Scope help

[Rangers82]

Hi going to purchase a new scope and was looking at the celestron 127 slt but have just seen the orion xt6i intelliscope does anyone have any views on which one would be best to get

[brantuk]

Well - they are two different types of telescope - ones a Newtonian on a dob base and the other is a Maksutov Cassegraine on a goto mount. The only similarity is that they are alt/az telescopes (as opposed to equatorial). The 127 has tracking but the xt6i is "push to" and there's an inch difference in aperture between them. The Mak has a focal length of 1500mm at f-11.81 and the dob is 1200mm at f-8 and the dob has an electronic pointing system.

This all means several things in practise. With it's long focal length and high focal ratio (f-11.81) the Mak will make a very sharp and contrasty planetary scope giving great views of sun and moon as well. It's a very popular tube size and the goto and price are usually very attractive to beginners.

The dobsonian with it's slightly larger aperture and shorter focal length/ratio makes it a better light gathering scope that will open up more of the deep sky. You have to manually move it to find and track stuff but the electronic pointing will make it very useful for beginners who want to learn how to physically find objects.

So neither is really best because they operate differently and do different jobs - bear in mind you can still look at all objects with either scope. Your choice will be swayed by what you primarily want to look at and how you wish to operate. I'm sure others will chip in comments for you but hope that helps.

[farunj]

The 127 is a great planetary and lunar scope because of its large focal ratio! This also makes it more forgiving on eyepieces, in that lesser quality eyepieces will also do a good job compared to a smaller focal ratio scope. The dob is an inch larger, and as such will show more. The dob is a great overall scope, and if you consider a 8" dob, it would be a very great beginner scope! It's big enough to start showing some great detail in Messier objects, and yet it's also portable! The 6" and 8" are great beginner scopes! Hope you make a good choice!

[NGC 1502]

It really is a tough call giving telescope advice............and I'd agree with the previous posts.

Both those scopes are fine, have technology on board to find sky objects, but in a different way. The 127 will 'go-to' with the built in motors, the 6i is a 'push to' guided by you reading the handset. Do you have a preference which system would suit you best ?

The 127 should require less maintenance (collimation) and the mirrors will keep clean as the tube is a closed system. It's easier to clean the front corrector than the mirrors on the 6i. The 6i will do better on deep sky, the 127 is great on solar system, and has a very compact optical tube.

But as already said, you can view all types of object with either scope.

Like I said, it's tough giving advice............

I'd weigh up what's been said, and what others may chip in with.

Can you get to a dealers that stock the scopes you are thinking of ? Seeing them in the flesh could help you decide.

Hope you find your ideal scope, Ed.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I maintain that its better to have a scope that gathers more light so that you cant observe DSO's rather then a scope which will be limiting and show only a few planets. The scope for DSO's will still show the planets but the scope for observing planets will struggle to show DSO's. Hope that makes sense.

[MorningMajor]

I've never used the Orion so couldn't do a comparison, but my first scope was the SLT and I loved it - and I still wheel it out every now and then especially for planetry viewing - so if you decide on it you won't be disappointed.

Good luck with your choice.