The ED102 102mm f/7 Essential Apochromatic FCD100 ED Triplet Refractor Telescope from Explore Scientific features a triplet apochromatic lens system with Hoya's exceptionally engineered and crafted FCD100 extra-low dispersion (ED) glass and Explore Scientific's proprietary anti-reflection EMD fully multi-coated optics. This combination of glass, lenses, and coatings virtually eliminates chromatic and spherical aberrations for clear and bright images without distortion across the entire field of view, with true color rendition. This is a versatile optical tube assembly (OTA) that is powerful enough to clearly see the planets and bright deep-sky objects. It has a relatively small form factor that makes it perfect as a portable grab-and-go option, or set up on a dual-mount rig for astrophotography/astroimaging.

A mounting cradle-ring clamps over the OTA. The cradle-ring allows the user to adjust the orientation and position of the scope relative to the mount to optimize viewing comfort and balance, while avoiding interference with other equipment. The scope is offered without a mount or tripod, but a Vixen-style dovetail plate makes it compatible with any alt-az or equatorial mount with a Vixen-style saddle. Its heavy-duty 2.5" hexagonal two-speed rack-and-pinion focuser helps make fine-focusing fast and precise, even when carrying heavy loads like large eyepieces or imaging rigs. A 90° star diagonal is also included for more comfortable viewing. The mirror has dielectric coatings for a 99% light transmission for minimal light loss when using it.