Members are invited to borrow from the Society's small collection of telescopes. If you are contemplating buying a telescope of your own, and would like to find out which one you should buy, first think of borrowing from the KAS for a test run.

Telescopes are loaned out on a first come, first served basis. Telescopes are loaned for a one month period. However, a member can continue to use it after the one month period if no other requests are made.  At the end of the loan period, the person borrowing the telescope agrees to return it to the KAS at a normally scheduled general meeting.

To borrow a telescope, download and fill out its check-out form. Then contact the KAS Equipment Manager (details below) with as much advance notice as possible. The telescopes are usually in constant circulation, so arrangements will need to be made to have the telescope at the next general meeting.  A current membership card is required.

Please make sure all the items listed on the check-out form are present and in working order.  You are responsible for any damaged or missing equipment upon the telescopes return.  Any misuse may impact future use of KAS telescopes and equipment.

For more information or to reserve a telescope, please contact:

Mike Dupuis, Equipment Manager


Orion ShortTube 80 EQ Refractor
Orion's highly popular 80 mm refractor is the ultimate grab-and-go telescope. It'll fit into any car and setup takes minutes. You'll love its bright, wide-field views of star clusters and nebulae.

The EQ-1 German equatorial mount allows smooth manual tracking with the slow-motion cables.

These accessories are also included with loan of the ShortTube 80:
  • ST-80 Hard Aluminum Case
  • EQ-1 Equatorial Mount
    • w/ tray, counterweight, cables
  • 26mm Plössl Eyepiece (15.4×)
  • 10mm Kellner Eyepiece (40×)
  • Meade 90° Diagonal
  • 6×26 Finderscope
  • Orion Glass Solar Filter

Download ST-80 Check-Out Form


Coronado Personal Solar Telescope (PST)
You're missing a lot if you've only viewed the Sun with a standard white light filter. The Coronado PST houses a special filter called an etalon, which only transmits hydrogen alpha light. This allows you to view prominences erupting off the Sun's edge, surface granularity, and snaking filaments in addition to sunspots and bright, irregularly shaped plages. A clever Sun-finder window near the eyepiece provides a safe way to aim the telescope.

These accessories are also included with loan of the Coronado PST:
  • PST Hard Case
  • Tele Vue Tele-Pod Head
  • Tele Vue Tele-Pod Tripod
  • 18mm Kellner Eyepiece

Download PST Check-Out Form



Celestron Nexstar 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope
The Celestron Nexstar 8 is built around ease of use. The 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain optics offer crisp, clear images yet is relatively light and highly portable. It can be setup in a matter of minutes and no tools are required. This fully Go-To telescope features a database of 18,000 objects, and there's even a tour function that'll show you the best deep sky objects the universe has to offer.

These accessories are also included with loan of the Nexstar 8 SCT:
  • Hard Case
  • Tripod
  • Orion Aluminum Accessory Case
  • Celestron 8×50 Finderscope
  • Power Supply
  • Celestron 40mm Plössl Eyepiece
  • Celestron 25mm Eyepiece
  • Meade 12mm MA Eyepiece
  • Meade 9mm MA Eyepiece
  • Meade 90° Diagonal
  • User Manual
Special thanks to John & Karen Kerwin for their generous donation of this telescope.

Download Nexstar 8 Check-Out Form



Please let us know if you'd like the KAS to add any other telescopes to its collection.