11-inch Telescopes (279mm)

What is a 11-inch telescope?

An 11-inch telescope is a robust astronomical instrument that boasts a substantial aperture of 279mm, enabling exceptional light-gathering capabilities and high-resolution imaging. The telescope’s computerized control system streamlines object location and tracking, making it user-friendly for novice stargazers. The focal length of an 11-inch telescope is influenced by the aperture size and focal ratio, resulting in a versatile instrument suitable for a variety of astronomical observations.

Weighing typically between 30 to 100 pounds, an 11-inch telescope offers a balance between portability and stability for celestial exploration. The Cassegrain or Maksutov-Cassegrain design ensures high-contrast images, reduced optical aberrations, and adaptability for both planetary observation and astrophotography.

Equipped with go-to capability, an 11-inch telescope allows users to observe deep-sky objects and conduct stellar research with ease. Its tracking accuracy and resolution are optimized for precise and detailed observations, making it an invaluable tool for astronomers and astrophotographers. The price of an 11-inch telescope can range from $3,000 to $7,000, depending on the quality and features included.

The field of view of an 11-inch telescope is approximately 1.5 degrees, providing a balanced approach to observing larger portions of the sky and focusing on specific celestial objects. Additionally, the azimuth measurement of an 11-inch telescope ensures accurate tracking of celestial objects in the horizontal direction, enhancing the overall observational experience. Essential accessories for an 11-inch telescope include a mount, solar filters, eyepieces, and other tools to optimize its performance and functionality.

An 11-inch telescope is a robust astronomical instrument that boasts a substantial aperture of 279mm, enabling exceptional light-gathering capabilities and high-resolution imaging. The telescope’s computerized control system streamlines object location and tracking, making it user-friendly for novice stargazers. The focal length of an 11-inch telescope is influenced by the aperture size and focal ratio, resulting in a versatile instrument suitable for a variety of astronomical observations.

Weighing typically between 30 to 100 pounds, an 11-inch telescope offers a balance between portability and stability for celestial exploration. The Cassegrain or Maksutov-Cassegrain design ensures high-contrast images, reduced optical aberrations, and adaptability for both planetary observation and astrophotography.

Equipped with go-to capability, an 11-inch telescope allows users to observe deep-sky objects and conduct stellar research with ease. Its tracking accuracy and resolution are optimized for precise and detailed observations, making it an invaluable tool for astronomers and astrophotographers. The price of an 11-inch telescope can range from $3,000 to $7,000, depending on the quality and features included.

The field of view of an 11-inch telescope is approximately 1.5 degrees, providing a balanced approach to observing larger portions of the sky and focusing on specific celestial objects. Additionally, the azimuth measurement of an 11-inch telescope ensures accurate tracking of celestial objects in the horizontal direction, enhancing the overall observational experience. Essential accessories for an 11-inch telescope include a mount, solar filters, eyepieces, and other tools to optimize its performance and functionality.

What is a 11-inch refractor telescope?

An 11-inch refractor telescope is a type of telescope that uses a lens as its objective to gather and focus light, as opposed to reflecting telescopes that use mirrors. The 11-inch diameter of the objective lens in a refractor telescope is relatively large, allowing it to gather more light and provide better resolution and image quality compared to smaller refractors. The large aperture of an 11-inch refractor telescope also allows for a higher maximum useful magnification, which can be up to 304 times the human eye. Due to its size and weight, an 11-inch refractor telescope typically requires a sturdy and stable mount to support it and minimize vibrations. 11-inch refractor telescopes are generally more expensive than reflecting telescopes of the same aperture size, due to the cost of manufacturing large, high-quality lenses. The long focal length of an 11-inch refractor telescope makes it well-suited for observing faint, deep-sky objects, such as galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.

What is a 11-inch reflector telescope?

An 11-inch reflector telescope is a type of telescope that uses a primary mirror with an 11-inch diameter to gather light and form images of celestial objects. The telescope has a significant aperture, enabling it to gather more light than smaller telescopes, which results in better resolution and the ability to observe fainter objects. The primary mirror in an 11-inch reflector telescope is usually parabolic or hyperbolic in shape, while the secondary mirror can be spherical or elliptical. The telescope offers a maximum resolution of approximately 1.05 arcseconds and can be equipped with various eyepieces for different magnification levels. An 11-inch reflector telescope is suitable for observing planets, nebulae, star clusters, and other deep-sky objects, as well as for astrophotography.

