150 pro Mak vs C8 or 8se

[knobby]

Hi all... Got a spot of burning aperture fever and wondering if going from a sw 150pro Mak to a C8 or 8se will be worth while.

I'm staying with my eq5 as its nice and portable so the next jump up (C9.25) would be a step too far :-)

I have a 250 dob for visual and the C8 would be mainly for planetary webcam imaging (asi120mc)

Cheers all

[jambouk]

Is the 9.25 too heavy for the mount? For planetary and lunar imaging the tracking doesn't have to be perfect.

Have a look in the planetary imaging section and see the results people are getting with the various scopes. It's a question of aperture vs focal length, and also also mak vs sct (which retains collimation better)....

I'd go for aperture.

James

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Just the 9.25 OTA + planetary cam will fit on a EQ5 Mount. As you don´t need a guide Scope + guide cam, the wait should be ok.

[knobby]

oh you've done it now ! got me thinking about the 9.25 !

cool down will be hours though ?

[jambouk]

Cool down time will depending on the starting temperature; if you keep it in the oven at 150 degrees it will take much longer to cool down than if it's in an unheated outside garage.

[knobby]

Cool down time will depending on the starting temperature; if you keep it in the oven at 150 degrees it will take much longer to cool down than if it's in an unheated outside garage.

Not sure it would fit in my oven 

[jambouk]

Haha

Just store the scope in a cooler place for the 12 hours prior to use, and if transporting it in the car don't have the hearing ramped up.

If the only place you an store the scope is in a centrally heated room, the cool down time will be a consideration; i can't remember the time per inch i'd read but you'd find the info on here somewhere.

James

[knobby]

scopes are in the extension at back of house , near the window so reasonably cool anyway... the 150 takes about 2 hrs for full cool 

[jambouk]

Are you doing your planetary imaging from home? If so can you set up 2-3 hours before you need to image then cover it all with a green witch bag or BBQ cover?

[knobby]

Mainly back garden, but occasionally trip out to darker spaces ...

[knobby]

so moving back to sanityville :-) ... 8" sct vs 6" Mak ... worth the upgrade ?

thoughts please ?

( I know the C9.25 is going to bug me now)

[Mike73]

You can get a Lymax Cooler (or make your own) to help with cool down times. It still takes about 45 minutes for my 180 to cool on its own and thats storing it in a garage, only takes 8 minutes with the cooler.

[Peter Drew]

SCT's cool down faster than Maks. 

[riklaunim]

C8 on a decent EQ mount will be best (EQ5 with drives). The Celestron SE mount may not be very accurate/stable (I didn't had luck with it), while 150 mm Mak will just be smaller and thus will give less detail when imaging planets (lower resolving power ) C8 is lightweight and it will cool quote fast (faster than like 180 mak with thick from meniscus).

And the Lymax Cooler idea can be easily made "at home" at much lower prices (a must have for bigger SCTs).

Less obvious choices would be a bargain on some top quality 200 mm Intes Mak (fans for cooling etc.), or even GSO/Revelation 8" RC (not planetary by default, but can also be used as such as of DS imaging. Bit higher obstruction may be overcome in processing).

[knobby]

Cheers for the opinions... Now I'm torn between a C8 or an 8" RC...

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Cheers for the opinions... Now I'm torn between a C8 or an 8" RC...

If you want to use it for both Visual and imaging..... go for the 8" SCT for sure!

[knobby]

Just not sure the 8" will be much of an upgrade... Decisions decisions :-)

[Mr Spock]

If you are going down the planetary imaging route then there's nothing finer than a C9.25 - except for a C14, which is a lot bigger...

[knobby]

If you are going down the planetary imaging route then there's nothing finer than a C9.25 - except for a C14, which is a lot bigger...

you're gonna get me in trouble 

[knobby]

How about an 8" Ritchey Chretien ... nice and light, open tube, fast cool down ?

But any good for visual ?

[Luke]

If it's mainly for planetary webcam, then if it was me, I'd go for a 9.25 and feel confident looking at Damien Peach's images taken with a 9.25. If it was good enough for him to bother using...

I actually have an 8 as my main SCT now (instead of a C11) because of its light weight and compact size and having enough aperture to keep me amused imaging and observing the moon.

[knobby]

Not many votes for the Ritchey Chretien then :-)

[rowan46]

I'd vote c9.25 never used one but from  everything I have read Its considered the jewel in the crown in celestrons sct range. Big enough to see most anything. small enough to be manageable. one of the descriptions described it as the goldilocks scope.

[jambouk]

What f/ is the RC?

There probably aren't many cotes for the RC as fewer people have owned one / own one / know anything about them.

I toyed with the idea once, but i like the fact SCTs and Maks are essentially a sealed tube and that there is no issue about cleaning the primary; the corrector plate is dead easy to clean if necessary.

For every inch greater in aperture you go, you get something like 30% more light gathering (assuming the secondary stays constant i presume).

So i'd say go for the greatest aperture you can afford / can lift / will regularly use.

Jd

[Dude_with_the_tube]

if the intended use is just planetary and moon,why not think about refractor with a nice long F ratio? cooling time:none,storing issues :almost none and your mount will be perfectly happy with it.

Planets are bright and do not require massive apertures.Did a quick comparison between my 14" dob and my 90mm F14.4 (1300mm) refractor and on the moon frac gave much crispier views then my dob as for dob it was by far too bright.Even my wife said that the frac is better on moon.