Acuter Maksy 60 Specifications

Acuter Maksy 60 Specs

The Acuter 60mm (2.4-inch) diameter telescope has a Maksutov-Cassegrain catadioptric design and is precision made and optically a perfect as possible. 

Stars are perfect pinpoints and the diffraction rings both inside and outside of focus are picture perfect. The telescope is multi-purpose. With the stock tripod and stock eyepiece, it excels with Moon, daytime objects, and Jupiter Moons. With EPs of greater focal length, and a steady mount, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mars come into view depending on their relative distance to the Earth and how close they are to opposition.

Specifications
Taiwan Name - Mini Horse Multifunctional Life Telescope
Acuter Optics Telescope Name - Acuter Maksy 60
Design - Maksutov-Cassegrain Catadioptric
Aperture/Diameter - 60mm (2.4")
Focal Ratio - f/12.5
Focal Length - 750mm (29.5")
Optical Coating: Multi Layer Film
Eyepiece 20mm - 37.5x
OTA Length - 25 cm (8.25"), 10" with 90-deg. Diagonal
OTA Outer Diameter - 82mm (3.2")
OTA Weight - 467 grams (1 lb)
Tripod Weight - 360 grams (.8 lb)
Tripod Height - 20 cm (7.9")
Light Gathering - 73.5 times the naked eye
Theoretical Power at 50x/aperture inch = 120x
Practical Power (20-30x/inch) - 48 to 72x
True Field of View - 1.8° (Pleiades fits into the field of view)
Exit Pupil - 1.6 mm
Theoretical Resolving Power - 1.93 arcseconds
Approximate Limiting Magnitude = +11.4 (dark, moonless sky)
Dawes Limit - 1.9 arcseconds
Raleigh Limit - 2.27 arcseconds
Assembled Height - 30.5mm (12" To Diagonal Top)

Finder - Two Line-of-Sight protrusions (protuberances) on OTA
Box Contents - OTA, Tabletop Tripod Mount, 20mm Eyepiece (37.5x), 90-deg. Diagonal, Lens Cap, Instruction Manual, Mobile Phone Adapter, Frosted Glass Projection Eyepiece

Purchased Accessories: Sun Filter with Sun Finder
Best Use - Moon, Jupiter Moons, Sun with Filter

Eyepiece Magnification Guide
EP      Power   2x     Barlow Focal Reducer
6mm   125x    250x   62.5x
10mm 75x      150x   37.5
20mm 37.5x   75x     18.8
25mm 30x      60x     15
30mm 25x      50x     12.5
40mm 19x      38x       9.5

Focal Length = 750mm

8mm - 24mm ( 94x - 31x) Variable Zoom
Prime Focus = 29.5x
2x Barlow Projection = 59x
1/2x Focal Reducer = f/12.5 (750mm FL) to f/6.25 (375mm FL)
2 Stacked Focal Reducers = f/3.1 (187.5mm)

Baader Mark IV Hyperion 8mm-24mm (8,12,16,20,24)

Acuter Solar Telescope: 750mm (29.5-inch) FL, 60mm (2.4-inch) aperture

08mm - 93.75

12mm - 62.50x

16mm - 46.88x

20mm - 37.50x

24mm - 31.25x

Under prefect seeing, the maximum power per aperture inch is 50x.

2.4" x 50 = 120x. 6.25mm - 120x

The theoretical power of any telescopes is 50x per inch of aperture.  (2.4")(50)=120x However, under average sky conditions, the practical power recommended to be used is 20-30 x per inch of aperture. 48x - 72x

Definitions

Focal Length

The distance (usually expressed in millimeters) from a mirror or lens to the image that it forms. In most telescopes the focal length is roughly equal to the length of the tube. Some telescopes use extra lenses and/or mirrors to create a long effective focal length in a short tube.

Magnification

The amount that a telescope enlarges its subject. It’s equal to the telescope’s focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length. As a rule of thumb, a telescope’s maximum useful magnification is 50 times its aperture in inches (or twice its aperture in millimeters).

True Field of View

The circle of sky that you see when you look through a telescope or binoculars. Generally, the lower the magnification, the wider the field of view.

