Best for planets/Moon 102EDa Ostara or 10" Skywatcher Dob

[Yeoman]

Hi All, I currently have a Skywatcher 250p (10" dobsonian reflector) which is a bit too big for me to cart about and so I am looking for something more portable so I can get out of the garden to some good sites and also looking into doing a bit of photography of the moon and if I can planets... Anyway I don't know whether to change my huge "Light bucket" for a more portable Ostara 102EDa refractor or not... I have been told that a refractor is best for land use, photography and planets and reflectors are best for deep space so I was thinking of looking at a decent refractor with it being more portable and also better for what I need it for... my bro says they had one of these at a party he went to and he says that it was their favourite scope... its an Ostara 102EDa kit and I have seen an offer on Amazon offering £600 off (it says its £1500 worth of scope (with £200 finderscope & eyepiece etc all for £895)... Now I cant afford to buy the new one without selling my old one so I cant compare them together...can anyone more experienced give me more of an idea of the pros and cons of a 102 ED refractor over the Dobsonian Reflector please. I know it will be more portable but how will the clarity of view compare, I was wondering what with it having smaller lenses etc... the ED has much better quality lenses but they are A. smaller and B. cost more, would I be better off getting a smaller reflector ? I have been watching a few astronomy programs and a few of them when they show a star party seem to have these 102 ED refractors and I have seen a 102ed on the Sky At Night recently also...price isn't an object as they seem to retain most of their value and I can get most of what I pay for things back as I keep the boxes etc but I would like to get some good clear pictures and be able to move it about with one person... they say one person can move my 10" but its a pain for me and its too big for the car etc... so basically I was wondering am I doing the right thing selling mine and getting one of those or should I keep mine and spend the money on upgrading the dobsonian...

[nightfisher]

save a few pounds, keep the big scope and look out for a used skywatcher 102 Ed, they crop up around £400 ish, but you would need a mount as well

[John]

save a few pounds, keep the big scope and look out for a used skywatcher 102 Ed, they crop up around £400 ish, but you would need a mount as well

Yes, those were my thoughts too

If it's well collimated the 10" scope should still beat a 4" ED on the moon and planets if the seeing conditions are decent though.

[nicks90]

which is a bit too big for me to cart about and so I am looking for something more portable so I can get out of the garden to some good sites and also looking into doing a bit of photography of the moon and if I can planets

I have a desperate urge to buy a big dob myself - aperture fever - but i would have exactly the same problem as you! The best scope is the scope you actually use and all that.....and my back garden is full of LP so to get good viewing i have to go out places and a big dob would just not get used!

When i get the money together to upgrade from my 130mm newt I will be in the same position as you and will also be looking very closely at a nice refractor or SCT. I have also seen those ostara fracs and they do look the business, and as i now own 3 ostara eps (all lovely to my untrained eyes) i would be very tempted by one. Although a 150mm skywatcher refractor also appeals, as I am not sure i would notice the difference ED glass makes and the extra aperture would be nice.

[rwilkey]

Hi Yeoman, I came to the same conclusion as you (but after being partially disabled by a stroke), so now I have two telescopes. My advice is not to get rid of the reflector, you will miss the deep sky views. The 100ED is a great choice, also one that I have made and I love the scope, great clear images with the right accessories, dielectric diagonal, good quality ep's etc. However, I would buy a telescope from a dedicated astronomy shop like FLO, you will then get the back-up service and the expert advice second to none.

[Yeoman]

Good advice thanks, yes I got my 10" dob from FLO they were very helpful, I reckon you are safe with Amazon as they have their A-Z claim thing if you get ripped off or anything goes wrong with it but I did go with FLO in the end as they were recommended on here, I had been looking for the 8" at the time but there were none left, I wish I had waited, I really do like the views from the 10" but I am sort of bored by myself on the back garden and the missus isn't bothered and I cant really get it on and out of the car myself, my bro just bought an NexStar 8 and he is going out and about with his he has access to some dark sky sites and we have keys to some private land so I really would like something more portable so I can go with him. I am put off the NexStar and goto scopes by a the software problems he has had with his and it kept losing its "memory" etc but there is an "update" that cures it apparently, I do like the idea of motorised but worry about it going wrong, with the 102 ED scope I see you get a 30 year warranty but there is less to go wrong so will probably not need it... one funny thing about my brothers goto scope is that it kept pointing at the floor it took ages to figure out why..... he had forgot they do their dates the other way around in the USA, it was so funny when he realised but by this time he had wasted 2 good clear nights and didn't get any sky for two weeks after !!

[No-i-dear]

I'd like to ask a question, if I may.

Looking to upgrade in the near future and the Sky-Watcher Quattro-10CF 250 Parabolic Dual-Speed Imaging Newtonian OTA caught my eye. My aim is to ccd cam the planets but still have good views of deep sky objects. Is this a good choice? Would be looking to fit it on a NEQ6 type mount. Any thoughts?

[Yeoman]

Cripes I don't know myself but I am sure someone reading might.... I am going to go for the 102ED and keep the 10" dob also for now till I see whats what.... If anyone could recommend a tripod for it that would be good..

[rwilkey]

Hi, I use a Vixen Porta II which I find perfect, but an AZ4 will do the job just as well. I prefer the Porta as it has slo-mo controls.

[neil phillips]

it is true the scope you use the most is a better scope, But perfomance compared to a good 10" Newt will be worse, both on deepsky and planets. ( though a fast frac is good for deepsky imaging of course )

No 4" scope could hope to do as good on planets as a 10" Newt. Not even a Tak . Both visually or imaging the planets. No Frac or mak or SCT at 4" could do as well. I had a good meade 7" F15 which was great on lunar. nearly as good as my Orion. But the Orion killed it stone dead on planets. And that was a 7" F15

So if your sure you want to lose the perfomance ( and it is quite a loss make no mistake ) for your other considerations. Then those considerations are more important to you. So would be the right choice for you. if this is the case ?