen through the window – in the sky or on land – and you’re done.

• Focuser: 1.25” rack and pinion type. The two large focusing knobs are easy to grip and turn, even in cold weather when wearing gloves or mittens.

• Star diagonal: 1.25” 90° prism type.

• Two eyepieces: Both are three-element fully-coated 1.25” modified achromatics. The first is a 25mm providing a magnification of 36x. This field of view of this eyepiece is 1.25° across, two and a half times as wide as the full Moon. It gives expansive views of open star clusters and nebulas in the sky, as well as wildlife and scenic vistas on land. The second is a 9mm providing 100x for close-up views of the planets, globular star clusters, and a Moon that more than fills the 0.45° eyepiece field.

This Telescope’s Mount . . .

• Altazimuth mount: The lightweight and easily transported altazimuth mount provides right/left and up/down motions. This is suitable for casual astronomical observing, and will let you easily track objects on the ground to allow you to get a closer look at nature and your surroundings. It is not suitable for astronomical photography, although terrestrial photography is quite possible. Manual slow motion control knobs on flexible shafts lets you move the scope slowly in altitude (up/down) or azimuth (right/left) or both axes simultaneously. This lets you follow the motion of the Moon and planets across the sky or birds and animals on land. Lock knobs on the mount let you fix the tube in place or adjust the drag on the scope when using the slow motion controls. Adjusting the drag lets you control how smoothly the mount moves as you move the scope with the slow motion controls to follow objects moving across the sky or across the landscape.

• Adjustable height tripod: The preassembled aluminum tripod is adjustable in height to put the scope’s eyepiece at a comfortable level for observing. The tripod’s center leg brace holds a convenient accessory tray to keep your eyepieces and accessories up and out of the dew-soaked grass.

• Supplied software: The scope comes with the AutoStar Software Suite Astronomer’s Edition – a CD-ROM Windows-based planetarium program for your PC that can display over 10,000 stars and deep space objects on your computer screen – galaxies, nebulas, star clusters, stars, and planets. It lets you explore the universe on your computer when the skies are cloudy and you can’t use your scope. It can print out star charts to use later at the telescope to help you plan your observing sessions. Also included is an instructional DVD that shows you how to set up your scope and get the most out of observing with it.

What you see through the Meade 90AZ-ADR . . .

    All of the major planets except Pluto are observable through the 90AZ-ADR. You can study Saturn and its ring system; the primary cloud belts of Jupiter and its four major satellites; the Moonlike phases of Mercury and Venus; prominent features on Mars; and the star-like images of the distant planets Uranus and Neptune. The Moon stands out in stark, almost three-dimensional detail – showing you craters by the hundreds, mountain ranges, scarps, and valleys. Hundreds of star clusters, double and multiple stars, and variable stars are visible outside the solar system, as well. On land, it lets you get up close and personal with nature and mankind – birds, animals, sailboats across a bay, the bird feeder across your back yard, and more.
    It has two and a quarter times the light gathering capacity and 50% higher resolving power than the more common 60mm beginning scope you’ll find in this price range. This gives significantly brighter and more detailed images than is possible with a smaller scope. For the newcomer to astronomy, for the casual observer, for the nature lover, the Meade 90AZ-ADR opens up the skies and the landscape at modest cost to an amazing breadth of detail that is utterly invisible without the telescope.