For over 30 years, it’s been our passion to create the finest telescopes available for the astronomy enthusiast. The revolutionary ETX series is just one example. Designed to be the ideal, ultra-portable telescope, the ETX marries Meade’s unsurpassed optics with industry-leading electronics to deliver a truly exceptional viewing experience.  Meade’s unmatched Maksutov-Cassegrain optics provides high resolution and contrast for more detail and the ability to see fainter objects than with comparable systems. Combine that with the easiest alignment system available and the Autostar controller, and you have simple, immediate access to over 30,000 celestial objects…all at the push of a button. And with the ETX’s classic styling and advanced engineering, your telescope is ready for a lifetime of use.

497 AutoStar® Computer Controller

The AutoStar® computer controller helps you quickly find and GoTo over 30,000 objects in the night sky. View planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, comets and more—all at the push of a button. Don’t know what you want to view this evening? Then go to the Tonight’s Best™ tour in your AutoStar. It automatically selects the best objects in the sky for that particular time and location. The AutoStar controller can be updated over the internet. Just log on to meade.com/autostarupdate to download software upgrades, guided tours, and timely objects like comets—FREE. Keep your AutoStar up-to-date and your telescope will grow with you for years to come.

Solar System Planets ..................................... 8 Moon ......................................... 1 Asteroids ................................ 26 Comets.................................... 15 Constellations ....................... 88 Stars Named Stars ......................... 79 Double Stars ....................... 395 Variable Stars ..................... 189 SAO Stars ....................... 16,800 Deep Sky Named Objects ..................... 66 Galaxies .................................. 74 Diffuse Nebulae ............ ........ 31 Planetary Nebulae ................. 19 Quasars ................................... 11 Caldwell Objects ...................109 Messier Objects ....................110 IC Catalog Objects.............5,387 NG Catalog Objects.......... 7,840 Earth Satellites ....................... 50 Total Objects ...................31,298