Nicola Fletcher

I don’t have any experience with the Skymax but the Celestron 127 was recommended by someone in my astronomy club as her favourite even though she had bigger scopes. I bought one in 2013 and it has been my main scope since then. It is so much fun to use I have been reluctant to buy anything else (although I just bought my first refractor). I upgraded all the eyepieces (I use BSTs and a Baader MK IV zoom), the RDF and I use a Celestron lithium power tank which has a brilliant red light that shines on the accessory tray when I’m setting up). I find the optics fantastic, the GoTo system is ridicu

You must see a lot more detail as time goes on. I have done the vast majority of my observing with a Celestron 127 SLT (I recently checked and I bought it in 2013 so I’ve got tons of value out of it but I’m definitely ready for an upgrade!). I suppose the decent dark skies I have at home help with observing, and I recently saw wonderful detail In the Orion Nebula on a very clear night, but I’ve never seen colour and only recently realised that was possible. I love the idea of taking the time to sketch and see more detail over time.

Fantastic, that’s something to look forward to. I have never looked through a refractor before so I’m dying to get hold of it. Thanks for all the info!

That’s brilliant news, and more than I was expecting to be honest. Thanks for attaching those beautiful sketches too. I’ve been very inspired by your post showing your Takahashi DZ and your observatory - really appreciate you sharing all those pictures!

It looks absolutely fabulous- and also the sort of setup you’ll get loads of use out of. Congratulations! Mine has arrived in Dublin and cleared customs so I’m hoping for delivery on Monday (fingers crossed). What do you think it’ll be like for DSOs? I’m assuming planets will look wonderful. I think we will get a lot of fun from these scopes

Thinking of just going all out and getting the Altair RACI - I haven’t used a finderscope in a while but I really liked the one that was on my LX200. Wicklow is a good place for reasonably dark skies - although I brought my little 127 Mak to the Burren in Co. Clare last summer and Wow the skies were great! Leitrim and Sligo would be good too I imagine

Thanks a lot - I’m thinking of getting the Altair RACI finder too. Yours looks great on your scope!

Thank you - having everyone’s input made it easier to press the button. I might hold out for the AZ-EQ5 - I really like the look of it and I think the scope will look great on it. Enjoy yours!

It looks absolutely fantastic - can’t wait to see mine in the flesh! Hope you get clear skies soon

Thank you all very much for your help - I just bought the scope and a star diagonal from Altair. Now to wait until mounts are easier to find than hens’ teeth! @Carl Au looking forward to seeing your setup!

Do you mind me asking which RACI finder you are using? I just bought the same scope and I haven’t picked out a finderscope yet. Do you know if the Altair finder comes with the bracket to fit it to the scope? TIA!

Thank you very much for all these suggestions. The AZ-EQ5 would definitely fit the bill. I think I’ll stick with a 4 inch - I learned my lesson with that 10” SCT - really appreciate your input and help.

Hi all, May I ask your advice? I’d really like a refractor, for visual only, that is portable. I recently gave up on a 10 inch Meade LX200 which was just too big for me to move (I live in the Wicklow mountains in Ireland with Bortle 4 skies but really nice dark skies facing south away from Dublin). I’ve been using a 127 Mak and binoculars for the past few years and I love them, but I have refractor-envy and am happy to pay £1000 - £1500 for the scope, and then buy a suitable mount separately. I’ve been looking at this: https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-102ed-r-fpl53-refractor-459

Hello from Roundwood in Wicklow!

Thanks everyone, brilliant advice. I can't wait to see the Meade now!!