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Curtin University
Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy

Optical Telescope

Meade LX-200R

Meade LX-200RTo aid students who are interested in pursuing studies in optical astronomy, Curtin has a state-of-the-art Meade LX-200R 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector telescope.

The Meade LX-200R telescope has GPS alignment and electronic levelling sensors. The Autostar II controller database has a library of over 145,000+ objects and can automatically track celestial objects. The database includes the New General Catalog (NGC), Index Catalog (IC) and Messier Catalog making it easy to find celestial objects such as the Orion Nebula (M42), the globular cluster Omega Centauri (NGC5139) or the Jewel Box (NGC4755, kappa Crucis).

The telescope is planned to be installed in a dome with remote operation capability and, when fully operational, will provide a range of learning opportunities.


Questar

Questar 3.5Curtin Physics Department also has a classic 3.5" Questar telescope. The Questar is a Maksutov Cassegrain Catadioptric telescope on an equatorial mount. With a width of 90mm and overall height of 360mm it is ideal for demonstrations.