• 72mm f/6 fully multicoated ED doublet refractor optics
• dual-speed rotating 2" Crayford focuser with 10:1 ratio fine focusing
• 2" and 1.25" non-marring compression ring accessory holders
• combined dovetail/tripod bracket for use on a photo tripod or a German equatorial mount
• retractable self-storing lens shade
• amazing wide field astrophotographic capabilities
• long-lasting hard anodized black finish with black trim
• aluminum-frame foam-fitted hard case
• two-year warranty

Astronomy magazine
called this scope’s predecessor, the 66mm Astro-Tech AT66ED, “a product
everyone should own." The new Astro-Tech AT72ED upgrades that
best-selling predecessor by increasing the aperture to 72mm to give you
9% higher resolution and 19% more light gathering; upgrades the focuser
to 2", with a 1.25" adapter; and increases the focuser travel to 80mm to
allow imaging with a wider variety of camera types. Astronomy
said the AT66ED was “a great grab-and-go scope, a fine little
astrograph, a super-finder scope, and a daytime spotting scope." The
same is equally true for the new AT72ED.

The images from the
430mm f/6 ED air-spaced doublet optics of this Astro-Tech AT72ED
refractor are virtually free from spurious color (chromatic aberration),
even at high magnifications. At its low price, the optical performance
is little short of astonishing. The exceptional AT72ED optics are even
more impressive when you consider the package they come in. The
finely-machined scope has a dual speed 2" Crayford-style focuser with a
microfine 10:1 fine-focusing ratio. You can rotate the focuser a full
360° to put your eyepiece or camera in the most comfortable observing
position. The supplied 2" and 1.25" eyepiece adapters use non-marring
brass compression rings that won’t scratch your eyepiece and accessory
barrels. The Astro-Tech AT72ED has a retractable lens shade and comes in
a locking aluminum-frame hard carrying case.

This 12" long
refractor optical tube (14.5" long with the lens shade extended) has the
right balance of aperture and focal length to use as a low-power rich
field telescope, as a medium-power planetary telescope, or as any kind
of telescope in between. Its compact size, light weight, and convenient
removable L-shaped mounting foot that mounts on any photographic tripod
also make it an excellent terrestrial spotting scope for vacations,
birding, or nature studies. In addition, optional camera adapters turn
the AT72ED into a superb 430mm (8.6x) f/6 daytime telephoto lens and
nighttime wide-field astrograph, as can be seen in the feature image
below. The tripod mounting foot is also a dovetail adapter that fits
directly into the dovetail slot on the top of many altazimuth and German
equatorial mounts, such as those from Astro-Tech, Celestron, Meade, and
Vixen.

The AT72 image of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, shown in the
feature image section below is by Tibor Mihalovits. He was happy to
share the image with us because, as he said, “I'm at the very beginning
on my astrophotography adventure and it is a good example for people
trying to start out to see what the AT72ED can do with an unmodified
Canon EOS Rebel T1i DSLR camera in 90 minutes. With the AT72ED, you
don't have to spend $5000 on a single scope to get something nice! Since
I got the AT72ED, I've been recommending it on the Cloudy Nights
imaging forum a lot for the guys that want to start out. You just can't
beat that scope, price, quality, aperture. My next imaging scope will be
an A-T scope also! Thank you!"

Features of this Telescope . . .

