Buying a Celestron 6SE? first scope

[hellothere123]

Been doing the internet tour looking at the best scope I can find in the under $1000 price range and the Celestron 6SE keeps popping up...I am aware the 8SE is better but can't afford the extra cash.

Was hoping to see if a good used 8SE was on sale but I can't access the buy and sell for a month or so since i am new.

If you were spending the cash, is there any other route i should go besides the 6SE?

I love the fact that it will go to whatever star or planet i want, that is the biggest feature for me...and also I guess the images are alright too.

I want to see: planets, close galaxies, nebulas, etc...not really looking at astrophotography

Any other scopes I should consider?

Thanks!

[cgarry]

I started with a 6SE for much the same reasons of you. The 6SE is the perfect size for the mount. I have heard, though do not not have first hand experience, that the the 8SE is a bit heavy for the mount and can be a bit unsteady.

The other great thing about the 6SE is it very transportable and can become your dark sky scope if you get a bigger scope for use in your garden.

So I would say you have made the right choice, and don't be swayed by the dob mob.

Cheers,

Chris

[Ad Astra]

Be aware of two things:

1. GoTo is not a magic bullet. It still requires quite a bit of knowlege and skill from the owner. This is easily developed with a bit of practice (and help from your SGL pals!) - but it will take some time.

2. You are paying at least half of the total cost for electronics - not good views. This is not to say the 6SE is a bad scope, I have two in class and they are wonderful, but still only a 6" scope! If your goal is a very portable GoTo system, it rocks - but if you want great views, you may be able to get more for less as they say.

For about the same price, you can get a 250P dobsonian that will just amaze you with the views! It will out perform the 6SE on planets, the moon, and certainly on deep sky stuff like galaxies and the like. The 250P will also see thousands of targets that the 6SE is just too small to pick out - and you will get more brightness, resolution, and detail on everything you see.

You can also get 'intelligent' dobsonian scopes that will help you to point your scope to a target. The system has no motors (it is a 'push-to' rather than GoTo system), and is less expensive and just as easy to use.

A trip to the local astro club might be just the thing here - you could see a lot of this stuff in action, and maybe try it out yourself.

Celestron also has a new 8" out - the 'advanced series' with a lighter equatorial mount and GoTo system for a comparable price to the 8SE - you might check with your local dealer on that.

Dan

[Slangers]

I think the 6Se would be a fantastic first scope.

[smudgeball]

Hi

The 6SE is a great scope.

I echo what has been said above.

You will always have a list of things that you want from astronomy but will never truely be able to tick them all off.

I knew that if I did not get an easily transportable scope, I would go off astronomy and end up with the dreaded "scope that never gets used"

I did not want an EQ mount with weights to set up or a large newtonian tube.

So I went for the 6SE, easy to use and punches above it's weight.

Hope you're pleased with what ever you decide to get

Regards

Neil

[CGolder]

I give the 6SE top marks, i take it to dark sites and it performs very well, great scope with lots of versitility, if i had to have one scope, i would have the 6SE

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have a C8, and love the compactness and ease of transport, and general all-round visual performance of the scope (no go-to, the scope and mount are nearly 15 years old). I moved up from a home-built, 6 inch Newtonian, which showed me a huge number of sights: a really good scope on planets, moon and many, many DSOs. The 8 inch has the edge of the 6 inch, obviously, and a 250mm dobsonian is better still (aperture fever, that is called ), but a 6 inch is a great scope. Besides, the 6 inch SCT is far more portable than a dobsonian. Flex-tube "R2D2" designs are OK, but no match for the 6" SCT, the optical tube assembly (OTA) of which can be held in hand luggage in planes. As a starter scope it is great, as a portable scope excellent.

I am actually thinking of getting myself a C6 OTA (or 6" RC of similar design) to take along on holidays at some point in time.

[Demonperformer]

Another 6SE owner. It replaced a 250 dob that spent almost all its time in the corner of the lounge because it was too big a beast for me to handle properly. Have never looked back.

[Donkeiller]

Just got a second hand 6SE and "goto" mount. If you live in a city, like me, you can't "star-hop"- you will need "goto".

Also the 6SE is big enough (and light enough, 8lb) to be easily portable.

Do NOT fall for the siren call of the "bigger-is-better" "Dob-Mob"

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just got a second hand 6SE and "goto" mount. If you live in a city, like me, you can't "star-hop"- you will need "goto".

Also the 6SE is big enough (and light enough, 8lb) to be easily portable.

Do NOT fall for the siren call of the "bigger-is-better" "Dob-Mob"

If you live in the city you will want to get out , and the 6SE is great for that as well

[hellothere123]

First off thanks for the replies. I've loved astronomy, but seldom find anyone who gets into it like I do. Most people listen for a bit and then go off to do something else.

