The large aperture of 185mm gives this telescope an inherent advantage in light gathering power, resolution, brightness and contrast, allowing the photographer to capture more light and present more details and brighter objects in the image. With more light entering the astrograph, the limiting magnitude can reach 13.1.

The Askar 185APO adopts an air-spaced triplet APO lens design, which includes an ED glass element. The Askar APO series makes use of special optical designs and multiple lens elements to correct chromatic aberration, naturally ensuring superior object detail and color accuracy.

In the refractor element structure, increasing the number of lens elements and designing lens combinations can effectively improve the correction of chromatic aberration. However, this also leads to increased manufacturing costs and design complexity.

ED glass, also known as low dispersion glass, is a type of optical glass specially designed to reduce chromatic aberration.

As a large aperture, long focal ratio telescope, the Askar 185APO was designed with portability in mind. Thanks to the retractable lens tube design, the minimum overall length is only 1081mm, the net weight is 14.9kg, and the gross weight is 17.2kg (including handle, tube ring and tail plate). swallow).

Each example of the Askar 185APO comes with a unique name ring for identification.

The retractable design of the sunshade, together with the enlarged locking screws, offers convenient use.

The Askar 185APO has an integrated tube ring design, with an overall weight of 2.3kg. Thumb screws allow for easy opening and closing of tube rings. Meanwhile, the base of the tube rings is raised, providing more space.

The Askar 185APO has a 400mm extended handle with a special slotted design, making it also a base for installing a seeker.

The dovetail plate of the Askar 185APO is the Losmandy standard, compatible with most equatorial mounts and bases available on the market. The dovetail plate is designed with multiple holes, which makes it easier to adjust the position. The length of the dovetail plate has been extended to 400mm, which makes it more convenient for balancing on the stand.

It's worth pointing out that the Askar 185APO's rear lens tube has a retractable integrated design. We strengthen the overall stability and ensure that the optical axis will not be affected when the lens tube is extended, thus ensuring image quality. The retractable part also features a rudder-type locking ring that makes it easy to tighten or release.

When the lens tube is contracted, the Askar 185APO can be used with a binoviewer for visual observation. When the lens tube is extended, the 185APO can be attached to a specific 0.8x reducer or 1.0x flattener for imaging or a diagonal and eyepiece for observation.

As for the firer, the Askar 185APO features a 3.5-inch dual-speed rack-and-pinion rigid firer, which can be compatible with most motorized firers available on the market. A high-precision scale is printed on the 100 mm focusing travel. The entire firer barrel is made by CNC machining, with an internal anti-glare design and matte paint, providing additional measures to eliminate stray light.

There are two finder scope bases on either side of the focuser, which eliminates the need for disassembly when changing the location of the finder scope and provides additional locations for mounting other astronomical accessories.

The rear of the focuser features a large, high-precision 360° rotator, along with precise scales for convenient adjustment and to save rotation angles, allowing for precise rotation. It is also equipped with an enlarged rotator locking screw that can be easily fixed even under high loads.

As for visual observation, the focuser interface on the rear is equipped with a 1.25"/2" adapter, so the 185APO can easily achieve focus when connected to 1.25 diagonals " or 2" or to various eyepieces. Thanks to the retractable lens tube design, it can also be connected to a binoviewer for visual observation.

The Askar 185APO has two optional accessories: a 1x flattener and a 0.8x reducer. Both accessories feature an integrated 2" filter thread for direct filter mounting and come with M68/M54/M48 adapters for easy connection.

The 1x flattener does not change the focal ratio of the telescope itself. After connecting it to the Askar 185APO, it still maintains a focal ratio of f/7. The flattener corrects field curvature and coma, resulting in flatter field edges and finer star points.

The 0.8x reducer can bring the focal ratio of the Askar 185APO to f/5.6. This is a standard gearbox with field flattening capability. A shorter focal ratio allows the OTA to have a wider field of view and faster exposure times, making it suitable for capturing large areas of nebulae, star clusters and faint, fast-moving celestial objects.

Specifications

• Opening size: 185mm
• Focal length: 1295mm
• Focal ratio: f/7
• Objective lens: Air-spaced APO triplet (with an ED glass)
• Total length: 1081 mm (with contracted sun visor), 1222 mm (with extended sun visor)
• Retractable rear lens tube length: 95mm
• OTA weight: 14.9 kg
• Gross weight (including tube rings and dovetail plate): 17.2 kg
• Rear Thread Type: 2"/1.25" Visual Adapters
• Items included in the standard package: One OTA 185APO, one pair of tube rings, one handle, one Losmandy Askar 400mm dovetail plate, one Oxford cloth case, one manual