Corvane Ember 76 reflector, tube with alt-az mount

Specifications

Description

The Ember 76 is a Newtonian reflector built around a 76 mm parabolic primary mirror. Its 600 mm focal length gives a focal ratio of f/7.9, which keeps the field of view wide at low power and still supports useful magnifications on the Moon and the brighter planets. Because the optics are mirrors rather than lenses, the tube shows no chromatic aberration, so bright objects such as Jupiter and Venus appear without the color fringe that small refractors can show.

The primary mirror is aluminized and overcoated for reflectance across the visible spectrum. A flat secondary mirror, held on a four-vane spider, sends the light to the side of the open tube, where the focuser is mounted. The central obstruction and spider vanes reduce contrast slightly compared with an unobstructed refractor of the same aperture. The open tube reaches outdoor temperature quickly, so you can start observing soon after setup. Check the collimation after transport, because a misaligned secondary reduces sharpness across the field.

The 1.25 in rack-and-pinion focuser accepts standard 1.25 in eyepieces and takes a star diagonal for overhead viewing. The tube weighs 2.1 kg and fits on a light alt-az mount or a tabletop base, so you can carry the complete setup in one trip. The 6x30 finder helps you locate objects before you switch to the eyepiece. A 25 mm eyepiece with this focal length gives about 24x magnification, a practical starting power for wide-field views.

Typical targets include the Moon's craters and terminator, the bands and four Galilean moons of Jupiter, and the rings of Saturn when the planet is well placed. At low power the tube frames the Double Cluster in Perseus and the Orion Nebula. Under dark skies, the core of the Andromeda Galaxy and the brighter globular clusters appear as faint, soft patches, and their detail improves with larger apertures.

About this configuration

Every configuration of the Corvane Ember 76 reflector shares the same optics; the choices below change how the telescope is mounted, finished, and equipped. The included alt-az mount moves up and down and side to side, so you point the telescope by hand without polar alignment. An alt-az mount keeps setup short: level the tripod, attach the tube, align the finder, and start finding targets. The carbon fiber tube expands less as the temperature drops, so the focus point drifts less as the night cools.

A UHC filter from the deep-sky kit darkens the background sky around emission nebulae, especially under suburban light. This is the 2026 edition, the most recent version of the Ember line in the catalog. If you plan to add accessories later, compare the compatibility notes with the parts you already own before choosing a configuration.

What's in the box

• Optical tube with front and rear dust caps
• 6x30 finder scope with bracket
• 1.25 in 25 mm eyepiece
• Tube rings with dovetail bar
• Collimation cap
• Alt-az mount with aluminum tripod
• 24 mm wide-field eyepiece (1.25 in)
• UHC nebula filter (1.25 in)

Compatibility notes

• Accepts 1.25 in eyepieces and filters directly in the focuser.
• The dovetail bar fits light alt-az and tabletop mounts with a standard saddle.