Anywho, back to the scopes. I think I am going to go with the 6SE as a starter scope. Help me get around the night time sky and teach me new places. And then if I want more detail I'll get a Dob to view everything more clearly and in greater detail.

I'd love to buy the 8SE but its too much of a leap in cash.

[hellothere123]

I was going to ask a few questions about the 6SE.

The guy I'm dealing with said I need:

1)Lense Shade for $35 to stop the dew?

2) 10mm lense

3) Celestron Power Supply $90 and power adapter cable $25

4) Moon and Sun Filter

Wondering if the 10mm is the only other eyepiece, and maybe a barlow?

Wondering if I need the Celestron power supply or if I can use the inverter I have in my car?

Just looking for some suggestions on which way I should go for accessories, instead of buying big kits and only using half of it.

***By the way this dealer in Canada told me that Celestron is offering $100.00 off their SE models for the month of June***

Cheers!

[rowan46]

make the dew shield out of camping mat a couple of dollars I would imagine adaptor cable you will need but one of those car starter power stations will be cheaper than the astro branded ones get at least 17ah batteries and buy it in june

[Demonperformer]

The guy I'm dealing with said I need:

1)Lense Shade for $35 to stop the dew?

2) 10mm lense

3) Celestron Power Supply $90 and power adapter cable $25

4) Moon and Sun Filter

Sounds to me like this guy is trying to meet his sales quota.

1) I use a piece of black card folded into a cylinder with a bit cut out to go round the bar. A3 sheet cost me £3.97 (not quite sure of the exchange rate). Has lasted me nearly two years and is still going strong.

2) You will need other eyepieces, but I would suggest you have a read of the eyepiece stickys on the forum about what to get. I suspect that if you get the bs 10mm e/p you will end up wanting to get a better one later.

3) You will want a means of running the scope without AA batteries (they die REALLY quickly). However, if Canada is anything like the UK there are plenty of much cheaper alternatives. I use a 'jump start' pack (for a car), if I am out and about, or a mains adaptor if I am at home. BTW, there is a well-known issue with the connector in the UK, which can cause the scope to cut out, caused by the cable 'jiggling' in the connector when the scope slews. I get round this by using some tape to stick the cable to the turntable to stop the jiggling. Others use more drastic/permanent means.

4) I have a moon filter and have used it once. Now sitting in my box doing nothing, practically unsaleable as they are so cheap new. Do you want to observe the sun? If not, forget the solar filter. If you do, get a sheet of Baader solar film and make your own ... much cheaper.

All of this comes with the usual disclaimer that it is just my opinion and others may have different views.

HTH

[david o]

My cut on answering your questions :

- 1. A dew shield is a good idea, but there's no need to spend $$$s on a ready-made one - besides they're usually too short. DIY is the way to go, using some dark coloured camping mat and Velcro For best results it's length should be at least twice the aperture.

- 2. For the ins 'n' outs of choosing EPs, you might find these posts : [thread=80772]"Eyepieces - the very least you need"[/thread] and [thread=63184]"Understanding and choosing eyepieces"[/thread] a help in guiding you through the basics.

I'd be tempted not to buy anything for now and just use what comes with the 'scope. With eyepiece time under your belt you'll know what needs replacing, or if there's a gap that needs filling.

- 3. No need to pay Celestron's inflated prices, you can get the same a lot cheaper elsewhere or get a lot more for the same money. Use SGL's forum search with terms like "power tank" or "leisure battery", the threads that come up will give you plenty of ideas.

- 4. I think that the lunar filter is the only "must have". The solar filter would be nice, but only if you want to do some basic white light viewing. If you do decide on getting it, make sure that it's for the corrector plate (front end) and covers the full aperture. NOT one of the dangerous eyepiece solar filters.

Again you could DIY with some Baader solar film

HTH

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

As others have said: the dew shield is important, but you can make it yourself. I have the Celestron shield, mainly because my parents were looking for a Xmas present for me. The 10mm Celestron (Plossl I assume) is OK quality wise (I had one), but has rather tight eye relief. A long eye relief EP like the TMB Planetary is a better choice and should be fine on an F/10 scope. A barlow is a cheap way of expanding your range, but consider adding an extra EP in the range of 6-8 mm instead (again TMB planetary or its clones are affordable choices, with good value for money). I got a 17Ah Skywatcher power tank (I needed a 9 V output), but you can get similar things meant for cars, usually with 12 V output only. Sometimes these are cheaper.

I do not use a lunar filter, though it can make viewing more comfortable. The solar filter can be made from Baader Solar Film cheaply. Be sure the filter does not come undone during observation!!

On balance: the advice was not bad, but shopping around saves money.

[monkey_coral]

I have recently purchased a 6SE and I am very pleased with it.

My situation is that I am in a flat with a small corner balcony which affords me with sight of about 270 degrees of the sky (90degrees blocked by the flat).

