Meade 8-inch SCT (Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope)

The 8-inch Meade SCT is micro-processor controlled, so it can track the motion of the skies in both the Alt-az (altitude - azimuth) mode and in the polar alignment mode.   It is shown here on its tripod in the polar alignment mode with the flip mirror, filter wheel and SBIG ST-4 CCD camera installed on the eyepiece end and a counter-weight installed to better achieve a balance.  The telescope purchase was partially funded from the sale of a 4-inch, f/15 refracting telescope and a 6-inch classical Cassegrain reflector, which were mounted in tandem on an equitorial mount with its an electrical drive system.   The tandem telescope system was a gift to Moravian College in 1989 by the late Dr. Jame Q. Gant, Jr., M.D., of Washington, DC.