Project Galileo Meade LX200 10 inch SCT (25.4 cm aperture)Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) from a 16" LX200 (40.64 cm)Jupiter and theGalilean moons through a 10" Meade LX200 telescope (25.4 cm)Meade LX200 inJiamusi University Observatory, Shoot on Sep 27，2017.
The advantage of the LX200 was price for its performance, which was accomplished by using electronics and software to equal the pointing performance of more expensive systems.[2] Software and optical encoders corrected for errors, and the telescope also came with auto-guidingCCD andplanetarium software.[2]
In 1992, Meade launched the LX200 series with 8" (20.32 cm) and a 10" (25.4 cm)Schmidt–Cassegrain models on computerizedaltazimuth mounts.[1][2] Two larger models, a 12" (30.48 cm) and a 16" (40.64 cm), quickly followed. The original version was later informally named the "classic" LX200 as newer upgraded versions replaced it.[3] The first of these was the LX200GPS, which featuredglobal positioning system electronics.[3] A 360 mm (14 in) LX200GPS was later added to the line.[citation needed]
In 2005, a related series was introduced with the even higher end RCX400 (later renamed LX400-ACF), with new optics and a motorized focus/collimation system, and with upgraded fork mount electronics.[4] These were available in the same 8" (20.32 cm) to 16" (40.64) size range on the new fork mount, and the 16" (40.64 cm) optical tube assembly (OTA), along with a new 20" (50.8 cm) OTA, were available on a newGerman equatorial mount. These were all f/8 optical systems, costing up toUS$50,000 (equivalent to $80,499 in 2024) for the 20" (50 cm) on the German equatorial mount.[5]
An f/10 version of the new optics later replaced the optics of the existing LX200GPS fork mount models, with the new product line now called the LX200R (later renamed LX200-ACF).[3] The revised optics are calledadvanced coma free (ACF) after a lawsuit by Star Instruments and RC Optical Systems disallowed implying that they were based onRitchey–Chrétien optics.[6]
In September 2012, an amateur astronomer used an LX200GPS to record an impact on the planet Jupiter.[7]
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