8" f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector Telescope

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Orion 8" f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector Telescope

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Affordable 8" astrograph reflector telescope excels at wide-field astrophotography with short exposure times
200mm aperture f/4.0 parabolic primary optics made with high-quality BK-7 glass feature enhanced aluminum coatings to provide >91% reflectivity for bright, vivid astrophotography performance
Short focal length and big aperture let you capture more light from deep sky objects in less time, greatly improving your imaging efficiency
Compact and lightweight at just 28" long and 16 lbs. the 8" f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph telescope optical tube can help keep the combined weight of your astro-imaging setup manageable
Includes 8x50 finder scope, hinged tube rings, cooling accelerator fan for swift ambient temperature acclimation, Starry Night software, and more! A coma corrector is recommended for optimal flat-field performance (sold separately)

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Item # 09527

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Media Buzz

Astronomy Magazine, November 2010

“I found this telescope a total pleasure to use. The precise mechanical operation of its focuser made all the difference in the world. Sharp arcsecond-sized star images filled the field of view on successive 5-minute exposures with an absolutely stunning amount of nebulosity visible on my DSLR’s screen... Orion’s 8-inch f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector allows budget-minded sky shooters access to a new level of high-quality imaging.”

In keeping with our philosophy of offering great astrophotographic gear at affordable prices, we’re pleased to offer our 8" f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector. For wide field, deep-space imaging performance, this telescope has few rivals. Its big 8" aperture and fast f/4.0 focal ratio allow the capture of faint galaxies and nebulas with short photographic exposure times — and for a fraction of the price that a premium "apo" refractor of even half its size would cost!

Our Orion 8" f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector is perfect for beginning and intermediate star shooters, and a great second telescope for more advanced imagers who want more portability, without sacrificing features and quality. That means bright, detailed images for APS-C sized CCD or DSLR cameras. As with any fast Newtonian reflector, an optional coma corrector is recommended to achieve the sharpest images. With an optional eyepiece, this telescope doubles as a fine visual instrument for scanning solar system and deep-space wonders.

Only 16 lbs. and just 28" long, this instrument is easily supported on a mid-sized mount. The 200mm-aperture parabolic primary mirror is made from high-quality BK-7 optical glass. Enhanced aluminum mirror coatings with greater than 91% reflectivity deliver more light to the focuser. A cooling accelerator fan is included, mounted on the back of the primary mirror cell for rapid equilibration to ambient temperature.

We outfitted the 8" f/4.0 Astrograph with a modified, all-machined 2" dual-speed Crayford focuser that incorporates a special linear-track bearing. This advanced focuser design provides superior camera support and eliminates the drawtube flexure inherent in many standard Crayford focusers. The dual-speed feature allows both coarse and very fine (10:1) focusing precision. Standard accessories include a pair of hinged tube rings and an 8x50 finder scope.

Great telescopes for astrophotography don’t have to cost thousands! In fact, you can own an 8" imaging-optimized Newtonian reflector for well under $500! Get the Orion 8" f/4.0 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector today.

Warranty

Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for one year from date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. For complete warranty details contact us at 800-676-1343.

Warning

Please note this product was not designed or intended by the manufacturer for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.

Product Support

Visit our product support section for instruction manuals and more

Specs

Best for viewing

Brighter deep sky
Best for imaging

Deep sky
User level

User level

Beginner Level - Suited for a wide range of uses, these products are simple to operate and set up. Some initial assembly may be required depending on the type of product. Optical instruments with this rating will have very good optical and mechanical quality. Great for families, young people, and folks who don't want to mess with equipment and complexity. Beginning level telescopes will show you countless lunar craters, Saturn's rings and a myriad of star clusters and nebulae! Referring to the manual is recommended.

Intermediate Level - These products offer higher performance and more advanced features than Level 1: Beginner models. They typically take a bit longer to learn and need some set-up or adjustments. But anyone with the slightest technical bent will have no problem getting familiar with these models. Referring to the manual is recommended.

Advanced Level - These products provide the best performance but may require more skill to master and appreciate. Optical instruments with this rating have exceptionally fine optics and mechanics. Some are easy to use but might be on the large or heavy side. Some are intended for specialized uses. These products will appeal to the more technically inclined. Referring to the manual is highly recommended.

Advanced
Optical design

Optical design

Reflector telescopes use a pair of large and small mirrors to direct incoming light to the eyepiece. Refractor telescopes refract, or "bend" incoming light to a focus by means of an objective lens. Cassegrain telescopes, such as Maksutov-Cassegrains, "fold" incoming light using two mirrors and a front "corrector" lens.

Reflector
Optical diameter

Optical diameter

For telescopes, the optical diameter (also known as aperture) is the size of a telescope's main light-collecting lens or primary mirror, measured in millimeters or inches. Telescopes with larger optical diameters collect more light, which leads to an increase in brightness and image resolution compared to smaller instruments.

For binoculars, the optical diameter (also known as objective lens diameter) is the size of each of the front-facing objective lenses of a binocular measured in millimeters. Binoculars with larger objective lenses collect more light, which increases image resolution and brightness. Binoculars with larger objective lenses are recommended for low light situations, and binoculars with at least 50mm or larger objective lenses are recommended for pleasing astronomical observations at night.

200mm
Finder scope lens diameter

50mm
Focal length

Focal length

The distance from the center of a curved mirror or lens at which parallel light rays converge to a single point. The focal length is an inherent specification of a mirror or lens and is one of the factors in determining resultant magnification for a telescope (along with the focal length of the eyepiece being used).

