skyliner 250px (pyrex glass)

[stevelcfc]

I am thinking about getting the skywatcher skyliner 250px

(Pyrex glass). As anyone got this scope let me know if it's a

Good bypuy. I have never used a dob before.

[Madhatter]

The 250px is a brilliant scope, its my first "proper" telescope and i wont be parting with it!!.

At a guess for lunar/planetary the 250px probably wont be a huge amount better than your 150p! but where it will come into its own is looking at nebula/galaxys at a dark site.

[RikM]

The 250PX is a nice step up from a 150P. It's a wonderful scope to use. Just the right size.

[Doug]

Hi Steve

Sounds like a bargin at £418 let us all know what you dicide

[hemihaggis]

ah ...a 250mm scope ... serious piece of kit , will provide you with years of use ... ihave a 250mm meade reflector i think it will be all the scope i will ever need ...unless my numbers come up lol

[stevelcfc]

Thanks for the replies, almost certain that's

The one ime getting. I am happy with

the 150p I've gotBut think a 10 inch on

an equatorial mountWoulld be to big.

So it's got to be a dob.

Another thing it says the primary mirror is pyrex

Glass. I might sound daft but would that hinder

Performance any.

[cantab]

I believe Pyrex is normally good, as it doesn't expand and contract very much with heat. With plate glass, when the mirror is cooling down its shape changes, affecting the image (though once the whole of the glass has reached the same temperature the shape comes back to normal).

[stevelcfc]

Thanx that was my biggest concern. My mind is made

Up now, can't wait.

[PreludeToADream]

The pyrex glass means it doesn't take as long to cool down (I think).

The 250PX is a fantastic 'scope, got one myself. Are you going for the flextube or the solid tube version?

I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[John]

I had a 250PX a couple of years ago and I agree that it is an excellent scope - loads of performance potential for the £'s spent and still relatively portable.

I've often wondered why Pyrex is only used for that one mirror though, given that Synta (the manufacturer of Skywatcher scopes) now produce mirrors from 114mm to 400mm in diameter. Pyrex would probably not benefit the smaller ones much I suppose but I would have thought the 12", 14" and 16" apertures would be worthy of it

My slight gripe about this particular scope is the focal ratio. F/4.72 gives you a short tube but does have a relatively tiny collimation "sweet spot" and is harsh on low cost wide field eyepieces. In an ideal world I'd prefer to see a slightly longer tube and F/5.3 optics.

This is a small issue though and should not dissuade anyone from considering what is a great and affordable medium-large aperture scope

[dobbie]

hi steve i have both a 150p and a 250px flextube the 150p is my travel scope the 250 stays put its a fantastic scope, if you go for the flextube you may need a light shield /or as i call it a protecter shield i have seen someone drop is car keys into the scope ,the mirror is very exposed otherwise, let us all know which one you get and if you have any questions just ask,, regards dobbie.

[Floating...]

I was thinking of going down this route myself. I have a 150pl which I think is great but how much more could I expect to see with a 250px. To give you an idea of what I can see now I managed to find the Crab Nebula which was very faint - like a fingerprint smudge on a laptop screen.

[stevelcfc]

The pyrex glass means it doesn't take as long to cool down (I think).

The 250PX is a fantastic 'scope, got one myself. Are you going for the flextube or the solid tube version?

I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

i am going for the solid tube version, as sometime on the future when ive got the funds will get the eq6 to mount it on.

[stevelcfc]

I was thinking of going down this route myself. I have a 150pl which I think is great but how much more could I expect to see with a 250px. To give you an idea of what I can see now I managed to find the Crab Nebula which was very faint - like a fingerprint smudge on a laptop screen.

i have the 150p and i cant get to see the crab nebula even from a dark site. one of the reasons ime going for a bigger scope, i have a friend who as a 10" scope and you get a lot more detail in the dso's perticularly globular clusters M13 looks absolutely stunning in his 10".

not that ime dissapointed with the 150p far from it. I just think it's time to upgrade< i would go for a bigger one but as i go out to a dark site i think the 10" is about all i can cope with.

steve

[Floating...]

The crab nebula is a difficult one to find apparently so I was more than a little chuffed to be able to find it from my back garden. Not particularly impressive to look at but doesn't stop me telling anyone who'll care to listen about it (and quite a few who don't, if I'm honest!!).

Found M81 & M82 the other night, two galaxies in one view, which totally blew me away!!! I'm now developing a galaxy obsession hence the interest in the larger scope. I got my 150pl back in October when I didn't really know what was out there or if I'd even use it much.

[stevelcfc]

The crab nebula is a difficult one to find apparently so I was more than a little chuffed to be able to find it from my back garden. Not particularly impressive to look at but doesn't stop me telling anyone who'll care to listen about it (and quite a few who don't, if I'm honest!!).

Found M81 & M82 the other night, two galaxies in one view, which totally blew me away!!! I'm now developing a galaxy obsession hence the interest in the larger scope. I got my 150pl back in October when I didn't really know what was out there or if I'd even use it much.

hi mate seen m81 and m82 myself everytime i go out i make sure i have a look at them absolutely awesome, i have got a bit of a galaxy fixation myself, but galaxies are much harder to find. ile let you know how i get on with the 10". good luck with the galaxy hunting.

steve