• ED doublet refractor optics: 72mm
  (2.83") aperture, 430mm focal length, f/6 focal ratio air-spaced
  doublet lens using premium Ohara glass from Japan, including an ED
  (Extra-low Dispersion glass) element to reduce spurious color halos and
  fringing to vanishingly low levels. While we do not claim fully
  apochromatic performance in the class of a multiple thousand dollar
  Takahashi, Astro-Physics, or TMB refractor, the AT72ED is so free from
  spurious color as to be virtually indistinguishable from an apochromatic
  system. And, as Mr. Spock probably said in one episode of Star Trek or another, “Any difference that makes no difference, is no difference."
• Multicoated optics: The
  objective lens has the latest state-of-the-art broadband antireflection
  multicoatings on all four air-to-glass surfaces for high light
  transmission and excellent contrast. This can easily be seen by looking
  into the objective lens of the scope. Virtually no reflection of your
  face will be seen. It’s a sure sign that the high transmission coatings
  are doing their job, by letting virtually all the light enter the scope,
  rather than reflecting some light back to your eye.
• Internal light baffles: There
  are three contrast-enhancing knife edge baffles inside the optical
  tube, and anti-reflection threading the full length of the focuser
  drawtube, for truly dark sky backgrounds and high terrestrial contrast.
  In addition, the edges of the objective lens are blackened to eliminate
  contrast-reducing stray internal reflections.
• Full power range capability: The
  “highest useful magnification" listed above right is 143x. This is the
  power obtained with a 3mm eyepiece, which provides an exit pupil of
  0.5mm (about 1/50th of an inch) and 51x per inch of aperture. This is
  generally the smallest exit pupil recommended with any telescope before
  the images start to become too dim to be consistently useful.
      Higher powers are possible
  for lunar and planetary observing, however, given excellent seeing
  conditions, although the increasing dimness of the image will start to
  limit the performance on all but the brightest objects.
      The lowest useful power is 11x, achieved with a 40mm eyepiece (a 40mm 1.25" TeleVue Plössl will give you a 4.2° field at that power; while a 2" Astro-Tech 40mm Titan Type II ED
  will give you a 6.33° field). At 3.8x per inch of aperture, this is
  very close to the 4x per inch of aperture generally regarded as the
  lowest practical power with any telescope. A 40mm eyepiece on the AT72ED
  will give you a 6.67mm exit pupil, larger than most eyes can dilate.
  Any lower power would simply waste some of the scope’s light gathering
  capacity, as its collected light would fall on your iris, rather than
  entering your eye.
• Dew shield: A self-storing
  retractable dew shield slows the formation of dew on the lens in cold
  weather to extend your undisturbed observing time. It also improves the
  contrast, similar to the effect of the lens shade on a camera lens, when
  observing during the day or when there is excessive ambient light at
  night, such as a neighbor’s backyard security light.
• Dual speed microfine 2" Crayford focuser with 1.25" adapter: The
  precision-made 2" focuser has dual-speed focusing. There are two coarse
  focusing knobs. The right knob also has a smaller concentric knob with
  10:1 ratio reduction gear microfine focusing. This provides
  exceptionally precise image control during high power visual observing
  or critical DSLR or CCD imaging. The focus knobs have knurled rubber and
  ribbed gripping surfaces so they are easy to operate, even while
  wearing gloves or mittens in cold weather. The 80mm (3.15") travel
  focuser drawtube has a scale marked in 1mm increments so you can note
  individual focuser positions for easy return to the correct focus when
  switching between visual use and photography. A lock knob under the
  focuser lets you lock in your photographic focus.
      The focuser
  drawtube terminates in a 2" compression ring accessory holder to accept a
  2" star diagonal and 2" photo accessories. A lock knob on the top of
  the scope allows the focuser to be rotated a full 360°. This lets you
  rotate the focuser to line up a camera in either a landscape or portrait
  orientation (or any orientation in between), as well as put a star
  diagonal and eyepiece into the most comfortable observing position, and
  then temporarily lock the focuser in that position.
      The supplied
  1.25" accessory adapter slips onto the 2" accessory holder and uses a
  soft brass compression ring to hold 1.25" star diagonals and
  photo/visual accessories in place. The 1.25" and 2" compression rings
  won’t scratch the barrels of your star diagonal or accessories as an
  ordinary thumbscrew can.
• Combined equatorial dovetail/tripod adapter: The
  AT72ED has a removable L-shaped dovetail mounting foot/tripod adapter.
  The 1.75" wide x 3.25" long mounting foot is sized and shaped (with
  slanted sides) to fit the Vixen-style dovetail slot on the head of many
  altazimuth and equatorial mounts. It will fit, without modification, the
  Astro-Tech Voyager altazimuth mount and the Celestron CG-5 and Advanced
  Series, Meade LXD-75, and Vixen Great Polaris German equatorial mounts,
  among others.
      In addition, the mounting shoe has two 1/4"-20
  thread mounting holes that allow it to be installed on any camera tripod
  that has a standard 1/4"-20 thread mounting bolt. You can choose the
  mounting hole that provides the best balance when used with your
  particular combination of star diagonal, eyepiece, and/or camera.
     
  Cork pads on the underside of the mounting shoe help keep the scope
  from swiveling when mounted on a photo tripod. The dovetail is removable
  to allow the AT72 to be used with optional guidescope rings as a
  photoguide for a larger telescope.
• Tube finish: The
  optical tube is finished in a durable liquid black anodize with
  anodized black trim that makes it an excellent choice as a photoguide
  scope to mount on a large Celestron catadioptric.
• Other supplied accessories: A
  slip-on metal dust cap is standard. Two threaded holes for installing a
  finderscope mounting bracket are located on the upper left side of the
  scope body. One hole keeps the finder in a fixed position relative to
  the scope’s mounting foot, regardless of how the focuser is rotated. The
  other rotates with the focuser, keeping the finder in the same position
  relative to the focus knobs, again no matter how the focuser is
  rotated.
• Shipping/storage case: The scope comes
  in a 15.5" x 10" x 7.5" aluminum-frame locking hard case with carry
  handle. The foam-fitted case has cutouts for the scope, a 1.25" or 2"
  star diagonal, and up to three eyepieces (two 1.25" and one 2").
     
  Astro-Tech is one of the very few manufacturers to provide a case at no
  charge for protection during shipping and as a storage convenience when
  the scope is not in use. Unfortunately, FedEx, UPS, and the Postal
  Service are very good at treating packages roughly. Occasionally, your
  scope can arrive in perfect condition, but with the walls of the
  shipping case dented in transit from rough handling, or the aluminum
  frame sprung, rendering the appearance of the case less than pristine.
  Damage to the shipping/storage case in such instances is not covered by
  warranty.
• Two year warranty: As an expression of
  the confidence Astronomy Technologies has in the quality of their
  products, the Astro-Tech AT72ED is protected by a two-year limited
  warranty against flaws in materials and workmanship (shipping case
  excluded).