Recognized For Superior Stability
An improved Super HD Tripod supports the CGE mount. This fully extendable
tripod is made from the finest cold rolled carbon steel and can be raised to a height of 50 inches. The tripod uses a dual leg
support for maximum rigidity with an upper leg brace to provide an outward preload and a lower leg brace providing inward
tension.
CGE Equatorial Mounts Can Easily be Balanced on Both Axes
Balancing the weight of camera equipment and
other visual accessories is accomplished by simply sliding the counterweight for Right Ascension and moving the optical tube along
its dovetail mounting for Declination. This means that no additional weight needs to be added to balance the telescope when
additional accessories are added.
Clearance For Accessories
CGE mounts support their tubes at a single
contact point allowing the tube to move freely around its polar axis without making contact with the telescope's mount. This is
particularly useful when adding photographic and CCD instruments that extend from the rear of the telescopes.
GPS
Compatible
All CGE mounts are compatible with Celestron's CN16 GPS accessory (Item #93967). Combine the GPS and
built-in Hibernate mode and these mounts will keep track and remember their exact location and time without the need to re-enter
the information into the remote hand control.
The CGE-1100 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope is part of Celestron's "Top-of-the-Line" German Equatorial mounted astronomical
telescopes. With the optical tube assembly of the CGE-1100 weighing only 27.5 lb., this telescope is still portable enough to be
taken to dark skies, and it has 89% more light gathering power than an 8" telescope. This model features our standard StarBright
coatings.
This telescope is especially at home as a solid platform for long exposure photography with optional CCD cameras or photographic
equipment; it is a serious scientific research tool. Using an f/6.3 Focal Reducer makes it usable with a wide variety of CCD
cameras.
German Equatorial mounts are recognized as being the superior choice for astrophotography because of their rock solid stability,
simple balancing and easy accessibility for attaching equipment. Couple these mechanical features with other performance features
like a designated autoguider port, permanent periodic error correction and equatorial alignments, and the CGE 1100 would please
any serious amateur or college astronomy program.
As a visual instrument you can search for all of the Messier Catalog, NGC, IC and Caldwell objects. Turn this scope to the
planets and see amazing detail on the surface of Jupiter; see Cassini's Division in the rings of Saturn, and resolve details on
the surface of Mars. Even the distant Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are within your reach.
In addition to being fully computerized with a database of over 40,000 celestial objects, the CGE German Equatorial mount offers
numerous design advantages:
Portability � Set up and transportation of the CGE telescopes is made easy by separating the CGE instruments
into smaller, easy-to-carry components. Unlike fork arm mounted telescopes, the CGE's optical tubes can be quickly removed from
their mounts making even the CGE 1400 easily assembled by only one person.
Stability � Recognized for superior stability, German Equatorial mounts place the center of gravity directly
over the tripod legs and can be easily polar aligned without the use of an optional equatorial wedge. This proven design reduces
the "tuning fork" vibration that can be associated with undersized fork mounts. An improved Super HD Tripod supports the CGE
mount. This fully extendable tripod is made from the finest cold rolled carbon steel and can be raised to a height of 50". The
tripod uses a dual leg support for maximum rigidity with an upper leg brace to provide an outward preload and a lower leg brace
providing inward tension.
Balance � CGE equatorial mounts can easily be balanced in both axes. Simply simply sliding the counterweight
for Right Ascension and moving the optical tube along its dovetail mounting for Declination accomplish balancing the weight of
camera equipment and other visual accessories. This means that no additional weight needs to be added to balance the telescope
when additional accessories are added.
Clearance � CGE mounts support their tubes at a single contact point allowing the tube to move freely around
its polar axis without making contact with the telescope's mount. This is particularly useful when adding photographic and CCD
instruments that extend from the rear of the telescopes.
All CGE mounted telescopes are compatible with Celestron's CN-16 GPS accessory. Combine the GPS and built-in Hibernate mode and
these telescopes will keep track and remember their exact location and time without having to enter the information into the hand
control.
Celestron has brought its renowned StarBright technology to an even higher level of light transmission with the introduction of
our new optional StarBright XLT High Performance Optical Coating System.
StarBright XLT Optical System Design - You'll See The Light.
One of the most important factors in the evaluation of a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope's optical system performance is its
transmission - the percentage of incoming light that reaches the focal plane. The design of the XLT System accomplishes two
crucial objectives: Develop a coating system that is optimized for visual use and for CCD/Photographic imaging.
The StarBright XLT System - What Makes It Different Makes It Better
There are three major components that make up our StarBright XLT high transmission optical system design:
1. Unique enhanced multi-layer mirror coatings
Our 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. Click here to see a plot of the
reflectivity of XLT's Mirror Coatings.
2. Multi-layer anti-reflective coatings
Made from precise layers of MgF2 (Magnesium Fluoride), and HfO2 (Hafnium Dioxide) A rare element costing nearly $2000 per
kilogram, Hafnium gives us a wider band pass than Titanium, used in competing coatings. Click here to see a plot of XLT's
corrector transmission.
3. High Transmission Water White glass
Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain optical systems with optional 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! Click here to see a plot of water white glass versus soda
lime.*
These three components of our 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.
