Celestron
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Optical instruments |
| Founded | 1960s |
| Headquarters | Torrance, CA |
| Key people |
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| Products | Telescopes and other optical / mechanical devices |
| Website | Celestron website |
Celestron is a company that manufactures and imports telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories for their products.
Contents |
[edit] Origins and History
Celestron started out in the 1950s as Valor Electronics, an electronics firm founded by Tom Johnson.[1] Johnson became involved with telescopes when he built a 6" reflecting telescope for his two sons. By 1964 he had founded "Celestron Pacific" as a division of Valor Electronics[2] offering Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes from 4" to 22". In 1970 Celestron introduced its "C8" 8" diameter 2032 mm focal length, ƒ10 telescope, the first of a new line of telescopes built using methods developed by Celestron to produce Schmidt-Cassegrains at a high volume and low cost.[1] These models made significant inroads into the amateur astronomical and educational communities. Celestron was acquired by Tasco in 1997 and almost went out of business when Tasco folded in 2001.
In early 2003 Celestron's rival, Meade Instruments, attempted a takeover but a bankruptcy court allowed the sale of the company back to its original owners. The company had been U.S. owned until April 2005 when it was acquired by SW Technology Corporation, a Delaware company and affiliate of Synta Technology Corporation in Taiwan. Synta is a manufacturer of astronomy equipment and related components.
[edit] Products
Celestron was the first large scale commercial manufacturer of the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, introducing its "C8" 8" diameter 2032 mm focal length, ƒ10 telescope in the mid-1960s. The telescope, with its trademark matte orange tube (changed to glossy black in 1980, and back to semi-gloss orange in 2006), and double-fork equatorial mount, has been a popular large aperture, compact design.[citation needed]
Telescopes include the CGE, CGEM, CPC, NexStar, Omni, Onyx, AstroMaster, Ambassador, TravelScope, and PowerSeeker product lines. These range from large computerized reflectors with GPS to decorative/casual viewing telescopes with brass tube refractors on wood mounts.
Celestron products (as of 2010) include:
- 5", 6", 8", 9.25", 11", and 14" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (the number denoting the aperture) on German equatorial mounts (all) or fork mounts (C8, C9.25, C11), with most benefiting from GoTo control.
- A range of 8", 9.25", 11", and 14" modified Schmidt-Cassegrains with a more advanced optical design
- A range of 2.4 to 6-inch (150 mm) refractor telescopes.
- 6 to 10-inch (250 mm) traditional reflector telescopes on German equatorial mounts.
- SkyScout, similar to the Meade mySky product - an astronomical sky finder.
- Digital, Biological, and Stereo viewing microscopes
- Binoculars and Spotting scopes
- Various mounts
- Numerous eyepiece lines, including both simple Plossl and complex wide-field designs, as well as barlows.[clarification needed]
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Celestron NexStar 114 telescope
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Celestron C8 telescope
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An Omni XLT120 achromatic refractor
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Celestron NexStar 130SLT Goto telescope
.JPG)
Celestron telescopes offer the option to use computerized location of astronomical objects as well as mounts that will aim themselves at any given object, a technology known as GoTo. Most of the computerized models can be connected to an external computer via an RS-232 cable, allowing them to be controlled by a third-party astronomy program or connected to a GPS receiver. GPS receivers are useful for programming the telescope with its precise location and time, which allows the telescope to point more accurately.
Some motorized telescopes sold during the mid 80s to early 90s, including the Celestron Compustar(r) which used a form of GoTo technology, were not programmed to allow for dates after 2000; making some Celestron products susceptible to the Y2K bug. However, a third party chip to update the computer is available for some products.
[edit] Competition with Meade
Since their founding in 1972, Meade Instruments has been one of Celestron's chief rivals. Design, sizing, introduction, and pricing of each company's products lines and models have been in response to their competition with each other.[citation needed] There has been litigation over infringement of patents between the two companies, one example being with regard to GoTo technology.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Plotner, Tammy (August 1, 2008). "Celestron Telescope". Universe Today. http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/telescopes/celestron-telescope/. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
- ^ philharrington.net "Nights of Future Passed - Celestron Pacific". http://www.philharrington.net/old60.htm philharrington.net.
- ^ "Meade, Celestron Settle Patent Lawsuits". Bloomberg. Bloomberg News. July 09, 2004. http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/09/business/fi-rup9.8. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
[edit] External links
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