Pegasus Astro

Pegasus Astro NYX-101 V2 Harmonic Mount

The heavy-hauler of the portable-harmonic class: a 20 kg no-counterweight payload in a 4.7 kg head. When your imaging rig outgrows an AM5-class mount but you still refuse to carry counterweights, this is the answer.

87/ 100

Polaris Score

Performance · ease · portability · upgrade path

See the breakdown ↓

GoTo

Yes

Head Weight

4.7 kg

Imaging Payload

20 kg

Mount Type

Harmonic (strain wave)

Payload Capacity

20 kg

Tracking

Yes

From$3,182

Lowest in 90 days

Price tracked by PolarisObserved 49 timesTracking since Jul 2026

Where to buy

Agena AstroProductsPartnerBest price$3,182→High Point Scientific$3,182→

Verified 2h ago · prices tracked daily

01What it's good at

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

Best at

✓Carries ~20 kg with zero counterweight, its strain-wave gears hold large refractors and SCTs with no balance bar at all

✓4.7 kg head despite that payload, genuinely one-hand grab-and-go for its capacity

✓Integrates cleanly with the Pegasus power-and-automation ecosystem (their controllers, cabling and apps)

Trade-offs

!Premium price, among the costliest in the portable-harmonic class

!Smaller software/accessory ecosystem than ZWO's ASIAIR world

!Some periodic error, as all strain-wave mounts have, autoguiding handles it

02In plain English

The numbers, in plain English.

Payload

20 kg, no counterweight

Twenty kilograms held by a 4.7 kg head with no counterweight is the whole argument for harmonic drives. A large refractor or an 8 inch astrograph with a full imaging train fits, and the total mass you carry is a fraction of an equivalent German equatorial.

Head weight

4.7 kg

Under 11 lb, so the mount head goes in a backpack and the tripod becomes the heaviest part of the kit. Portability at this payload is what separates harmonic mounts from everything that came before them.

Drive type

Harmonic (strain wave)

Strain-wave gearing has enormous reduction and holds an unbalanced load without slipping, which is why counterweights disappear. The trade-off is higher-frequency periodic error than a good worm drive, so autoguiding is expected rather than optional.

Tripod requirement

Rigid tripod essential

With no counterweight the whole load sits off to one side, so a light photo tripod will flex and wobble in a way it never would under a balanced equatorial. Budget for a proper tripod or pier alongside the head.

Mount class

Equatorial harmonic with integrated control

It tracks equatorially, so field rotation is not an issue for long exposures, and the built-in controller and power distribution reduce the cable mess that usually grows around an imaging rig.

02The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

87/ 100

Pegasus Astro NYX-101 V2 Harmonic Mount

Scores high on performance and headroom, few portable mounts carry this much. Points come off for price and a smaller ecosystem than the category benchmark.

Performance

Ease of use

Portability

Upgrade potential

Polaris weighs tracking and payload capability, how easy the mount is to live with, how portable it is, and how far it takes you before you outgrow it — not list price or brand.

03Who it's for

An honest fit check.

Buy it if you

✓Imagers whose rig has passed an AM5N's ~15 kg, big refractors and SCTs, who still won't carry counterweights

✓People building an automated rig in the Pegasus ecosystem

✓Buyers who want maximum payload-per-kilogram and will pay for it

Look elsewhere if you

!Anyone an AM5N or Wave 150i already covers, this is more mount, and more money

!Budget-first buyers, harmonic capacity is cheaper elsewhere if you don't need 20 kg

!Pure visual observers

05The numbers

Full specifications.

Mount & drive

Payload Capacity20 kg

More

GoToYes

Finds objects from a built-in database and points the mount at them automatically, then tracks.

Head Weight4.7 kg

Imaging Payload20 kg

Mount TypeHarmonic (strain wave)

TrackingYes

A motor turns the mount at the sky’s speed, holding your target still for long exposures. You still aim it yourself.

weight lbs10.4lbs

Editor’s Take

The NYX-101 is a harmonic (strain-wave) mount, so the headline is the same one the ZWO AM-series made famous: gears strong enough to hold your telescope with no counterweight, so setup is 'drop the head on a tripod and go' instead of balancing a heavy bar. What the NYX adds is headroom, ~20 kg of payload where an AM5N tops out around 15, while still weighing under 5 kg, which is exceptional capacity-for-weight. It's a full GoTo, autoguided imaging mount (and plate-solves with the usual controllers), built by Pegasus to slot into their power-and-automation gear for people running unattended rigs. The trade-offs are price and ecosystem: it costs more than the ZWO mounts and its software/accessory world is smaller. But if your payload has outgrown an AM5N and you still refuse to carry counterweights, this is often the last mount you buy short of a permanent observatory pier.

— The Skynocular verdict