Although I am sure that there are others that can expound upon "carbon fiber" ?better than I, I will venture what I have heard. ?Supposedly, the carbon fiber is lighter than aluminum and is suppose to have a better thermal quality allowing the scope to cool more quickly. ?However, what I have heard is that this really wouldn't make a difference unless you were flying your telescope at mach 3 where friction would be heating the tube to VERY high temperatures. ?Otherwise, the tube will cool off maybe a little quicker but not signifcantly faster. ?I can verify that lbs per inch it is not lighter than the Meade aluminum OTA's. ?I forget exactly and don't have the numbers right in front of me, but comparing my 12" Meade to the 11" Celestron on a per inch basis it wasn't lighter. ?I don't even know if they make the 14 in Carbon. ?Mine came in aluminum and I was never given an option.
