Help with picking a scope for visual observing

[nmoushon]

So because of daily life getting more and more crazy and free time basically gone I have decided to step away from AP for now. I just dont have the time to sit out all night with it, especially since I really need to go to a dark site to really take advantage of my CCD. I dont want to loose interest in the hobby so I want to switch over to visual instead of AP. But visual has a totally different set of requirements than AP and so I'm stepping into uncharted territory here. Besides that aperture is king I dont really know much about the pros and cons of different types and such. So some advice would be much appreciated. 

My current plan is to sell my CCD and use those fund towards a nice visual scope and keep the rest of my kit (list in my sig). So Im struggling on deciding on what scope to go for. Do I go for a large Achro refractor? (Can't afford a decent size Apo so thats out) Or do i go with a larger aperture in a Newt, whether that be on my EQ or in a Dob stand? Or do I got with a little less aperture but more FL in a SCT? I open to suggestions and any advice. I'm really out of my element here. 

I'm leaning towards maybe a 10" SCT as its a good mix of affordable aperture and FL and will also fit comfortably on my HEQ5. But I'm open to any suggestions. 

Thanks in advance. 

[kalasinman]

Let me be the first to recommend a good pair of bins and a 8-10" Dobsonian.

[RobertI]

I've found my 8" SCT and 72mm refractor to be a good combination, the former for light grasp on the faint fuzzies and the latter for nice widefield contrasty views of clusters, doubles and starfields. I would think your HEQ5 could take both scopes at the same time. Just my personal experience of course.

Coming from AP you may find Electronically Assisted Observing (also confusingly called video astronomy) a satisfying way of observing. With my SCT plus Lodestar plus LodestarLive software I can view objects down to mag 17 on the night within minutes and its very easy to set up compared to AP - may challenge your budget though? See the Video Astronomy forum for more details.

[Lowjiber]

Stepping back from the CCD world into visual is gonna be a bit of a shock from a light gathering perspective.  However, the number of successful targets on a given night more than make up the difference.

Since an apo is not in the equation, a 6" achro will give you a lot of performance.  However, most 6" achros do exhibit a bit of CA when viewing planets.  Some don't like it and opt to put a "Fringe Killer" flter in the optical path.

Next on my list would be a 10" to 12" Dob.  Obviously great DSO scopes.

However, your idea of a 10" SCT is pretty good... especially since you already have a mount that will handle it.

While I don't currently have one, my experience has been that SCT's are "pretty darn good" at everything, but not "great" at anything.  It's a nice combination IMHO.  The long focal length (high focal ratio) will yield a fairly narrow FOV, but a simple focal reducer will solve that problem nicely.

Clear, Dark Skies

[estwing]

A 10" Dob will be easy to handle and cheap to pick up second hand

[happy-kat]

With time being a factor will you be looking at a new mount which is quick to setup and use or plan to use the HEQ5?

[nmoushon]

Right now I plan on keeping the heq5 and my ed80 for wide field views. I'm not against upgrading my mount but not sure if I can swing that as I do want to get a couple decent EP s as I don't have any. I do want to try and stay with goto bc I don't have a lot of free time and want to use it observing and not hunting targets down. If I do have the time I can always not use the goto and go manual.

I do like the idea of possibly. Doing.some video astronomy but that's an after thought atm.

[YKSE]

I agree with Lowjiber's assessment of the scopes.

Considering your experience as an astrophtographer, getting a SCT of suitable size for the mount is more productive than using a dob in a casual use. A Celestron C9.25 has very good edge correction, it'll save you lots of cash in eyepieces even if you're very sensitive to stretched stars in the edge.

[deepspacehunter]

I have had MANY Telescopes in my 40 Plus years of observing... My favorite ( by Far ) is my 12" DOB... with Premium Eyepieces... the views are SUPERB.... of course it is Cheshire Collimated and has a Dual Speed Focuser....

Mark