Exit Pupil

The size of the circle of light that hits your eye when you look through the eyepiece. If the exit pupil is larger than 7mm, it means your eye probably won't see all the light coming from the eyepiece. (That's because, for an average adult, the pupil of the dark-adapted human eye is only 7 mm wide.) So in that case you should switch to a higher magnification.

Theoretical Resolving Power

The angular size of the smallest detail you can see at high magnification. This tells you the closest double star you can expect to separate.

Approximate Limiting Magnitude of Telescope

A number denoting the faintest star you can expect to see. The higher the magnitude, the fainter the star. For example, a 1st-magnitude star is 100 times brighter than a 6th-magnitude star.

Dawes Limit
Dawes Limit = 4.56/D inches = 116/Dmm. Dawes Limit is the first point at which a double star is elongated enough to suspect the presence of two stars. Dawes limit for a 6" / 150mm telescope is 4.56/6 or 116/150 = 0.77 arcseconds. For the Acuter Maksy 2.4" = 4.56/2.4 = 1.9 arcseconds

Rayleigh Limit
Rayleigh Limit = 5.45/D inches = 138/Dmm. Rayleigh Limit is a measure defining the limit at which two components can be clearly identified as separate components. It defines the distance between the centers of two Airy disks where the maximum of one is placed over the minimum of the other. The Rayleigh limit of a 6"/150mm telescope is 5.45/6" or 138/150 = 0.91 arcseconds.

Maximum Useful Magnification
As a rule of thumb, a telescope's maximum useful magnification is 50 times its aperture in inches (or twice its aperture in millimeters).

Astro Links

Telescope Calculator
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/telescope-calculator/

ISS Tracking Tool (ISS Transit the Sun or Moon)
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/skyandtelescope-coms-satellite-transit-tracker/#

https://skyandtelescope.org/wp-content/plugins/observing-tools/satellite_transit/tracker.html

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/

Phases of the Moon Tool
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/the-phase-of-the-moon/#

Understanding Resolution
https://www.cloudynights.com/documents/Understanding%20Resolution.pdf

Acuter Maksy 60 Sun Observatory

Acuter Maksy 60 Sun Observatory
Solar preliminaries began with the new Acuter Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope on Thursday May 12th 2022 when the daytime sky momentarily cleared forming cloud opening sucker holes for astro imaging and study. The Acuter telescope has already received the solar filter and sun finderscope.

Left: setting the exposure with the correct application of filters is an important step to setting up the Solar Observatory with the minuscule Maksutov 60mm telescope. 

Experiments began with image scale, formatting and processing. The first setup is from the indoor observatory viewing through window glass and imaging with processing to remove window glass. The stock 20mm shows the entire solar disk, albeit on the small side at 37.5x while other oculars and a barlow zoom in on the edge for prominences and solar flares. The Acuter 60mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope is very high resolution and a perfect candidate for serving as one of the primary solar telescopes at the solar observatory.

Acuter Mak 60mm Star Test

Acuter Mak 60mm Star Test

Star Test - when sweeping the sky to locate the planets, many stars passed through the FOV. This was surprising as usually the fog, mist, upper atmospheric haze, light and air pollution severely limit any number of stars seen. It was decided to do the star test, to look at the optical figure of the new Acuter 60mm Maksutov (Maksy) telescope. I was not expecting too much but the test was a real surprise, looking like the perfect depiction from a book showing symmetrical perfect concentric rings. How is that possible?

The telescope is definitely a keeper! If a telescope's collimation is perfect and the atmosphere is transparent and still enough, the focused image of a star will be very much like a circular dot of light. The star test was picture perfect! It's a good thing too - there are no adjustment calibration points visible on the telescope. The existing calibration at this level of precision will enable the Acuter Mak 60 telescope to have the potential to become an instrument of high resolution. On days and nights of steady seeing conditions, it will be interesting to run such tests of resolution on images of the Sun and Moon. In the future, the connection of a CMOS camera will show images of the optical alignment.

Basic Star Testing

Acuter 60mm Maksutov Tips & Techniques

At left, the Celestron Nexstar 6SE. To the right, the new Acuter Maksy 60. Note: the light blue Maksutov does not have a conventional finderscope but rather uses two sighting bumps on the left side of the tube.

