SVX152T

Product Description

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This is Stellarvue's flagship telescope: a 152 mm f-8 apochromatic triplet refractor. The high-Strehl FPL-53 Ohara triplet has a conventional front element, FPL-53 center element, and Lanthanum rear element for extremely sharp and high-contrast performance. The aluminum tube is powder-coated in our Instrument White color and the dew shield is engraved with the Stellarvue logo. 

SVX 152T optics are rated at .99 Strehl or higher with excellent optical correction of aberrations commonly seen in mass-produced optics. To attain this level of optical accuracy, it is necessary for us to go beyond machine polishing. Our experienced opticians use specially made tools to hand-figure objectives here in our optical shop in Auburn, CA. While our former models (without the X designation) were all excellent coming in at .95 Strehl or higher, SVX series telescopes are even more exceptional, placing 99% of the light precisely where it should be. Stellarvue Premier (SVX) Series refractors are for the astronomer who recognizes the best when they see it. Each SVX series refractor comes with a Zygo interferometric test report taken in our shop, documenting the accuracy of your individual objective.

The SVX152T is our highest-resolution telescope, and it performs flawlessly as a visual or photographic instrument. To use your telescope for photography, order the optimized field flattener or field flattener/reducer (see below).

Feather Touch focuser: This telescope now comes with a massive 3.5" Feather Touch focuser that has 4.5" of travel and a lifting capacity of 18 - 20 pounds. It will hold even the largest and heaviest accessories without strain. The smooth 10-1 fine focus knob allows very fine focusing and may be outfitted with an optional temperature compensating motor. Included with the 3.5" focuser are a 2"adapter, 1.25" adapter, and a Synta-style finder scope shoe. 

Optional Moonlight focuser: Those who intend to use this telescope solely for imaging often prefer the Moonlight Nitecrawler 3.5" focuser. For the expert imager, we now offer an upgrade to this particular focuser. Merely select the focuser option above for the Moonlight if you want this robust, fully-rotating and computerized focuser. The focuser comes mounted and aligned with the telescope, and has three threaded extension tubes and an M75 adapter for mounting the reducer/flattener to the focuser. An optional adapter will be required for the large SVX2 field flattener.  

Since we are a telescope manufacturer, we can perform some customization. If you need a different type/brand focuser, for example, simply call us at (530) 823-7796 and we can discuss modifying your SVX152T to meet your specific requirements.  

Rings: Our American-machined rings are strong and stable, made of 6061-T6 aluminum, and precision CNC-machined to exact tolerance. Cast rings can break; our rings never do. 

Rail and Case: Each telescope comes with our Losmandy-Style 13" D plate and a heavy-duty, American-made, roadie-style case with wheels, a handle, and solid 3/8" plywood walls. This is a durable and strongly-padded hard case; it is not the typical cheap import case. 

Finder scope: Also included is our F050W2 finder scope with illuminated reticle eyepiece and R050DA finder rings. 

World-class optics: Each lens is hand-figured and continually tested here in our shop with our 6" Zygo Phase-Shifting Laser Interferometer. The optical wavefront is mapped and we develop special tooling for each objective to address any issues including zones, spherical errors, trefoil, astimatism, etc. We spend months perfecting each objective. In 2020, we increased our minimal standard to .99 Strehl! The visual and photographic performance is amazing. Using the best glass (Ohara S-FPL53) combined with highly accurate figuring and continuous testing throughout the process, this is as good as it gets.

The final optical test will be documented here using our Zygo interferometer. You will receive a color copy of the test report, certifying the actual performance of your lens. These are the sharpest 6" apo lenses we have ever made and ever seen!  

To image with this telescope at 1200 mm f-8, use the new Stellarvue SFFX-2 photographic field flattener. This giant 4" diameter flattener will provide an enormous flat field with a 90 mm image circle! This massive flattener uses 100 mm diameter lenses and screws directly to the rear of the Feather Touch focuser (you will need an adapter to mount this flattener to the Moonlight focuser). This dedicated flattener will operate at 1200 mm focal length at f-8. This is a relatively large-image scale compared to every other Stellarvue refractor.

