An Unsual Question

[yeletah]

Hi

i am reasonably new to astronomony, this may be a daft question.

I'm thinking of buying a skywatcher ED80 pro,

when looking at open clusters, would their be a significant differance visually between a

Celestron 70mm travel scope

and a

Skywatcher ed 80 pro

any advice welcome

Thanks

Steve

[ronin]

The 80mm will collect 30% more light then the 70mm, you will not notice a great deal of difference, but the fainter itens should be a little more apparent. The main difference will be in the quality of what you see.

The ED80 should deliver a sharper more defined image.

An 80mm ED is a bit of an odd scope, they do just about everything quite well but for individual aspects there will be something better, however that "better" will be at the cost of some other aspect. The ED 80 will be a good all round scope.

[glowjet]

As Ronin has said, there should be a deal of difference in the resolution quality of the ED 80 when compared to the basic 70mm travel scope, when looking at open clusters. The difference should also be perceivable when looking at something like M13 The Great Hercules Cluster, delivering a firm perception of individual stars, to a certain degree. But there would be a whole lot of difference when compared to the image as seen through that of a 200mm reflector. Quite a big difference in outlay between the three scopes as well, the 200m will not be as transportable as the other two but certainly less expensive than an ED 80

[yeletah]

Thanks For the info

sounds like the skywatcher Evostar ED80 pro is worth the investment (£500 package) and will be a good all round scope to search and find the Messier objects, in particular the open clusters.

I am attracted by this scope (evostar ED80 pro) as it appears you are paying more for the optics/glass rather thans the machined finish, as in the case of the william optics LS71 or the INED70.

Steve

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

An 80mm scope is really nice (I have an 80mm F/6), especially when looking at extended objects. However, for many Messiers aperture is king. If you need something really portable, with a lot more aperture (but much less good at wide field) I would consider the C6. Almost 4x more light, in a short, lightweight package. It also shows much more details on planets. TS have orange C6 OTAs for 599 euro:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p5576_Celestron-C6-SC-XLT---150-1500mm-Schmidt-Cassegrain-Tubus.html

[yeletah]

Thanks,

I have celestron 6SE which is superb for higher detail observing along with the amazing Goto computer mount,

However i find I use my 70mm celestron travelscope more and enjoy trying to find the objects, hence the interest in looking to buy a higher quality short tube 80mm ish refractor (and the portability).

Steve

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

OK, so that base is well covered. If you get a suitable mount for the ED80, you could also mount the 6" SCT OTA on it, so you can hunt fainter Messier objects youself. The combination of an SCT and short, quality refractor is great.

BTW I have a 70mm F/5 scope very similar to the Celestron 70mm travel scope. I use this purely as a giant finder. The view through it is nice, but the 80mm F/6 just blows it out of the water. Apart from optical quality and large aperture, the simple fact that I can use my 2" EPs completely transforms the experience. The 3.76 deg true field of view with a 22mm Nagler at 22x is just awesome; at 15.5x the 31mm Nagler given 5.3 degrees FOV, and will show the entire Veil Nebula, or the North America Nebula with Pelican (using UHC filter from a dark location). The 70mm F/5 has a maximum 4.46 deg FOV with a 25mm Antares 70 deg SWA EP.

[yeletah]

Thanks I never thought of that!

Is the dovetail bar on the 6se a vixen dovetail?

Steve

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Yes it is.

[robhatherton]

Well if you get an ED 80 just let me know if you ever want to swap for my Travelscope 70; I won't mind!

Rob

[baggywrinkle]

I too have a Celstron 6SE and a SW80ED.

The SW80ED is superb for wide field views and delivers really sharp images, my 6SE is great for solar system and some DSO work. I looked at Saturn a couple of weeks back through both and though the image was smaller in the ED80 it was pin sharp and actually better than the 6SE which was a bit of a surprise.

The focusing on the ED80 with its 10:1 ration is superb too. If you can buy it, you will not regret it.

[yeletah]

Thanks for all the advice, its a great help.

I will buy the SW ED 80 Pro package and the vixen mini pronto (alt azi mount) - for portability in and out the house

Thanks

Steve