Basic Information about the CGEM Series
| In December of 2008, Celestron introduced a new line of computerized
scopes - the CGEM Series. CGEM is a step up on capacity and stability
from the Advanced Series with GoTo (AS-GT) - positioning it between the
AS-GT and CGE in price and capabilities. Utilizing a NexStar hand control, the
CGEM
series consists of a German equatorial mount (GEM) on a steel-legged tripod. The series includes 8, 9 1/4
and 11 inch SCT models. The mount
is also sold without an optical tube. The computerized hand control is a version of the NexStar hand control
with the latest GEM-specific firmware. This hand control responds to the same
PC commands (via the RS-232 port on the bottom) as other NexStar-driven
scopes and thus could be used with any program offering a setting for
the NexStar GPS, for example. The mount includes a real-time clock
to keep the date/time settings required for alignment and can also use the CN-16 GPS module for precise
time and location information. The mount also includes a standard autoguider port.
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The CGEM series provides a very portable and stable platform for a wide
variety of optical tubes. It is an excellent platform for both visual and
photographic work. For those looking for a more stable
astrophotography platform, particularly for imaging with a larger SCT
optical tube, the CGEM is recommend over the AS-GT.
Following are the basic statistics for the series:
|
|
CGEM 800 |
CGEM 925 |
CGEM
1100 |
|
Aperture |
8" (203mm) |
9.25"
(235mm) |
11"
(279mm) |
|
Focal
Length |
2032mm |
2350mm |
2800mm |
|
Focal
Ratio |
f/10 |
f/10 |
f/10 |
|
Eyepiece |
25mm
Plössl |
25mm
Plössl |
40mm
Plössl |
|
Max Mag |
400x |
470x |
550x |
|
Max FOV |
0.9° |
0.74° |
0.6° |
|
Magnitude
Limit |
13.3 |
13.5 |
14 |
|
Resolution Limit |
0.7 arcsec |
0.6 arcsec |
0.5 arcsec |
|
Finder |
6x30 |
6x30 |
9x50 |
|
Weight |
88 lbs.
(40 kg) |
113 lbs.
(51.4 kg) |
120 lbs.
(54.5 kg) |
Additional information is found on Celestron's web site (www.celestron.com).
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