THE MINUSCULE MAK SERIES

Acuter 60mm Maksutov First Tips & Techniques

* Periodically check the tripod legs as they may need tightening.

* The frosted projection eyepiece will have a significantly different focus compared to the 20mm eyepiece.

* The frosted projection eyepiece shows the image in 1:1, i.e with no magnification as there are no magnifying lenses present, just a flat piece of glass. The projected image from the telescope is like prime focus, there is no extra magnification, i.e like a 1-inch FL eyepiece, the 750mm focal length will give approximately 29.5x.

* The telescope mount takes a standard 1/4th-inch camera mount/tripod screw

* At a pound weight, the lightweight telescope is perfect for attaching to other telescopes, to have a second powerful telescope, to use as a special finder telescope, to use with an autoguiding setup, to have a second telescope running at the same time but with different parameters (image scale, accessories, etc.).

* Use one of the three mounting holes and vary the position to help balance the telescope.

* The telescope does not need a finderscope, just use the two raised ticks to sight along the tube during the daytime. For nighttime use, dim illumination such as a nearby astro red light can provide just enough light to see it. You can get these on a headband, flashlight or as a nightlight. The red light will help keep the eyes dark adapted.

* When using the accessory solar sun filter, it normally goes on tight and then has an additional two screws to hold it as a safety feature.

* Try using lightweight aspheric EPs to maintain the telescopes lightweight.

* The minuscule 60mm aperture is ideal for viewing through a swath of window glass as it sees a smaller deviated angular wavefront thus making the image more sharp and clear.

* To better balance the telescope with a mobile phone and get greater tripod mount stability, move it back over and above the OTA Optical Tube Assembly.

* When using a mobile phone, use a remote bluetooth shutter. This will prevent the need to touch the phone screen when taking a photo and avoids vibration that degrades the image.

* Keep the side educational cover on to prevent dust from entering the inside.

Acuter Maksy 60 First Light

Acuter Maksy 60 Telescope

New First Light Celebration!
It didn't take long to set up the new Acuter 60mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope and commemorate First Light - about 5 minutes time in all. Wednesday, May 11, 2022, on the day of arrival, marks new First Light for the minuscule-in-size but massive-in-power telescope.

The flowers seen above, purchased online in Beijing China, commemorate the special event.

Left: setting together, the larger Celestron Nexstar 6SE at left and the cute Acuter 2.4-inch Maksutov. The powerful and ultimately cute Acuter 60mm Maksy is the "cat's pajamas and pulchritudinous."

The telescope was used with the supplied 20mm eyepiece and gave a spectacular high resolution view. Using the stock tripod and components, the scope was set on the new Observatory Platform indoors and looking through window glass, focused on a very distant building located by the mountains. The 60mm (2.4-inch diameter) aperture view resolution was incredible, showing no aberrations, excellent color, and detail on individual building bricks. For a comparison, the Celestron Nexstar 6SE, known also to be a high resolution telescope was set up with a high quality 25mm eyepiece and pointed on the same building. The views were practically identical with the 6SE showing an image that was ever-so-slightly brighter but not higher in resolution.

Acuter Optics Telescope Arrival

Acuter Optics 60mm Telescope Arrival
The order for the Acuter 60mm Maksutov "Maksy" telescope was placed on Monday May 9th, 2022 and specified delivery was promised as soon as Wednesday May 11. Early Wednesday morning the the telescope arrived and a box appeared outside in front of the door, just as planned. A minuscule telescope has a minuscule box as can be seen in the photo in the unboxing sequence. Just as it always happens with a new telescope, the weather turned to overcast with heavy rain, predicted for the next two weeks!

Precision
The first thing noticed was the great attention to precision detail in the manufacturing process. There is not one blemish on this telescope and not one speck of dust on the optics.

Construction
There are no defects and everything works smoothly and perfectly. The eyepieces and 90-degree diagonal just drop into place and are held with adjustable screws. The inserted diagonal is turned to make it tight.

