Starbeam's unique flip mirror feature provides comfort and flexibility for viewing at any angle from straight through to 90°. Viewed straight through, you see the natural sky with a 10 arc-minute (1/3 Moon diameter) "red-star" showing your scope's position. When your scope is pointed high, flip the mirror into position for more comfortable viewing. Viewed this way, the sky orientation matches a refractor or SCT's image. The size, color and adjustable brightness of the "red-star" makes it easy to see against any twilight to dark sky background.
With its 39mm aperture, the projected image is easily seen any distance behind Starbeam, whether 2 inches or 2 feet! The finely made glass lens acts as a beamsplitter to combine the natural sky background with the superimposed red pointing "star." The first lens surface acts as a collimating mirror so the "red-star" stays stationary against the sky background regardless of how it is viewed. It's 6-arc-minute accuracy over any eye position allows you to pin-point objects -- even with high-power eyepieces in the telescope. A compensating curve is designed into the second lens surface to provide the normal sky background view and is multi-coated to eliminate double images.
Elegant in design and form, Starbeam is custom machined completely from aluminum and then black anodized, even down to the "push-pull" thumb screws. No tools are required to align Starbeam with your telescope. Two base channels are available, one for Tele Vue telescopes (except Ranger) and one for scopes of 4" or larger tube diameter. Mounting hardware included.
This version of Starbeam comes with the Tele Vue Quick Release Bracket and the Tele Vue Dovetail. The Quick Release Bracket easily mounts to channels in Tele Vue ring mounts and mount rings. The Dovetail is mounted to the base of the Starbeam.
The Starbeam can quickly be swapped in and out of the Quick Release Bracket for storage or transfer to different scopes. The Dovetail also allows this Starbeam to mount on Orion and Sky-Watcher finder shoes as well as on some Vixen scopes not made in Japan. It may be necessary to remove the "stop" screw from the bottom of the Dovetail to fit non-Tele Vue finder brackets.
The Quick Release Bracket accepts Vixen, Orion, and Sky-Watcher "stalk" type finders as well as the Starbeam.
