The Celestron AVX is an inexpensive computerized German equatorial mount that's perfect for beginning astronomers and astrophotographers who don't want to spend money on a more expensive model. Designed with imaging in mind, it offers many of the features astroimaging enthusiasts have come to expect from larger telescope mounts. This includes permanent periodic error correction (PPEC), an autoguider port, and the ability to image across the meridian without a flip.
The AVX also comes with a two-year warranty, which is double that of most competitive go-to telescope mounts. This means you can take your new mount out on the road with confidence, knowing you'll have plenty of time to learn how to use it before putting it back in storage at home.
Like most Celestron GoTo systems, the AVX is easy to set up and align. Once you've polar aligned the mount using a polar scope, balanced your telescope on top, and connected it to the NexStar hand controller, the AVX will prompt you for a guided alignment by centering your optical tube on two or three bright stars. From there, you can start observing celestial objects by pressing buttons on the NexStar+ hand control, which comes preloaded with a database of over 40,000 objects.
The AVX's dual saddle is compatible with narrow CG-5 and third-party Vixen dovetail plates, as well as the wider CGE style. However, it is NOT compatible with Losmandy D format plates, which are a millimeter or so wider than CGE plates.
