114mm scope users unite

[Gottzi]

Calling all 114mm reflector users.

Don't let the big aperture bullies get you down let's have a celebration of all that is good in 114mm scopes.

What's the most amazing thing that you have seen in a 114mm reflector.

[cantharis]

Calling all 114mm reflector users.

What's the most amazing thing that you have seen in a 114mm reflector.

A 16" Newt.

[Gottzi]

lol. Size isn't always everything!

[russ.will]

Do you get told that a lot?

Russell

[swamp thing]

I used to have a 4.5" newt, does that count?

Tough to pick one object, mine provided me with so many great views, and has given me so many great memories. I always look back with great affection at it. I gave it to a buddy who still uses it and I cadge a look through it whenever I visit him and its clear out.

[cantharis]

Any woman will tell you size is important - but she´s usually thinking about your bank account.

[Gottzi]

I might of known mentioning size would bring the smuttier side out of you lot. Who says Astronomers are boring? lol

[NGC 1502]

My first scope was a 4.5" (114mm) reflector back in 1979. It gave me some great moments for about 10 years.

I fully agree with post #1, don't be swayed into a bigger scope if you are happy with what you have. Very few of us (myself included) have exhausted the potential of a modest aperture.

A 114mm reflector has a lot going for it - easy to set up, very little if any cooldown needed, quick to pack away if the clouds roll in, easily portable in a car, etc. It will show all the main views of the solar system - phases of Mercury and Venus, polar caps of Mars, cloud belts of Jupiter plus the 4 moons, Uranus and Neptune as tiny discs, and loads of the brighter DSOs.

The most important thing you need to add to a small scope is enthusiasm, this will trump a bigger scope that's not in use because it's too heavy/complex or has a long cooldown or other issues.

My best views ? Comet Halley in 1985, following Uranus drifting against the background stars over several clear nights in a row.

Regards, Ed.

[DirkSteele]

My first scope 20 years ago was a 4.5" Newtonian. Am I allowed in? How about those of us that have 4.5" refractors (also have one)? Still the same size....

Clear skies,

[TractionMan]

My first scope was a 4.5" (114mm) reflector back in 1979. It gave me some great moments for about 10 years.

I fully agree with post #1, don't be swayed into a bigger scope if you are happy with what you have. Very few of us (myself included) have exhausted the potential of a modest aperture.

A 114mm reflector has a lot going for it - easy to set up, very little if any cooldown needed, quick to pack away if the clouds roll in, easily portable in a car, etc. It will show all the main views of the solar system - phases of Mercury and Venus, polar caps of Mars, cloud belts of Jupiter plus the 4 moons, Uranus and Neptune as tiny discs, and loads of the brighter DSOs.

The most important thing you need to add to a small scope is enthusiasm, this will trump a bigger scope that's not in use because it's too heavy/complex or has a long cooldown or other issues.

My best views ? Comet Halley in 1985, following Uranus drifting against the background stars over several clear nights in a row.

Regards, Ed.

Reading posts like this one really helps to put a lid on that aperture fever. Will stop reading about big dobs for a while now. Thanks!

[E621Keith]

If you never look through a scope bigger than 114mm than a 114mm is perfectly fine.

I thought my C6 was perfectly fine until I looked through a 24" monster dob.

[kenmyers]

I have two 114mm scopes! one f/7.9 and the other an f/5.

I love how easy they are to carry, set up and use.

I don't see myself upgrading for a long long long time. Next moneys going on a robot* yey!

My best views were my first of Jupiter, Saturn and the Orion Nebula. Still my fav's to this day.

I can find nearly anything the bigger dob users can find (baring in mind I live in a true pitch dark site with no light polution)

Most amazing thing I seen in my scope though was the international space station with a 25mm eyepiece. It moved really quick but I was able to track it for about 30 seconds. Inspiring!

*motorised mount

[Jem7]

My first (and only) scope was a 114mm Meade reflector, purchased just before the close approach of Mars a few years back. I remember reading in a magazine at the time that modest size scopes would give very good, if not better views of this event than larger scopes. I observed the polor ice caps and plenty of structure over many weeks in very good detail. I was well chuffed with what this scope showed me and I do remember at the time being fairly well blown away. It was the first time I had looked at another world.

Sadly I sold that particular scope shortly afterwards and have regreted it ever since. However, the scope done a great job in leaving a strong lasting impression that I have not been able to shake to this day. It has seen me years later return to the hobbie and I'm now getting closer to purchasing my second scope after a break of a good few years. It was a couple of hundred pounds very well spent.

Hats off to the 114mm reflector (Wish I still had it )

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

A friend bought a Tasco 114mm F=900mm years back, and I got a Konus 4.5" F=500mm as a wide field instrument. That did not see much use (the 80mm F/6 is better). I cannibalised it to build a mini-Dob for the kids. Nice little scope if I say so myself. The kids have seen sunspots (with Baader Solar film, of course), and were bouncing through the garden when they spotted.

Link here: