My Next Telescope?

[David55]

I've only been observing for a few months now, but feel that I'm ready to take the next step. My current 'scope is an ETX 80 GoTo refractor which I've been very pleased with. The GoTo to works perfectly now I've calibrated it and the chromatic abberation is entirely acceptable to me. My ETX is a tabletop version which is super for spending the odd five minutes looking out of an open bedroom window at Jupiter or Saturn or Beehive Cluster etc. But now I'd like to take the next step to a better 'scope to see more stuff for the longer outdoor sessions.

There are lots of 'scopes with only marginally greater apertures- but different configurations. So my first question is what advantage would I get from having a Maksutov configuration with only a small aperture increase (say an ETX 90 or a 125)? Max magnification is about twice the aperture- so not much change there and the aperture defines 'brightness', so not much change there either.

Would there be any advantage?

My current thinking is to go for a Skywatcher Skyliner 200mm Dobsonian- affordable and over 6 times my 80mm light collection ability.

I should say that I'm not very interested in astrophotography at present and my location, although out of town is not particularly dark. My interest is in seeing more objects in deep space- galaxies etc and having a closer look at Jupiter ( I can see 2 or 3 bands but not the red spot or the shadows of the moons) and Saturn (I can see the rings very clearly, but not the division) etc.

Your advice appreciated.

[Damo636]

The 8" dob would be a "massive" upgrade in terms of light grasp, & in every other area for that matter! It'll go much deeper on dso as well as being an excellent planetary performer. It would get my vote over the others every time.

[John]

As Damo says, the 8" dobs are a very substantial and worthwhile upgrade from an 80mm short tube refractor. Under good seeing conditions they show lots of planetary detail as well as many deep sky objects. You may get a bit of a shock when you compare the view of a bright globular cluster like M13 with an 8" scope to that of your 80mm !

[Andrew*]

You may get a bit of a shock when you compare the view of a bright globular cluster like M13 with an 8" scope to that of your 80mm !

In a good way!

For observing, an 8" dob is a superb all-rounder. You will not beat the views at that price point with any other telescope.

Bear in mind that a dobsonian is basic. If you rely on GOTO, there will be a learning curve involved in finding objects and tracking them, but I'd consider that a bonus

Andrew

[Grotemobile]

http://www.firstligh...r-200p-eq5.html

What i would go for is something like this.

Lot of dosh, but i think you would get more

use, out of something like this, than a Dob.

Steve

[NotSoSuperNova]

Something we all agree on is the 8" OTA, whether you prefer the EQ or Dob base is up to you. I had the same decision with mine and went for the EQ set up for versatility. One thing's for sure though, for observation, aperture is king!

[ollypenrice]

Spend the money on what you look through. That's the Dobsonian philosophy and it isn't daft. When not imaging I'm to be found at the Dob.

Olly

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/22435624_WLMPTM#!i=2277139556&k=FGgG233

[David55]

Thanks for the replies. 'Go for it' seems to be the consensus.

I don't really rely on the GoTo. Athough it works very well on my ETX, it's more of a 'nice to have'. Most of my observing is done controlling the scope manually looking for objects shown on the 'Luminos' app on my iPad. In fact, I've found that by holding the iPad against the front of the scope and with the app having 'Telrad Circles' on, I can align the scope quite accurately enough to centre the object when I take the iPad away- with the 26mm eyepiece in place anyway!

What I do find useful from the GoTo, is simply using the azimuth and elevation controls to keep aligned on a target without jogging the view as much as when moving the mount manually.

Going back to the Skyliner 200p, the one thing that looks a bit awkward is using the straight-through spotting scope. Will I need to be thinking of changing to a Telrad, right angle viewer or similar pretty quickly?

Thanks again, David

[estwing]

cheap red dot finder...

[Mr Fiery Jack]

The 8 inch Skyliner is fantastic value for money.

[Ohmless]

the 127mm would be a significant jump in light compared to the 90mm and can be put on a mount with go to. The dob would be better at light collection. Get whatever design you dig. Some people don't like attributes of one type or another, but you have to live with your decision. If you go to a local shop, ask them how long you can test a scope before exchanging it for a different one if it doesn't meet your expectations. They might just be cool about a test run like that.