Eyepieces

The 20mm eyepiece supplied appears to be of high quality. A second supplied ocular is really a projection tube for use with the telescope at Prime Focus - an intentionally frosted flat glass for projection of brighter images, for group viewing. The focus will be different when switching from the projection tube to the eyepiece.

Cute Factor
The cute factor for this minuscule telescope is off the charts - this is truly the "cat's pajamas." The light blue color might be a bit deceiving as this is no toy - this is a precision instrument with a high level of manufacturing. Being cute may have something to do with the naming of the company - A Cute / Cuter.

No Finderscope Needed
The telescope kit includes the OTA - optical tube assembly, which has two molded tick marks for "down the tube sighting" and thus no finder telescope is needed. Using the scope on the Moon and brighter deep sky objects should be ideal for this method - "down the tube sighting" and thus no finder telescope is needed. Using the scope on the Moon and brighter day or deep sky objects should be ideal for this method.

Solar Filter

The sun filter is an extra purchase and comes with its own solar finder - a small projection screen that shows the sun when centered. The filter has a very tight fit and has an additional two locking screws. The solar filter is manufactured with the same attention to precision detail and the filter membrane is perfectly flat with no wrinkles, pinholes or defects in the film layer.

Mobile Phone Camera Mount
Included is a cell phone camera mount which very easily attaches with bands around the phone, and can be rotated alongside the OTA to adjust perfect balance and stability.

Table Top Tripod
The small tripod is amazing, steady and solid when placed on a stable surface like a table, counter top, window sill or flat surface. The solid steel legs add stability weight. After the telescope is attached, the motions are smooth with the ball gimbal and completely adjustable tension is set with the small handle directly under the tripod. I was able to set a smooth tracking motion with a little finesse and it can even compensate for the weight of a camera.

Finding a Table
I also immediately dedicated a round table at just the right height to the initial testing and use of the telescope.

Lens Cap
The lens cap is remarkable. It's the first cover I've ever had that's easy to use. It's made from rubber and has a perfect fit. Other telescopes have strange plastic caps that might be interlocking in some scheme or simply fall off.

OTA Weight - Mounting On Other Telescopes
The telescope tube is so light, at around a pound weight, it can mount on other telescopes to act as a second telescope and a guide and tracking scope. This is exactly what's planned when the camera mount arrives for the Celestron Nexstar 6SE. The Acuter Maksutov telescope has standard photographic camera style threads to accept a 1/4" bolt. It can share the mounting resources of other telescopes. With the Nexstar it will suddenly have access to 40,000 goto objects. It can also be used with other tripods. However, I like the "grab n' go" ability, the ease at which it can be carried, the tiny form factor, and the fact that it takes only a few easy minutes to set up. By the time the owner of a computerized GOTO telescope punches in date, time, and location coordinates, the little Maksy is already observing celestial objects.

Overview
The Acuter Maksy 60 is a complete fully functional telescope set with the added benefit of a removable discovery panel which reveals the fascinating internal construction of an advanced Maksutov-Cassegrain optical system and to give an understanding of how it works. This compact and portable telescope is great for observing, learning & taking photos of the stars with your smartphone, to keep a record of your observations. The set includes a 60mm Diameter f=750 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, a 37.5x Eyepiece, a Projection Eyepiece, an Erect-image Diagonal, a Smartphone Adaptor (smartphone not included) and a Table Top Tripod. Supplied in an attractive colour gift box with carrying handle for easy transportation and instructions for use.

Mobile Phone Camera Mount
Included is a cell phone camera mount which very easily attaches with bands around the phone, and can be rotated alongside the OTA to adjust perfect balance and stability.

Table Top Tripod
The small tripod is amazing, steady and solid when placed on a stable surface like a table, counter top, window sill or flat surface. The solid steel legs add stability weight. After the telescope is attached, the motions are smooth with the ball gimbal and completely adjustable tension is set with the small handle directly under the tripod. I was able to set a smooth tracking motion with a little finesse and it can even compensate for the weight of a camera.

Finding a Table
I also immediately dedicated a round table at just the right height to the initial testing and use of the telescope.

Lens Cap
The lens cap is remarkable. It's the first cover I've ever had that's easy to use and stays on the tube. It's made from rubber and has a perfect fit. Other telescopes have strange plastic caps that might be interlocking in some scheme or simply fall off.