To image at 900 mm f-6, use the SFFRR.72-152-48 photographic field flattener/reducer. It produces a full frame (42 mm) image circle. 

Our wait list period is now short as we finalize the remaining fifteen telescopes on this 3-year run. The sooner you order, the sooner you will have yours! 

"I just took delivery of SVX152T s/n 004, and it was well worth the wait. Contrary to the first law of new telescopes, we had a brief interlude of clear skies with outstanding seeing. There were intermittent clouds forming so there was no time to dwell on any one object. I tended to associate “pinpoint stars” with marketing hype, but damn! This scope is awesome. The Orion Nebula revealed fine detail and the Trapezium stars were tiny dots. The Double Cluster in Perseus had that pearls-on-black-velvet look and drew oohs and aahs from my wife and neighbors. Mars and Uranus presented well-defined disks when viewed through the Stellarvue 4.7mm Optimus eyepiece. M1 was another interesting item that stood out clearly with good definition. However, the most telling observation I made was when I turned the SVX152T on Rigel with with the 4.7 mm Optimus. The scope really set up well with my Astro-physics Mach 1 mount and even at this high magnification I was dropping objects right in the center of the eyepiece. I selected Rigel because I want to see how the scope handled a really bright star. As expected, there was no chromatic aberration or distortion. Almost all of the light energy was concentrated on a tight point with a faint airy disk. I wasn’t even thinking about Rigel B, and I was stunned to see it pop out so clearly. This truly is a great scope. My thanks to Vic Maris and the Stellarvue team for producing such a fine instrument."  

Ordering: You may either order online and pay in full, or call us and place a phone order with a $500 deposit. Either way you will be placed next in line on the wait list. We build these hand-crafted telescopes one at a time so the sooner you get on the list, the sooner you will receive yours. For more information, contact us at (530) 823-7796 or email vic@stellarvue.com.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Objective lens:
Air-spaced 152 mm, 1200 mm focal length (f-7.9) fully multi-coated, apochromatic triplet using a combination of Ohara FPL-53 extra low-dispersion center element with a Lanthanum rear element.

Tube Assembly:
All aluminum, Instrument White, fully baffled, 6 1/8" diameter tube. Telescope is 44 1/2" long with dew shield retracted and 52" long when extended.

Dew Shield:
Retracting aluminum dew shield with a 7 3/8" diameter and 11 3/4" total length. Instrument White color, laser logo engraving, and black anodized aluminum fittings.

Weight: 
Optical tube assembly is 23.2 pounds. With rings and TP-13 Losmandy style rail added, the total weight is 27 pounds.

Focuser:
Your choice of either the Feather Touch 3.5" focuser or the Moonlight Nightcrawler 3.5" focuser. 

Rings: 
Very heavy duty CNC mounting rings, American-made using 6061 T6 aluminum plate. Five threaded 1/4-20 holes top and bottom spaced 1.5" and 60 mm apart with one in the center. 5 mm side hole for reflect finder mounting.

Case:
Heavy duty American-made hard case made of 3/8" plywood, durable hard cover, handle, and wheels.

Finder Scope:
Stellarvue F050W2 correct image optical finder with rings included.

Visual Accessories:
Select the "Add Visual Accessories and Save" drop down above and save on all the visual accessories you will need. You can purchase our 2" quartz dielectric diagonal upgrade for only $199, and save big when you add our best Optimus eyepieces. 

Light Gain:
471.5 times that of the naked eye.

Color Correction (1-10):
10 Resolution:.76 Arc Seconds

Maximum magnification:
Depends on seeing conditions. There is no reason a high-end, hand-crafted apochromat cannot be taken to 100X per inch under steady skies.