Explore Scientific ED80 Essential Series Air-Spaced Triplet Refractor Telescope (Bundle)

ED80 Triplet Optics: A 480mm f/6 Apochromat with HOYA FCD1 Glass

The heart of this package is the ED80 refractor, a true apochromat designed for crisp, color-pure images. Its air-spaced triplet objective lens combines genuine HOYA FCD1 ED glass with proprietary EMD enhanced multi-layer deposition coatings on all optical surfaces. This design virtually eliminates false color (chromatic aberration), ensuring that stars appear as sharp points of light against a dark background even on bright targets.

With an 80mm aperture and a 480mm focal length, the resulting f/6 focal ratio is a versatile sweet spot for wide-field astrophotography of large nebulae and galaxies. The diffraction-limited optical system provides stunning contrast, making it an exceptional instrument for capturing fine details on the Moon, the rings of Saturn, or the brightest Messier deep-sky objects.

iEXOS-100-02 Mount: 19 lb Capacity with PMC-Eight GoTo Control

The iEXOS-100-02 is a modern German equatorial mount engineered for both portability and precision. At its core is the PMC-Eight motion control system, which uses eight independent CPUs for responsive slewing and reliable tracking accuracy essential for long-exposure astrophotography. With built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, you can control the mount wirelessly from a tablet using the free ExploreStars app, accessing a database of thousands of celestial objects.

Explore Scientific's 2026 catalog rates the mount at 19 lbs for visual use and 15 lbs for photography, with the site counting telescope, accessories and counterweights together. The 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) ED80 OTA leaves room for a camera, but add up the counterweights you actually use when imaging. For advanced users, the system is fully ASCOM-compatible, allowing it to integrate with most popular astronomy software. The bundle includes two standard 1 kg counterweights and two supplemental 2.2 lb counterweights for balancing.

• Multi-Processor Control: The PMC-Eight system delegates tasks across eight CPUs, resulting in superior responsiveness, efficiency, and astoundingly fast timing intervals for smooth tracking.
• Wireless Freedom: Align your telescope, navigate the stars, and learn about tens of thousands of objects using the ExploreStars app on Windows, Android, Amazon Fire, and Apple tablets.
• Power Limitation: The included battery pack, which requires 8 C-cell batteries, provides less than two hours of operation. For extended imaging sessions, an external lithium-ion power bank or AC adapter is recommended.

Imaging-Ready Corrector: The ES-FF2F5/F7 Field Flattener

Refractor telescopes naturally exhibit field curvature, which can cause stars at the edge of an astrophoto to appear out of focus and smeared. This bundle directly addresses this by including an Explore Scientific ES-FF2F5/F7 field flattener, which corrects that curvature toward the edges of the frame.

This corrector is specifically designed for refractors with focal ratios between f/5 and f/7, making it a perfect match for the ED80's f/6 optics. It has a 2-inch barrel that slides into the 2" focuser, has fully multi-coated optics and 38 mm of clear aperture, and does not change the telescope's native 480mm focal length, preserving your wide field of view. Note that this accessory is for photographic use only and is not intended for visual observing.

Connecting Your Camera: A 2" Focuser and 55mm Back Focus

This ED80 is equipped with a 2" rack-and-pinion focuser, providing a solid and reliable platform for attaching your camera and imaging train. The included field flattener slides into the focuser on its 2-inch barrel and carries a T-ring thread (M42x0.75) so a T-ring can attach a DSLR or a dedicated astronomy camera.

Allow 55mm (+/-2mm) of spacing between the back of the flattener and the camera sensor. This standard back focus is easily achieved with most DSLRs (using a standard T-ring) and dedicated astronomy cameras (using a common set of M42 extension tubes).

OTA Build and Mechanics: A 3.4 kg Tube with Vixen Dovetail

The ED80 optical tube is designed for portability and ease of use. Weighing only 3.4 kg (7.5 lbs) and measuring 475mm in length with its dew shield retracted, it is an ideal grab-and-go instrument that is easy to mount and balance. The tube assembly comes with a pre-installed Vixen-style dovetail bar, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of mounts, including the included iEXOS-100-02.

A built-in sliding dew shield helps to block stray light and prevent moisture from forming on the objective lens during long nights. The telescope also includes a pre-installed Hybrid Finder Scope Base, which accepts most Vixen, Synta, and Celestron-style finder scope brackets.

Beyond Imaging: Using the ED80 for Visual Astronomy

While this bundle is optimized for astrophotography, the ED80 is also an exceptional visual instrument. Its apochromatic optics provide high-contrast views with virtually no false color of the Moon, planets and bright deep-sky objects.

To switch to visual use, simply remove the field flattener from the optical train. Insert a 2" star diagonal and an eyepiece (neither is part of this package) into the focuser, and you're ready for a night of stargazing. The precise tracking of the iEXOS-100-02 mount will keep objects centered in the eyepiece, allowing you to relax and enjoy the view at high magnification.

Getting Started: Your First Night with the ED80 Bundle

This integrated system is designed for a straightforward setup process. After assembling the tripod, attach the iEXOS-100-02 mount head and level it using the built-in bubble level. Mount the 3.4 kg ED80 OTA using its Vixen dovetail, and then balance the setup by adjusting the position of the four included counterweights.

For polar alignment, you can use the built-in polar sight hole to center Polaris. Once powered on, connect your tablet to the mount's WiFi network and launch the ExploreStars app. The app will guide you through a simple 2-star or 3-star alignment process, after which you can command the mount to slew to any of the tens of thousands of objects in its database.