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• Free shipping in the contiguous United States. No surprise fees. The price you see is the price you pay.
• Unbeatable 30-Day return policy. WE pay for the return shipping AND any restocking fee enforced by the supplier so you can shop worry free.
• Price Match Guarantee. We strive to have the best online prices. If you find a better one, let us know and we'll match it.
• Product Passion. To us, you are not simply a customer. You are a colleague who has a similar fascination for the stars and wants the best tools available to admire them. That's why we only stock products that will exceed your expectations.
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ED102 Essential Series

The Explore Scientific ED102 Essential Series Air-Spaced Triplet APO Refractor Telescope is a true apochromat refractor that reveals our Moon’s stark chiseled craters, Jupiter’s orderly cloud belts and the blue-white stars of the Orion Nebula popping against the complex misty cloud they call home. The ED102 Essential Series Apochromatic Refractor will open up a treasure trove of night sky treats, and provide a solid optical platform to begin serious deep sky astrophotography. 

A nice compromise between portability and aperture, this versatile high-end telescope offers true diffraction-limited optics and has an objective lens size that performs well in lunar, planetary and deep sky viewing situations.

Featuring an air-spaced triplet optical design that virtually eliminates chromatic aberrations, this telescope generates brilliant high-contrast images by combining genuine HOYA FCD1 extra-low dispersion (ED) glass and proprietary EMD enhanced multi-layer coatings.

Comes with 2 extension tubes for the 2" rack-and-pinion focuser and the Explore Scientific 2N1 Hybrid Finger Scope Base. (Finder scope not included.)

EXOS2 with PMC-Eight

The award winning Explore Scientific EXOS2 PMC-Eight Equatorial Mount with its 28 lb instrument payload capacity for astrophotography is an excellent choice for many of Explore Scientific's telescopes as well for the visual astronomer where the instrument payload capacity can be pushed much more, providing a solid very portable solution for those who want to use a larger telescope that would normally require a much larger equatorial platform.

"This just makes me even happier with my purchase of a EXOS2 PMC-Eight, I've come nowhere near capacity with mine. But this is just a very reassuring example of the quality of Explore Scientific products, and another reason why I will continue to be a customer!"

-James Hubbard

We often get calls about the “load capacity” of our mounts. For telescope tracking mounts there are generally two different specs: instrument payload capacity for astrophotography, and instrument payload capacity for visual use.

Payload capacity ratings for visual are normally much higher than for astrophotography because with added weight beyond a certain point, there is an increase in tracking error (e.g. periodic error, etc.). For the EXOS2 PMC-Eight the instrument payload capacity for astrophotography is 28lbs + counterweights. And for visual use, the instrument payload capacity is 40 lbs + counterweights.

Explore Scientific's PMC-Eight GOTO system can be controlled wirelessly or wired with a tablet or PC, with Windows 8.1 or 10, Android, Amazon Fire, or iOS, with a free app called ExploreStars. Tablet must be purchased separately.

The ExploreStars App controls any PMC-Eight mount by means of an intuitive graphical interface. Among other features ExploreStars offers both 2-star and 3-star alignment procedures, educational information and images of the more popular celestial objects, and a choice of over 80,000 objects for viewing. 

The  ExploreStars object database encompasses a wide range of celestial objects including those in the Solar System, the Messier Catalog, the New General Catalog, and the Index Catalog, as well as a collection of over 70,000 stars. The Celestial Database also includes educational material and images for many of the more popular objects. This database is available as a separate updatable component of the ExploreStars software system. It can expand over time and any ExploreStars implementation can easily be updated by downloading a fresh copy of the Celestial Database. In fact, the educational material and images within the database can be customized by each individual user using Microsoft Access.

In addition to ExploreStars, we provide an ASCOM interface that will allow a huge range of star map software to control the PMC-Eight. Here are just are some examples that are currently available: ACP; APT; AST / ATC & Ricerca (Omega Lab); AstroArt; AstroMB; Cartes du Ciel / Sky Chart; CCD AutoPilot; DeepSky; Deepsky Planner; DFM Engineering; Earth Centered Universe Pro; EasySky; Eye and Telescope; Project Pluto; Hallo Northern Sky; Maxim DL; MaxPoint; PinPoint Astrometric; Prism; Sequence Generator Pro; Sidereal Technology; The Sky; SkyMap Software; SkyTools 3; Star Atlas PRO; Sky Observer; StarryNight; Stellarium; and Virtual Moon Atlas.

70° Eyepiece 25MM

The new eyepiece design represent a major advance compared to the original Plössl and Super-Plössl design. The five element design features tack sharp optical performance which delivers a improvement in corrections for chromatic aberration and edge-sharpness compared to traditional plössl. The observing comfort is also much better with this eyepieces than with the conventional Plössl design. A good choice for telescopes with relaxed focal ratios at an unbeatable price point.

Specs

Warranty

Limited Warranty is one year, which converts to the Explore STAR Transferable Extended Life of the Product Warranty when product is registered within 60 days of purchase. Click Here to register.

CA Residents: Prop 65 WARNING(S)

• We are happy to offer free shipping to all bordering states in the United States
• Shipping typically takes 2-5 business days and is sent directly from the manufacturer
• A tracking number will be provided when the manufacturer ships out the items. Please allow up to 5 business days to be provided with a tracking number

30-Day Return Policy: no postage, no restocking fee, no worries!

Astraeus Optics will cover shipping fees as well as any restocking fee that the manufacturer enforces.

To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging. Custom made items are not eligible for returns or refunds.

There are certain situations where only partial refunds are granted: (if applicable)

• Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error.
• Any item that is returned more than 30 days after delivery

You can request a refund by Contacting Us.
We will credit you for the total purchase price upon the receipt of your return. Products returned under this policy are eligible for a refund to the original method of payment.

Defective Product Returns

We only replace items if they are defective or damaged. If you need to exchange it for the same item, send us an email at support@astraeusoptics.com

Refunds

We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved or not. If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method within 10 business days. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund too.
If more than 15 business days have passed since we’ve approved your return, please contact us at support@astraeusoptics.com