Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes have enjoyed tremendous popularity among amateur astronomers ever since they came into commercial production back in the mid to late 1960s. It's not hard to understand why. Their large-aperture optics gather a tremendous amount of light, rendering high-resolution astroimages of solar system and deep-space subjects. Their long focal lengths give them serious magnifying power. Their compact tubes don't require gigantic mounts to support them and are wonderfully portable. They excel for both visual astronomy and astrophotography. And not least in importance, they've always been affordably priced.

For almost as many years — since 1975 — Orion's popularity has grown, too. Our brand has come to represent solid value backed by the best customer service and satisfaction in the business, hands down. So we thought it was time to offer Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes customized with Orion mounts and accessories, to make it even easier for you to own a telescope that will provide a lifetime of enjoyment under the stars.

And now you can tour the heavens with pushbutton ease because we've added full GoTo computer control to our affordable line of quality Schmidt-Cassegrains. The GoTo system powers your telescope to any of the 42,900 celestial objects in the controller's database. Dual stepper motors on the SkyView Pro mount slew the telescope at 3.4° per second, centering your target directly in the field of view. All it takes is a simple 2- or 3-star initial alignment to enjoy an evening of GoTo control. The GoTo system can even take you on a guided sky-tour. What a great way to simplify observing and photography!

This Orion SkyView Pro 9.25 GoTo Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope features the vaunted 9.25" hand-figured Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system manufactured in the U.S.A. by Celestron. The optics are coated with the very best high-performance multi-coatings: StarBright XLT (read more about XLT below). The 9.25" optics gather 34% more light than 8" optics, giving this scope more capability for detecting and discerning structure in deep-sky objects.

With a long focal length of 2350mm, this f/10.0 system packs plenty of power should your interest lie in high-magnification study of lunar and planetary surfaces, and plenty of aperture for visual and photographic forays to faint nebulas and galaxies.

The aluminum optical tube is paired with the sturdy Orion SkyView Pro equatorial mount, which has a steel-leg tripod with a cast metal spreader bar/accessory tray. The tube couples to the mount quickly via the dovetail rail on the underside of the tube assembly. The mount comes with manual slow-motion controls and accepts optional TrueTrack single- or dual-axis electronic drives for automatic tracking and guiding. The all-metal equatorial head features enclosed 360° worm gears plus large, 86mm-diameter setting circles for easy object location by celestial coordinates. An optional polar-alignment scope is available for precise polar alignment. Azimuth fine adjustment and a latitude scale facilitate the polar alignment process.

In short, this is a tremendous telescope for planetary and deep space observing and astroimaging. And with GoTo control it's easier to use than ever.

The GoTo system requires an external 12-volt power source such as the Orion Dynamo Pro (#2307). Two-year limited warranty.

The StarBright XLT System — What Makes It Different Makes It Better
Revolutionary coating system outperforms any other coating in the commercial telescope market. All Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes sold by Orion include this premium-quality optical coating system.

There are three major components that make up the StarBright XLT high transmission optical system design:

1. Unique enhanced multi-layer mirror coatings
The mirror coatings are made from precise layers of Aluminum (Al), SiO₂ (quartz), TiO₂ (Titanium Dioxide), and Si0₂. Reflectivity is fairly flat across the spectrum, optimizing it for both CCD imaging and visual use.

2. Multi-layer anti-reflective coatings
Made from precise layers of MgF₂ (Magnesium Fluoride), and HfO2 (Hafnium Dioxide). A rare element costing nearly $2,000 per kilogram, Hafnium gives us a wider band pass than Titanium, which is used in competing coatings.

3. High Transmission Water White Glass
Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain optical systems with StarBright XLT coatings use Water White glass instead of Soda Lime glass for the corrector lens. Water White glass transmits about 90.5% without anti-reflective coatings. That is 3.5% better transmission than uncoated Soda Lime glass. When Water White glass is used in conjunction with StarBright XLT's anti-reflective coatings, the average transmission reaches 97.4% — an 8% improvement!

These three components of StarBright XLT coatings result in one of the finest coatings available. The peak transmission for the systems is 89% at 520 nm. The overall system transmission is 83.5% averaged over the spectrum from 400 to 750 nm.

For owners of the SkyView Pro EQ GoTo Mount whose version of the GoTo hand controller is 3.0 or greater, the GoTo hand controller's firmware can be updated over the internet.

Updating the GoTo Hand Controller's Firmware
From version 3.0 and up, the GoTo hand controller's firmware can be updated over the internet.

System Requirements

• GoTo hand controller version 3.0 or greater
• Windows95 or later
• An available RS-232 COM port on the PC
• Computer interface cable (supplied)
• DC power supply (7.5V to 15V @ 100mA or greater output with 2.1mm tip positive plug)

Preparing the Computer for the Update

1. Create a folder where you will store the files necessary for the update.
2. Click on the Download Firmware Files link below and save the Firmware Loader program to the folder you have created on your computer. You will need to download this program only once; after it is saved on your computer, only the firmware data file is needed for future updates.
3. Download and save the firmware update date file to the folder you created. The file will be named OrionVxxxxEQ.ssf, where xxxx indicates the version number of the firmware.

Updating the GoTo Hand Controller

1. Plug the modular plug end of the computer interface cable into the middle jack in the hand controller. Plug the serial connector end of the cable to the COM port on your PC.
2. Press and hold down the 0 and 8 numerical buttons simultaneously, then plug the power supply into the hand controller's DC power jack. The hand controller will beep and display "SynScan Update Ver. x.x" on the LCD screen.
3. Run the Firmware Loader program on your computer.
4. Click on the "Browse" box and select the OrionVxxxx.ssf file location where it was saved previously on your computer.
5. Click on the "Update" button, and the new firmware will begin loading into the hand controller. The Firmware Loader will show the progress of the update on your computer screen. It will usually take approximately 5 minutes for the new firmware to load into the hand controller. It may take significantly longer if a serial-to-USB adapter is employed on your computer.
6. When the download is complete, the Firmware Loader will display "Update Complete".

The firmware in the GoTo hand controller has now been updated. You can click on the "HC. Version" button to confirm the new version number of the firmware (and possibly the database, but the hardware version will not change with internet updates).

Note: If the error message "Can not connect to a SynScan hand control" appears on your computer, check all cable connections. Also, try closing all other computer programs that might be attempting to use the COM port.

Note: If the error message "Firmware update failed..." appears on your computer, remove the power plug from the hand controller, and then reconnect it. Now, repeat the firmware update procedure.

By default, the data communication rate between the GoTo hand controller and the computer is 115kbps. The RS-232 port on some PCs may not support this high data transfer rate. If the firmware update procedure fails after a few tries, try reducing the data transfer rate by pressing the SETUP button on the hand controller. This will reduce the data transfer rate to 9.6kbps. The controller's LCD screen will show "Lo" in the lower right hand corner to indicate the lower transfer rate setting. The firmware update procedure remains the same except it will take much longer for the firmware to load into the hand controller.

Download Firmware Files