800mm
Focal ratio

Focal ratio

The focal ratio of an optical system is the ratio of a telescope's focal length to its aperture. Short focal ratios (f/5, f/4.5) produce wide fields of view and small image scales, while long focal lengths produce narrower fields of views and larger image scales.

f/4.0
Optics type

Optics type

Newtonian reflectors will have either a spherical shaped mirror, which is less expensive to produce, or a higher quality parabola, which does not result in spherical aberration. Cassegrain telescopes routinely use spheres in addition to other lenses in the optical path to correct for residual spherical aberration. Refractors use a series of lenses to provide a clear image. Designs range from a standard air-spaced doublet (two lenses in a row) to exotic designs such as oil-spaced triplets and 4-element multi group lenses.

Parabolic
Glass material

Glass material

Refractors use glass lenses to focus the light, and the glass material plays an important role in the quality of the resulting image. Standard achromatic refractors routinely use Crown and Flint for the two elements, but more expensive apochromatic refractors can use ED (extra low dispersion) glass for one or more of the lenses. Reflector mirrors are made from glass with different levels of thermal expansion. Standard mirrors are made from material such as Soda-Lime Plate glass and BK-7 glass. Glass with Pyrex or other low thermal expansion material will not change shape as dramatically during the cool-down period, resulting in more stable images during this period.

BK-7
Resolving power

Resolving power

The theoretical resolving power of a telescope can be calculated with the following formula: Resolving power (in arc seconds) = 4.56 divided by aperture of telescope (in inches). In metric units, this is: Resolving power (in arc seconds) = 116 divided by aperture of telescope (in millimeters). Note that the formula is independent of the telescope type or model, and is based only upon the aperture of the telescope. So the larger the telescope's aperture, the more it is capable of resolving. This is important to keep in mind when observing astronomical objects which require high resolution for best viewing, such as planets and double stars. However, it is usually atmospheric seeing conditions (not the telescope) which limits the actual resolving power on a given night; rarely is resolution less than one arc-second possible from even the best viewing locations on Earth.

0.56arc*sec
Lowest useful magnification

Lowest useful magnification

Lowest useful magnification is the power at which the exit pupil becomes 7mm in diameter. Powers below this can still be reached with the telescope to give wider fields of view, but the image no longer becomes brighter at a lower power. This is due to the fact that the exit pupil of the telescope (the beam of light exiting the eyepiece) is now larger than the average person's dark adapted pupil, and no more light can fit into the eye.

29x
Highest useful magnification

Highest useful magnification

The highest practical limit is different from the often used "highest theoretical magnification" specification. The "theoretical" limit generally is 50x the aperture of the scope in inches (2x the aperture in mm). So for example, an 80mm refractor is capable of 160x, and a 10" telescope is theoretically capable of 500x magnification. But after approximately 300x, theory breaks down and real world problems take over. The atmosphere above us is constantly in motion, and it will distort the image seen through the telescope. This effect may not be noticeable at lower powers, but at higher powers the atmosphere will dramatically blur the object, reducing the quality of the image. On a good night (a night where the air above is steady and the stars aren't twinkling), the practical upper limit of a large telescope is 300x, even thought the theoretical limit may be much higher. This doesn't mean the scope will never be able to reach those higher "theoretical" powers - there will be that rare night where the atmosphere is perfectly still and the scope can be pushed past it's practical limit, but those nights will be few and far between.

300x
Highest theoretical magnification

400x
Limiting stellar magnitude

Limiting stellar magnitude

The limiting stellar magnitude is a measure of the faintest star you can see through the telescope.

14.2
Optical quality

Optical quality

"Diffraction Limited" means that the limits of image detail are determined by the physical properties of light, and not by optical defects in the telescope.

Diffraction limited
Finder scope

8x50
Focuser

2" dual-speed linear bearing Crayford
Secondary mirror obstruction

70mm
Mirror coatings/over-coatings

Aluminum & Silicon Dioxide
Mount type

Optical Tube without Mount
Astro-imaging capability

Astro-imaging capability

The astro-photographic capability of the telescope is based on the style, stability, and accuracy of the mount and tripod. Telescopes on either very lightweight mounts or non tracking mounts (such as Dobsonians) are capable of only very short exposures such as lunar photographs. If a motor drive is attached to an equatorial mount, even a small lightweight mount is capable of capturing some planetary detail. Larger EQ mounts that utilize very precise tracking and excellent stability are capable of longer exposure deep-sky photography.

Lunar, planetary & long exposure
Tube material

Steel
Length of optical tube

27.5 in.
Weight, optical tube

16.0 lbs.
Additional included accessories

Tube rings, Cooling accelerator fan, 2" to 1.25" adapter
Warranty

Warranty

This warranty gives you specific legal rights. It is not intended to remove or restrict your other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state or national statutory consumer rights governing the sale of consumer goods remain fully applicable.

One year

In The Box

8" f/4 Astrograph reflector optical tube
8x50 Finder scope
Tube rings�
Cooling accelerator fan��

Shipping Info

Orders received by 1pm Eastern Standard Time for in-stock item the same business day. Order received after noon will ship the next business day. When an item is not in-stock we will ship it as soon as it becomes available. Typically in-stock items will ship first and backordered items will follow as soon as they are available. You have the option in check out to request that your order ship complete, if you'd prefer.

A per-item shipping charge (in addition to the standard shipping and handling charge) applies to this product due to its size and weight. This charge varies based on the shipping method.

Standard Delivery: $0.00
3 Day Delivery: $45.00
2 Day Delivery: $45.00
Next Day Delivery: $55.00

SHIPPING RESTRICTIONS APPLY FOR THIS PRODUCT

This product is available to ship Standard delivery within the 50 US states, APO/DPO/FPO addresses and US territories/protectorates. Delivery is not available to Canada.

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