The 6SE is small enough and light enough for me to keep it fully assembled in my spare room and simply pick it up and walk it out onto my balcony to observe.

I am in an extremely light polluted area near London and naked eye targets are few. I use the sky align method to setup the goto function and find that the target is always within the view of my 17mm (72 degree FOV) eyepiece.

I have had great views of the moon, and good views of Saturn. I cannot make out the colour banding on Saturn, but I suspect this is due to light Pollution.

I have found many DSOs but the view of them is not great. This is due to the severe light pollution where I am. As an example I used to live somewhere with darker skies and the image of M13 through my very cheap 5" Newtonian with very cheap eyepieces was better than of M13 though the 6SE. This is due to viewing location not the scope.

I would have loved to have gone for the 8SE, but the jump in cost is massive. Also, I think it would be more challenging to operate from my balcony (space really is limited) and is clearly heavier and a bit bigger and so consequently the ease with which I can set it up I feel would be compromised.

As a beginner (which I still am by the way), I was frustrated with the difficulty of setting up my newtonian, which involved carrying it in 3 bits - tripod, ota, counter weights. I was even more frustrated by the difficulty of then finding objects. If I ever did find anything it was out of view in an instant as the scope had no tracking capability, and manual tracking felt like patting your head whilst rubbing your belly.

If portability was not an issue I would love to see objects through a big dob, but know that I would become frustrated with the locate and track issue again. I know people say it is the best way to learn, but I believe you need to see some results to inspire interest and the want to learn. I am certainly learning the sky using my 6SE along with the book turn left at orion. Hopefully it will continue to fuel my interest and learning so that when I finally can have a 16" dob those frustrations I have discussed disappear.

Apologies for rambling, I hope it helps in some way.

[Donkeiller]

I have recently purchased a 6SE and I am very pleased with it.

My situation is that I am in a flat with a small corner balcony which affords me with sight of about 270 degrees of the sky (90degrees blocked by the flat).

The 6SE is small enough and light enough for me to keep it fully assembled in my spare room and simply pick it up and walk it out onto my balcony to observe.

I am in an extremely light polluted area near London and naked eye targets are few. I use the sky align method to setup the goto function and find that the target is always within the view of my 17mm (72 degree FOV) eyepiece.

I have had great views of the moon, and good views of Saturn. I cannot make out the colour banding on Saturn, but I suspect this is due to light Pollution.

I have found many DSOs but the view of them is not great. This is due to the severe light pollution where I am. As an example I used to live somewhere with darker skies and the image of M13 through my very cheap 5" Newtonian with very cheap eyepieces was better than of M13 though the 6SE. This is due to viewing location not the scope.

I would have loved to have gone for the 8SE, but the jump in cost is massive. Also, I think it would be more challenging to operate from my balcony (space really is limited) and is clearly heavier and a bit bigger and so consequently the ease with which I can set it up I feel would be compromised.

As a beginner (which I still am by the way), I was frustrated with the difficulty of setting up my newtonian, which involved carrying it in 3 bits - tripod, ota, counter weights. I was even more frustrated by the difficulty of then finding objects. If I ever did find anything it was out of view in an instant as the scope had no tracking capability, and manual tracking felt like patting your head whilst rubbing your belly.

If portability was not an issue I would love to see objects through a big dob, but know that I would become frustrated with the locate and track issue again. I know people say it is the best way to learn, but I believe you need to see some results to inspire interest and the want to learn. I am certainly learning the sky using my 6SE along with the book turn left at orion. Hopefully it will continue to fuel my interest and learning so that when I finally can have a 16" dob those frustrations I have discussed disappear.

Apologies for rambling, I hope it helps in some way.

Couldn't agree more.

Any non-Goto scope would have beein a disaster for me:(

As it is I can "learn the sky" and find objects I cannot see, or "star-hop" to because of the light pollution where I live:icon_scratch:

Apart from goto, the other "must" is a nice long dewshield. I made mine out of camping mat. It really cuts down on stray light.

I also stops the dew:hello2:

[smudgeball]

Do NOT fall for the siren call of the "bigger-is-better" "Dob-Mob"

Yeah ! !

I'm sure a home made dew shield will be fine for you, but if it's a DIY disaster you could always get a proper one.

Don't worry about more eyepieces for now. You'll learn about them soon enough and be in a good position to decide what (if any) you need.

Unfortunately the 6SE is a battery muncher, so you will most likely want to get a powertank.

Anyway, hope you get a 6SE, you'll be pleased with it.

Regards

Neil

[Ad Astra]

Another vote for an 'off brand' power tank. Check the local auto parts store, most have a 12V battery pack with the proper 'cigarette lighter' connector for about half what Celestron wants for it.

Others are right on the money with the dew/light shield issue as well. DIY is definitely the way to go.

Dan