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What's your favourite telescope and why? :)

emadmoussa

By emadmoussa
in The Astro Lounge

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

Posted
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I know a lot us down here have more than one telescope. I'd think it's safe to assume that there's always a favorite or most used telescope - or probably most favorite because of convenience and hence more used.

I personally find myself using the 80ED the most. Why? Probablyease of use and convenience. I'm not sure which comes first, convenience or ease of use. But anyway...I'm mostly a DSOs observer and the 80ED comes handy. A lot of the time I'm put off by uncertain weather and by the idea that by the time I set up the NEQ6 with either the 6" frac or C11 clouds had already started to roll in. So grabbing the 80ED on EQ3 it's a much easier option. I think I bagged most of the Messier objects using this scope - I'm dying to know what for example what M57 looks like in the 6 inch refractor or the C11.

Unless I'm certain it's going to be clear all night (and you never 100% certain) and I'm off work the next day I'm happy to drag the big kit out - otherwise the 80ED comes for the rescue. But on many occasions I still crave for more aperture - like I said I'm not sure what certain objects look like in the big scope which is a shame really.

One thing put me off the SW 80ED....this guy!! Try Googling ''Skywatcher 80ED''...he's always there... :D :D I already had a thread on him

100516-h.jpg

So, anyways....an open invitation for the respectable members to share their thoughts and passions :)

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clunsey73

clunsey73

Posted
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Wish I was lucky enough to have a favourite! I am pretty happy with my new purchase though, great scope for me to start on with an excellent goto function - really has made it a joy to go and see things with very little set up time. The poor outlook for photography already has me thinking about my next mount though! Using a Nexstar 6SE. I can't really take any exposures longer than 8-10 seconds without visible movement. Focal reducer on order though so lets see how that improves my limited exposure time? Bottom line is though it is giving me better views of the universe than I expected and I am getting a lot of satisfaction out of it. My worry about an equatorial mount is that I'm at 12 deg N - so its not easy to see the pole star as we don't have a great view north.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I have a 6" f11, a 12" f4 and a 16" f4, all dobs. although my favourite is definitely the 16" as it provides the best views of any of the three of all objects it's a beast to drag out and mostly gets used when I know it's going to be a decent/long night or if traveling / at star parties. from dark sites and my LP garden it's a brilliant scope and a joy to use.

however, my most recent purchase is the 12" f4. it's the easiest of the three to set up, it's got a good aperture and cools quite quickly. as a result it's certainly my most used scope at home. I am going to convert it to a travel dob so I can take it camping etc. and then it will also go to star parties with the 16"

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philj

philj

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This one 4" F15 Fullerscopes Deluxe refractor from 1979 on a Thos Cooke & Sons of York mount from 1870. Why? just look at it :grin: and looking through it is just as nice, the optics are superbm gives superb lunar/planetary (that's what Im doing there) and double stars are a joy

post-2283-0-65873100-1376761067_thumb.jp

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cantab

cantab

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My Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binoculars! They're probably my most-used instrument and responsible for most of my bagged Messiers.

If I get round to finishing my stalled project to make my 4 1/2 inch Newt a dob mount this might change though.

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planet15

planet15

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I have 8" SW200P, 6" SW Refractor and Orion 12" Newt.

Amongst these, my favourite has to be the Orion 12" Newtonian on GP-DX EQ mount. Its weight and size makes slow to set up. But once mounted, it gives best view pulling lots of lights, it is well worth the hassle. Only problem is, have not been able to go out observing for last 2 weeks due to continuing poor weather at night in this area.

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John

John

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This one 4" F15 Fullerscopes Deluxe refractor from 1979 on a Thos Cooke & Sons of York mount from 1870. Why? just look at it :grin: and looking through it is just as nice, the optics are superbm gives superb lunar/planetary (that's what Im doing there) and double stars are a joy

My favourite is Phil's Fullerscope too ! :grin:

I want one !

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Stu

Stu

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My Astrotech 106mm EDT. Whilst the Mak gives far better views, it is far more work to setup and keep dew free. The apo is much more portable and gives wonderful views under dark skies.

Stu

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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This one 4" F15 Fullerscopes Deluxe refractor from 1979 on a Thos Cooke & Sons of York mount from 1870. Why? just look at it :grin: and looking through it is just as nice, the optics are superbm gives superb lunar/planetary (that's what Im doing there) and double stars are a joy

Beautiful telescope -- very annoying little light next to you :D

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Andy_E

Andy_E

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Just recently sold ALL my astro stuff to fund a 10" dob build and some nice green and black EPs... Just finished the build and I'm totally in love with my scope even though we haven't had a 'proper' first light yet! I guess this answers the question... :smiley:

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tich

tich

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Hmmm I'm not sure if I have a favourite yet as I have 4 astro scopes, I've got my first which is a 200P which still gets used the most for observing & imaging the ST80 which isn't a bad scope to use although it will be used as a guidescope in the future soon. I brought a Celestron C6 SCT to image & observe planets & my most recent buy is a Celestron C80ED which I haven't used yet as I only picked it up today. I did use the SCT a couple of weeks ago which was ok but cooling seemed to take ages but it was nice to have the eyepiece at a decent angle rather than going up some steps so I can reach the eyepiece on the newt. I can't wait to try out the C80ED on the next clear night we get as I've been after an ED scope for a while now.

I've also got a cheap & nasty F11 3" refractor which I brought for peanuts just for the mount but I have used it when Jupiter was up & observed an Io transit & the GRS which I didn't think was to bad for something that cost a tenner!!

I will say I am strangely drawn to refractors I don't know why & Phils Fullerscope above is just gorgeous!!!

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drsureshmohan

drsureshmohan

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my favourite is the FSQ85 for the sake of ease of use.Just plug and play.

Suresh

LX200 f 6.3

AP Mach1

Orion EQ6 with orion 80 ED

Astrotech 12 inch newt 8 inch with ASA reducer working at F2.8

canon 350 D mono,500 d modified,qhy9 mono, qhy10

lodestar with TSoag9

qwik guider guidesccope

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emadmoussa

emadmoussa

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Hmmm I'm not sure if I have a favourite yet as I have 4 astro scopes, I've got my first which is a 200P which still gets used the most for observing & imaging the ST80 which isn't a bad scope to use although it will be used as a guidescope in the future soon. I brought a Celestron C6 SCT to image & observe planets & my most recent buy is a Celestron C80ED which I haven't used yet as I only picked it up today. I did use the SCT a couple of weeks ago which was ok but cooling seemed to take ages but it was nice to have the eyepiece at a decent angle rather than going up some steps so I can reach the eyepiece on the newt. I can't wait to try out the C80ED on the next clear night we get as I've been after an ED scope for a while now.

I've also got a cheap & nasty F11 3" refractor which I brought for peanuts just for the mount but I have used it when Jupiter was up & observed an Io transit & the GRS which I didn't think was to bad for something that cost a tenner!!

I will say I am strangely drawn to refractors I don't know why & Phils Fullerscope above is just gorgeous!!!

Lol - you're not the only one with ''refractor fetish'', mate!! :D :D

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RikM

RikM

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I would say that currently my 250PX Dob is my favourite but it is a close run thing and difficult to choose when the scopes are all so different.

I forgot to say why!

I like the combination of quick set-up, ease of use, and optical performance I get with this telescope. I can be set-up and observing in less than 10min. You simply point and look; the combination of a Rigel QuikFinder and 9x50 RACI makes finding things a breeze. It also has enough aperture to make deep sky objects interesting and enough focal length to get good views of planets. The only thing it won't do is super wide fields, but that's why I have other telescopes.

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