78% more light grasp than a 6" telescope yet still compact and portable this groundbreaking instrument allows astronomers at all levels to enjoy the latest optical and electronic technology surpassing that of any competing 8" telescope.Light Switch Technology EASY, Automatic Self -AlignmentMeade’s patented automatic self-alignment system — just one touch and it does all of the work for you. No stars to center.No bearings to take. No time or location to enter. Just flip the switch, and the Integrated Sensor Module in combination with the ECLIPS™(Electronically Controlled Locate Identify Position System) CCD imager delivers all the information necessary to automatically align your ETX-LS for fast, accurate, hassle-free viewing. All at the flip of a switch.MEADE’S ASTRONOMER INSIDETake a multi-media guided tour of the universe, or select your favorite object and the ETX-LS’Astronomer Inside gives you fun and informative audio descriptions of over 500 objects while you view them in the eyepiece or experience the whole dazzling multi-media presentation on an attached video monitor complete with audio, video, still images and text.ACF (Advanced Coma -Free) Optics SHARP, CLEAR, BRLLIANTMeade’s proprietary, Advanced Coma-Free optics willwow you at first sight. Distortion-free clarity. Sharpas-a-tack resolution. ACF’s state-of-the-art optics are so good, you’ll see more objects than you’ve ever thought possible. Just compare ACF to Ritchey-Chrétien systems selling for $10,000 or more, and ACF’s quality will absolutely astound you.BUILT-IN IMAGING ExcitementThe built-in ECLIPS CCD lets you capture widefield images of your favorite celestial wonders and display them in real-time* or save them to an SD card, with noexternal computer needed. You can even connect and control another advanced DSI CCD camera and view images on an external monitor or save the images to the SD card or an external computer. Either way, you can start astro-imaging on your first night out!AutoStar III® TOTAL CONTROLThe easy-to-use hand-held controller lets you selectfrom a huge object database, with over 100,000celestial objects. Just select an object and pushthe “GoTo” button and the telescope will automatically put your object in the eyepiece. The AutoStar III also gives you complete control of the Astronomer Inside multimedia features only available from Meade.OVERSIZED PRIMARY MIRROR Only Meade manufactures their primary mirrors in diameters larger than their listed aperture (e.g. the diameter of the 8" LX90’s primary mirror is actually 8.25").This additional 1/4" yields a wider, fully illuminated field-of-view, and allows you to see the light other telescopes leave behind.