Sky-Watcher EQ8 Mount - No Tripod

The Sky-Watcher EQ8 is the most advanced Sky-Watcher mount with a staggering payload of 50kg and sub arcsecond tracking accuracy, the ultimate choice for professional astrophotographers aiming to push their gear to the limit. This monolithic mount has oversized gears and a non rotatable counterweight bar for greater stability, the D style saddle is 200mm long for a more stable connection with telescopes and the grip is secured by three knobs.

The exceptional SynScan Go-To system allows full control of both R.A. and Dec. axes with 9 slew speeds and 5 arcminute pointing precision, allowing you to quickly and accurately locate objects across the night sky. The Go-To system can automatically slew the telescope on command toward planets, stars, nebulae, galaxies, clusters and much more. The SynScan has 42,900 memorised celestial objects for an amazing journey in the night sky. The Deep Sky Tour function suggests a list of the most interesting deep sky objects currently visible, so even the novice astronomer can easily observe faint objects at the touch of a button.

Once achieving alignment, the patented Freedom Find™ dual encoders will then keep track of your position to within 1.2 arcminutes. The mount will retain alignment even after releasing the clutches and manually pointing the scope to a new part of the sky. A home position can be stored within the SynScan controller and returned to from any configuration, two home position sensors will guide the mount as part of the shutdown procedure, storing the alignment details for quick setup upon your next observing session.

The EQ8 is equipped with two SNAP ports for dual control of camera shutter release. Working with the SynScan hand control’s “Camera Control” function, a user can take batch exposures in up to 8 groups of “Exposure-time & Frames”. An indexer on the R.A. worm gear keeps track of its current position, so that the Periodic Error inherent to all worm gear driven mounts can be learned and permanently corrected for. These features make the Sky-Watcher EQ8 a fantastic partner to high focal length telescopes and astrophotographers alike.

SynScan Features:

• Database with 42,900+ objects
• Messier, Caldwell, NGC, IC & SAO catalogues, Named Stars, Double Stars, Variable Stars, Named Stars
• One, Two and Three Stars or Brightest Star Alignment
• Autoguiding feature for astrophotography
• Pointing Accuracy Enhancement feature (PAE)
• Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PPEC)
• Unknown Object Identification feature
• Pointing accuracy up to 5 arc min
• Tracking rates: Sidereal, Lunar, Solar
• Slewing speeds: 1x, 2x, 16x, 32x, 64x, 128x, 400x, 500x, 600x, 800x (3.4°/sec)
• Motor type: DC servo motors