The 12 inch Meade Lightbridge is, without doubt, one of the finest all round large aperture astronomy scopes available today - anywhere. And, remarkably, it is also one of the easiest to use. With so many scopes available, these are big claims - but the 12" Lightbridge can meet these claims, with margin to spare.

The value for money per inch of aperture is simply stunning. The optics, the engineering design and execution are just superb. The standard accessories included are nothing less than ideal.

The heart of the Lightbridge is an ultra-modern expression of the classic Newtonian optical system - designed to produce bright, high-contrast images completely free of false colour. The optics are made of Bk-7 glass and feature aluminum mirror coatings with Meade state-of-the-art magnesium fluoride anti-scatter over-coating to provide bright images full of detail.

The 4 part modular construction makes the Lightbridge uniquely easy to set-up and transport. The 12" is a giant scope but it fits comfortably in an estate car. A great feature of the 12 inch model is that the four parts of the system assemble in minutes and are light enough that the telescope truss and mirror drum assembly can be easily carried to and from a garden shed, garage or conservatory to an observing location in your garden by just one person.

The head (see 1) attaches to the mirror drum (3) via the rigid aluminium truss poles (2) and the completed telescope rides on Teflon and machined aluminium bearings supported by the Rocker box (4) and combined azimuth axis (allowing left and right rotation). The head (1) houses the secondary mirror and is equipped with a multi reticule LED electronic finder and superb 2" Crayford zero-backlash eyepiece holder and focusor. Smooth movement and altitude position control is achieved by a special friction control (mounted on rocker box - 4) that engages with the aluminium bearing (on mirror drum - 3).

See FREE eyepiece offer at the top of this page

Diffraction Limited Optics Meade optics consistently outperform telescopes of similar and larger aperture. "Meade Optics Inside" means views that are detailed, crisp and full of contrast.

2" Crayford Machined Aluminum Focuser With 1.25" Adapter Smooth precise focusing is achieved with this classic design. A unique focus tension knob and focus lock design gives complete control over focus.

Built-In Primary Mirror Cooling Fan Bring the telescope into thermal equilibrium quickly and efficiently with the battery powered cooling fan. The fan is mounted to the rear of the "vented" primary mirror cell for fast cool down (see lowermost picture). The mirror cell features a multi-point suspension design that preserves the optical collimation at all altitudes.

Steel RA Roller Bearings Roller bearings make movements smooth and effortless.

Advanced Four-Reticule Red Dot Viewfinder Four reticules and varying brightness controls allow this deluxe finder to adjust to your observing needs - this finder provides a natural and intuitive way to point the telescope to any one of thousands of targets across the Universe.

26mm QXTM Wide Angle 2" Eyepiece The superb included eyepiece has a 2" barrel, and boasts a whopping 70° Apparent Field of View.

So what's so great about the Meade 12" Lightbridge telescope?

The light gathering power of the 12" Lightbridge is truly awesome - this is a fantastic telescope for exploring the deep-sky well beyond our solar system. And just like the other three models in the Lightbridge family, the 12" is a simple joy to use - easy to set up and easy to point. The Multi Reticule LED finder is of the highest specification and makes target finding and pointing simplicity itself (just put any one of the user selectable softly glowing red cursors over the target and look in the eyepiece - it's that simple). Our FREE kit gives you everything you need to start exploring the Universe with this amazing telescope.

In the end it's the optical quality and light gathering power that make all the models of the Lightbridge range outstanding examples of Meade's almost unique ability to put exceptional telescopes into the hands of both casual and keen amateur astronomers at what look like entry-level prices. But by no stretch on the imagination could the 12" Lightbridge be described as an entry-level scope - it's the scope of a lifetime and will provide years of wonder and observing pleasure for all observers.

Taking only a few minutes to set up the telescope is ready to show you literally thousands of targets across the universe - from far away galaxies in orbit around other galaxies 50 or 200 million light years away!

The desolate terrain of the Moon and the surface detail of the planets as well as stars and nebulae, are all within the reach of this amazing instrument's high performance optical system. It's well beyond the scope of our small website to tell you everything about this scope but if you want to know more about the performance and technical specification of this stunning instrument then check out the manufacturer website by clicking here

Meade Lightbridge or click on the PDF brochure link (left).