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Which scope for planetary imaging?

Naemeth

Which SCT would you go for?  

12 members have voted

  1. 1. Which is the best SCT for Planetary imaging in the UK?

    • C6
      0
    • C8
      1
    • C9.25
      3
    • C11
      3
    • C14
      2
    • Edge HD 8
      0
    • Edge HD 9.25
      0
    • Edge HD 11
      0
    • Edge HD 14
      1
    • Meade LX200 *Not sure about these, please comment with size*
      0
    • Other SCT *Please comment with brand / aperture*
      0
    • Mak *Please comment with brand / aperture*
      2

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Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone, as some of you may know I'm planning a 3 scope set-up that I will move into, I'm fairly sure that it's going to be a planetary imaging scope, but I'm unsure as to which one... two things I guess that I'll have to weight up: Theoretical Maximum Resolution and Viable Resolution (in the UK). I don't want to have a huge scope that's capable of so much only for it to be out of use for a while, but I want something that will give me the best possible images when conditions are right.. initially I was thinking about a C14, but a C11 may get more use, and I can really only have 1 scope in this slot, so please help me decide :).

(Rest of set-up here, and thoughts)

Thoughts and comments?

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JB80

JB80

Posted
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Tough question.

I have had my heart set on a C11 for mainly planetary for a while now so that's what I will vote for however I am starting to question that and wonder if a 9.25 would be more forgiving.

I think if I were to stay in Belgium then the seeing is so routinely rubbish then I would reevaluate but we will be moving so maybe the C11 will be fine.

That's either a good thing or a bad thing about saving for it, it gives you time to research more if you are making the right choice or to completely second guess everything.

One thing it seems that as far as planetary is concerned there is no discernible difference with the Edge models and given the price difference it's far better to stick to the non Edge models.

I'm definitely interested to here other peoples thoughts on this as well.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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I had wondered if Coma would be an issue, particularly as planets only take up the centre of the FOV.

Could they all be used as white light scopes for good detail of the granulation on the Sun?

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cgarry

cgarry

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Posted

The Edge HD versions are not required for planetary imaging (I have an email from Celestron to back that up somewhere!). However, I have an Edge HD 14 because the price was much the same as the standard C14 with the deal that was available at the time.

After that it would still have to be the C14 for me as the extra aperture gives you flexibility. You can reduce the image scale to the same as a C11 would give and still have a much brighter image. This allows for a shorter exposure to be used, *hopefully* cutting through the seeing. This is not as much of an advantage on a bright target such as Jupiter, but can really help with Saturn.

However, it is true that for most of the time the C14 will be limited by the seeing (in the UK at least) and may not produce results any better than a C9.25 or C11. Still, waiting for that night with killer seeing is what planetary imaging is all about in the UK!

Cheers,

Chris

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JB80

JB80

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Could they all be used as white light scopes for good detail of the granulation on the Sun?

There are plenty of examples of it being done with full aperture filters, I would definitely go for it.

The long focal length should work to your advantage too.

The only reason I would rule out the C14 is money, but that's on a personal level. If I could afford it then I would consider it.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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That is the CGEM-DX (payload 50 lbs, so borderline). The CGE-Pro is even more solid:

http://www.firstligh...on-cge-pro.html

At that price, to be honest, I'd look at another Mesu (one with a Tak running on it gathering the photons and one so I can gather planetary data at the same time). Does that sound like good logic?

Certainly not intended for Deep Sky by the way, I'll have my Tak for that :D.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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I know the Mesu would be capable of the C14 (it would be capable of me sitting on it and "tracking me" around the skies, if I had the right dovetails of course :lol:). Plus it could probably give me a whole night of planetary video to be able to get the best out of the conditions!

Chris, I appreciate the advice, how stable is the C14 on the DX and what else do you have other than the C14 for imaging on the DX at the same time?

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cgarry

cgarry

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Chris, I appreciate the advice, how stable is the C14 on the DX and what else do you have other than the C14 for imaging on the DX at the same time?

The C14 on the DX is easily as stable as my old C9.25/NEQ6 combination. Here is a video of Mars with no guiding or other trickery to keep Mars in the frame to show how well the mount tracks.

My planetary setup usually consists of:

  • BS Astro Flip Mirror
  • Filter Wheel
  • Barlow
  • Spacer
  • Camera

Cheers,

Chris

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cgarry

cgarry

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That's remarkably stable, is it thermal currents / seeing that keeps wobbling Mars around?

Yes, the wobbling about would be mainly down to the seeing and to a lesser extent due to thermal currents in the dew shield that I had not managed to get under control back then. I am not sure exactly but the focal length was probably over 15 metres for that capture so it does not take much for the planet to jump around.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Yes, the wobbling about would be mainly down to the seeing and to a lesser extent due to thermal currents in the dew shield that I had not managed to get under control back then. I am not sure exactly but the focal length was probably over 15 metres for that capture so it does not take much for the planet to jump around.

Can all the data be made central by stacking software?

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