What space objects can you see with a 11-inch telescope?

An 11-inch telescope is capable of observing a variety of space objects, including planetary nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters. The visibility of these objects through an 11-inch telescope is influenced by factors such as surface brightness and the background sky luminance. Higher surface brightness objects are more visible in darker skies. The minimum distance at which a 11-inch telescope can view space objects can range from 2 billion light-years to 32 billion light-years, depending on various factors. An 11-inch telescope can allow you to see significant surface detail on Mars, the moons of Mars (Phobos and Demos), and Neptune’s moon Triton. It can also enable you to see the Encke division in Saturn’s rings. With an 11-inch telescope, you can observe lunar features less than one mile wide and split double stars as close as half an arcsecond. An 11-inch telescope can reveal stars up to magnitude 14.5, allowing you to see almost entire NGC and IC objects. The larger aperture of an 11-inch telescope can potentially show you more detail in nebulae and galaxy structures, and may even reveal possible color in brighter nebulae. An 11-inch telescope can also allow you to see Uranus and its moons, as well as Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and its four Galilean moons.

Types and Technical Specifications of 11-inch telescopes

Types (Optical Design)

RASA: Example: Celestron CGX with 11″ RASA V2 – CE-12060

Modified SCT: Example: Celestron 11″ EdgeHD OTA with CGE Mount Plate

SCT: Example: Celestron 11″ Schmidt-Cassegrain CGX Telescope

Technical Specifications

Aperture: 279 mm (11″) 

Focal Length: 620-2800 mm 

Focal ratio: f/2.2-f/10

Highest Magnification: 558-558.8x

Light Gathering Power: 1589-1593x

Price: 2,400-6,500$

Images taken with 11-inch telescopes

Examples of 11-inch telescopes

• Celestron C· 11 SCT Aluminum Optical Tube with CGE Dovetail – 91036 -XLT
• Celestron Advanced VX 11″ Schmidt-Cassegrain GoTo Telescope – 12067
• Celestron CPC 1100 Computerized Telescope Bundle – CE-11075-XLT
• Celestron 11″ Schmidt-Cassegrain CGX Telescope
• Celestron 11″ EdgeHD OTA with CGE Mount Plate
• Celestron CGX with 11″ RASA V2 – CE-12060

How do 11-inch telescopes compare to other size telescopes

11-inch vs 12-inch telescope

11-inch telescopes provide focal lengths of  620-2800 mm (f/2.2-f/10), while 12-inch telescopes vary in focal lengths from 1200- 1525 mm ( f/2.2-f/10). Their magnification power is almost similar. 11-inch telescopes provide 558-558.8x the highest magnification, whereas 12-inch telescopes can magnify 600x.

11-inch vs 14-inch telescope

14-inch telescopes provide a focal length of 2463-3916 mm with a focal ratio of  f/6.7-f/11. In contrast, 11-inch telescopes vary from 620-2800 mm in focal length and f/2.2-f/10 in focal ratio. However, the price of the 14-inch telescope is three times that of the 11-inch scope. Moreover, 11-inch telescopes provide 558-558.8x highest magnification, which increases to 710x-840x in the case of 14-inch telescopes.

11-inch vs 15-inch telescope

Though the 11-inch telescope has less aperture than the 15-inch scopes, it offers a focal ratio of     f/2.2-f/10 whereas the 15-inch telescopes provide  f/4.2. Besides, 15-inch telescopes offer a focal length of 1600 mm whereas the 11-inch telescopes vary from 620-2800 mm in focal lengths.

11-inch vs 16-inch telescopes

11-inch telescope has less aperture than the 16-inch telescopes. They offer a focal ratio of   f/2.2-f/10 whereas the 16-inch telescopes vary from f/10 to f/4.43. Besides, 11-inch telescopes offer a focal length of 620-2800 mm whereas the 16-inch telescopes start from 1800 mm to 4064 mm in focal lengths. Moreover, 11-inch telescopes provide 558-558.8x highest magnification, which increases to  810x -960x in the case of 16- inch telescopes.