Celestron nexstar 8se

[maxima75]

Hello all. I am new to astronomy and bought a 4.5" no name reflector a couple years ago which served me very well. I got good looks at Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, etc. But now I think I am ready for something more serious but I'm under a tight budget. The Celestron nexstar 8se would seem to fit my new needs and budget. But I'm curious on how good I will get looks on deep sky stuff. Will I get some details or just bright dots. Feel free to post images that I should expect to see or comment. Thanks for any help making my decision.

[Cpaulo]

Hi there,

Have a look at some of the field of view calculators online, I use http://www.12dstring.me.uk/astro.phpor astronomy tools.

This will give you an "idea" of what to expect. However be warned Cassegrain scopes like the 8SE are not renowned for wide field But they are meant to be great for planetary stuff. All depends what you want to do.

Hope it helps

[Grotemobile]

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/se-series/celestron-nexstar-6se.html

This is what I would go for. Have a look on utube.It is not

worth the extra £580, in my opinion.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/se-series/celestron-nexstar-8se.html

Steve.

[brantuk]

I've never been a fan of single arm sct's - double arm fork mounts are way more stable. However the Celestron optics are very good and 8" is a cracking aperture to upgrade to from your 130. You may like to consider an 8" Sct OTA and an equatorial mount like at least an HEQ5. But it all depends on your budget I guess - consider going second hand - it's very feasible for the money a new 8SE would cost. Hth

[John]

On a tight budget an 8" dobsonian scope would show similar views to an 8" schmidt-cassegrain for around 30% of the purchase price. You would need to find the objects you want to view yourself though.

[Grotemobile]

On a tight budget an 8" dobsonian scope would show similar views to an 8" schmidt-cassegrain for around 30% of the purchase price. You would need to find the objects you want to view yourself though.

The only problem is, the 8" Dob, is not

as portable as the SE scopes. I don't

think a lot of people realise, how big

a 8" dob is.  .That is why, I ended up

with  a CPC scope. Get a lot more use

out of this.

Steve.

[maxima75]

Thx for the tips. Dobs are out of the question since ill be moving around a lot with it to escape city lights. I will look around for second hand and see where that takes me. And this is cool http://www.12dstring.me.uk/astro.php

[John]

The only problem is, the 8" Dob, is not

as portable as the SE scopes. I don't

think a lot of people realise, how big

a 8" dob is.  .That is why, I ended up

with  a CPC scope. Get a lot more use

out of this.

Steve.

I've owned a Celestron 8SE (and the earlier dual fork Celestar 8) and two 8" dobs so I've been able to compare them. There is really not much in it in terms of size and portability. In terms of set up time and cool down time the dob wins every time. Then you have the power supply to sort out for the SE and dew management.

[Grotemobile]

I've owned a Celestron 8SE (and the earlier dual fork Celestar 8) and two 8" dobs so I've been able to compare them. There is really not much in it in terms of size and portability. In terms of set up time and cool down time the dob wins every time. Then you have the power supply to sort out for the SE and dew management.

 

Hi John. I do agree with you on the,

power supply to sort out, and dew management

for the SE.Dobs are great for deep sky,but for

high power on planets,I have found that you need

a mount that tracks. That is what most people buy

a scope for. Horses for courses I suppose. Would

not have a Dob again.

Steve.