Telescope Upgrade - 8se vs c8-sgt????

[Lioness_Stargazer]

Evening everyone!!

I am looking to upgrade my telescope to a slightly bigger one - I curently own a Celestron Nexstar 6 SE - I was just about to jump straight in and go for the 8 SE as that seemed the obvious and easiest choice, but Ive just spotted the Celestron C8-SGT.

I just wondered if anyone owned one of these and if they would recommend it? I am just starting out in AP so I need to stick with a GOTO/Tracking telescope. The C8 has this, and also has a Equatorial mount - big plus in AP - the 8se does not. I have a budget of £1500.

The only obviously differences in the two, other than the mount is the weight - which, living on a second floor flat is a bit of a issue for me - I need something relativly portable to be able to take outside, however my boyfriend is always willing to lend a hand so as long as I can detatch the tube from the mount then this shouldnt be an issue.

I no there are a million other options out there but I dont have acres of space in my flat so the catadioptric telescopes are a perfect size and portability for me!

Thanks again in advance!

Claire

[E621Keith]

I would go for the C8 SGT if you already have a 6SE. You can always take the C8 and mount it on your 6SE mount.

The C8 SGT is manageable if you take it down in pieces. Carrying the whole scope and mount will be a bit much for most.

[Lioness_Stargazer]

Its going to be a replacement for my 6se - so I wont have the old mount unfortunatly but then all I read is about equatorial mounts so thats probably a good thing!

[Eamon]

The C8 SGT as it has an EQ mount (quite a considerable advantage in terms of AP), it should be just as manageable as a 8SE, as it can put into 3 pieces and re-assembled, but always remember the best scope is the one you will use the most!

[rowan46]

If you want to do imaging it isn't the best scope to get. an f10 focal ratio will be too demanding for a cg5gt it doesn't have the necessary accuracy for imaging at that focal length I would suggest

First Light Optics - Celestron C8-N GT (GOTO) for visual and spend the difference on an ed 80 for imaging.

[rowan46]

I have just reread your post and reconsidering if space is an issue for you get an heq5 and ed80 for imaging and keep the nexstar for visual then look around for a 2nd user c8 ota if you want to upgrade. with what you would get for the c6 tube you should be able to manage all 3

[JimStan]

You can always stick an F/6.3 adapter on the back of an F/10 8" scope, and shorten the effective Focal Length by quite a bit. Just another option.

Jim S.

[PunkJay]

If you are considering imaging then look at a combination involving an HEQ5 - it's widely regarded as the minimum you need for effective imaging.

I went from an 8SE mount to HEQ5 setup and the difference in stability was jaw dropping!

cs,

- Jason

[Lioness_Stargazer]

Thanks for all the advice!

You have all just thrown a lot of letters and numbers and me so im off to go and do some research!

Excited!!

[rowan46]

glossary for numbers used

heq5- First Light Optics - Skywatcher HEQ5 PRO Synscan

c6 is the tube on the nexstar 6se

c8 is the tube on the nexstar 8se both can be bought as optical tube assemblies

cg5gt is the mount that you were looking at

for imaging you ideally should have a scope arounf f6 or faster ie <6

ed80 is an apo refractor of aprox 80mm apparture it's a doublet refractor with very good colour correction all the good firms make one of about that apparture for imaging. Hope that helps sorry about the numbers Everybody seems so expert I forget that there are people newer to the subject than me

[Dunkster]

For your budget, you could get a C9.25 on the cg5gt mount... depends on what your AP intentions are...

[LukeSkywatcher]

The 8SE is very portable when you break it down into three loads. However as you know it does not come on an EQ mount. If AP is your thing or likely to be then the 8SGT is the obvious choice. I'd imagine the OTA will weigh the same as the 8SE. Perhaps the weight of the tripod and EQ mount on the SGT will be roughly the same as the tripod and mount on the 8SE?.

I just did some checking. The 8SE has a combined weight of 15Kg. The 8SGT has a combined weight of 25Kg.

Bit of a difference, but not a problem if you break it down into its componants.

[Lioness_Stargazer]

For your budget, you could get a C9.25 on the cg5gt mount... depends on what your AP intentions are...

I have looked at that one as well - but I have to remember that I need to carry it down 2 flights of stairs and across the road to the park, so every little extra bit of weight become an issue!

I think ive decided to go for the c8 for now and get a focal reducer to help with imaging. I will look at getting the HEQ5 mount at a later date when ive got to grips with this one! I might even have a look around for a second had smaller refractor to help with imaging too!

Thanks again for everyone help - its definatly opened my eyes to what I need to be aiming for!!