OTA Weight - Mounting On Other Telescopes
The telescope tube is so light, at around a pound weight, it can mount on other telescopes to act as a second telescope and a guide and tracking scope. This is exactly what's planned when the camera mount arrives for the Celestron Nexstar 6SE. The Acuter Maksutov telescope has standard photographic camera style threads to accept a 1/4" bolt. It can share the mounting resources of other telescopes. With the Nexstar it will suddenly have access to 40,000 goto objects. It can also be used with other tripods. However, I like the "grab n' go" ability, the ease at which it can be carried, the tiny form factor, and the fact that it takes only a few easy minutes to set up. By the time the owner of a computerized GOTO telescope punches in date, time, and location coordinates, the little Maksy is already observing celestial objects.

Overview
The Acuter Maksy 60 is a complete fully functional telescope set with the added benefit of a removable discovery panel which reveals the fascinating internal construction of an advanced Maksutov-Cassegrain optical system and to give an understanding of how it works. This compact and portable telescope is great for observing, learning & taking photos of the stars with your smartphone, to keep a record of your observations. The set includes a 60mm Diameter f=750 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, a 37.5x Eyepiece, a Projection Eyepiece, an Erect-image Diagonal, a Smartphone Adaptor (smartphone not included) and a Table Top Tripod. Supplied in an attractive colour gift box with carrying handle for easy transportation and instructions for use.

Copies

After being in production for a couple years, several copies of the telescope are being made. Some of these have major differences and may have compromising optical performances. For example, the high quality AMICI prism is replaced with a lesser light transmission flat mirror. The mount is cheapened. Some versions have completely different mounts, either a tripod or Dobsonian single arm mount. One version has a matching light blue finderscope and another has a large black finderscope. Some include an extra eyepiece 10mm without the frosted glass projection eyepiece.

Specifications
Taiwan Name - Mini Horse Multifunctional Life Telescope
Acuter Optics Telescope Name - Acuter Maksy 60
Design - Maksutov-Cassegrain Catadioptric

Diameter - 60mm (2.4")
Focal Ratio - f/12.5
Focal Length - 750mm (29.5")

Optical Coating: Multi Layer Film
Eyepiece 20mm - 37.5x
OTA Length - 25 cm (8.25"), 10" with 90-deg. Diagonal
OTA Outer Diameter - 82mm (3.2")
OTA Weight - 467 grams (1 lb)
Tripod Weight - 360 grams (.8 lb)
Tripod Height - 20 cm (7.9")
Light Gathering - 73.5 times the naked eye
Assembled Height - 30.5mm (12" To Diagonal Top)
Box Contents - OTA, Tabletop Tripod Mount, 20mm Eyepiece (37.5x), 90-deg. Diagonal, Lens Cap, Instruction Manual, Mobile Phone Adapter, Frosted Glass Projection Eyepiece

Acuter Optics (Chinese)

Eyepiece Magnification Guide

EP        Power    2x Barlow   Focal Reducer

6mm    125x       250x             62.5x

10mm  75x         150x             37.5

20mm  37.5x        75x             18.8

25mm  30x           60x             15

30mm  25x           50x             12.5

40mm  19x           38x               9.5

Prime Focus = 29.5x

2x Barlow Projection = 59x

1/2x Focal Reducer = f/12.5 (750mm FL) to f/6.25 (375mm FL)

2 Stacked Focal Reducers = f/3.1 (187.5mm)

Acuter 60mm Maksutov Telescope

Acuter 60mm Maksutov Telescope

When are smaller and smaller telescopes desired over larger ones? When they are as cute as the cat's pajamas and created with high resolution precision optics for outstanding performance. Plus, they are true grab and go telescopes with an OTA weighting only 1lb. for ultimate portability and effortless fast setup.

Above: 60mm aperture Maksutov–Cassegrain telescope

Overview

The Maksutov, abbreviated "Mak" is a catadioptric telescope design that combines a spherical mirror with a mildly negative meniscus lens in a design that takes advantage of all the surfaces being nearly "spherically symmetrical". The negative lens is usually full diameter and placed at the entrance pupil of the telescope (commonly called a "corrector plate" or "meniscus corrector shell").

Corrects Aberrations
The design corrects the problems of off-axis aberrations such as coma found in reflecting telescopes while also correcting chromatic aberration.

The Invention
It was patented in 1941 by Russian optician Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov. He based his design on the idea behind the Schmidt camera of using the spherical errors of a negative lens to correct the opposite errors in a spherical primary mirror. The design is most commonly seen in a Cassegrain variation, with an integrated secondary, that can use all-spherical elements, thereby simplifying fabrication. Maksutov telescopes have been sold on the amateur market since the 1950s.

LOG Sunday May 8 2022

LOG Sunday May 8 2022

Nexstar Observatory
We have now collected a total of 29 recycled distilled water bottles to be used for making the back side extension of the indoor/outdoor platform extension. The distilled water bottle is ten times the strength of a regular water bottle. Further design indicates ten per row are needed with 4 rows for a total of 40 bottles required to complete the project. The cache increases at one per day and we will have enough by the end of eleven days. "You will be in the green world."

Orion CT80

House of telescopes! After a period of about 2 years, the Orion CT80 was stored in the shipping box, and was a situation of basically not knowing how to mount it. Today, I've become so familiar with mountings, it was a piece of cake establishing how to mount the OTA onto a tripod and also how to attach a finderscope. The CT80 comes without the finderscope, without the mount, and with no accessories like EPs or focal extensions so added eyepieces will come into focus.

Left: the Orion CT80 came with only the OTA tube. This weekend, a finderscope, finderscope ring mount, dovetail shoe, and HF-3110 tripod were added for standalone functionality. A future order will include a 90-degree diagonal with 99% transmission.

Tripod HF-3110

Free tripod! There's an interesting story around this tripod. About six years ago I had the need to mount my camera on a tripod and visited the night market to find one. I chose the best and largest available at that time. A local friend bartered with the merchants to get the price down so it was a very good deal. The tripod has four long extensions so it can raise a camera or telescope a good distance off the ground, and the best features are low cost, small size and ultra lightweight. It has its own bag and is ideal for portability. So this tripod is excellent for initial use with the small Orion CT80 OTA and the upcoming Acuter Maksutov.

Acuter Maksutov Telescope

The minuscule mak! Monday is the big day! Coming soon is a new Acuter Maksutov 60mm small light blue telescope (Maksy), tentatively to be ordered on Monday, May 8, 2022.

Left: the minuscule maksutov will be ordered without the matching blue finderscope. It will however, contain the very high quality sun filter,  sun finder, and AMICI prism in the 90-degree diagonal for upright and correct orientation views.

While the Orion CT80 OTA white metal tube is 14.7-inches long and 3.25 lbs, the Acuter Maksy is only a third of that weight and its plastic tube is only 8-inches long. It should work better with the HF-3110 tripod due to lighter weight and it also will mount alongside the Celestron main observatory telescope OTA, putting less stress on the mount and motors in the Nexstar 6SE. The popularity of the small high resolution Maksy with exceptional optics is spreading like wildfire and is now sold out at most places. One key feature is the accessory roster, which lists a solar filter claimed to be comprised of high quality Baader film and mounted with its own solar finder. With the right techniques and accessories (CMOS astro imaging camera, processing computers), computer processing software power, additional h-alpha and spectroscopic filters, solar results could be spectacular for the minuscule Mak. Plus, when attached to the main observatory telescope, the telescopes will share guiding, tracking and all the advanced resources provided by the Celestron Nexstar GOTO mount.

New Observatory Naming

It does seem that Nexstar Observatory has caught on for a new name. The previous name of NTO Nexstar Telescope Observatory is retained but not being used in its entirety at this time. The nice thing about NO or NTO is it can be reconfigured for many additional applications, indoor, outdoor, through glass, no glass (lunar, planetary, deep sky, solar, nature & conservation).

Green Gem Laser Finder

The green gem laser finder on the Nexstar was removed and decommissioned for safety and legal issues.

INDEX

* Nexstar Observatory

* Orion CT80

* Tripod HF-3110

* Acuter Maksutov

* New Observatory Naming

* Green Gem Laserfinder