Celestron Regal M2 spotting 'scope

[VisualBod]

After many years of digital "observing" I'm now yearning for a simpler life.

I have a pair of 50mm bins and I'll certainly be using those to see how much of the Messier list I can see (I imagine most of the Virgo galaxies will be invisible), btu I also fancy a "big" spotting scope to give me a bit more light-gathering power, and also some magnification for the Moon and planets. I'm thinking spotting 'scope rather than small astronomical refractor just for the sheer ease of use - pop it on a tripod and walk out of the door and start observing (while waiting for full dark adaptation of course).

I'm currently pondering a Celestrong Regal M2 100ED spotting 'scope. I've never looked through one, but I read good things about them. Hopefully I could do most of the Messier list, and more, with something like this, from a reasonable site.

Anybody had experience of this 'scope (or its smaller brothers)?

 

VB

[101nut]

I've got the 80ED, optically it's good and it's very robust.

However for astro work it has limitations. There's no flat surface to mount a finder for a start so accurate pointing is really difficult. The eyepiece is fine at wide angle but zoomed in is not so good. You can replace it with a standard 1 1/4" item but check optical compatibility before spending money. Also note that the eyepiece clamp is a rotating parallel type and very tight fit (it's waterproof after all) so swapping eyepieces is not that easy.

Personally I'd buy a small grab and go reflector for astro instead.

AndyG

[Putaendo Patrick]

Earlier this year I bought I second-hand 100mm spotting scope to use as a very quick grab-and-go for astronomy - and, although not perfect, for 50 pounds approx, it has been great fun and gets a lot of use.

However the Regal M2 is considerably more expensive, and personally I feel for astronomy you would be better with a similarly priced short-tube refractor. Advantages include better focusing, eyepiece interchangeability (including 2" EPs), filters, option of right angle diagonal, better finderscope possibilities etc.

Perhaps something like this: https://www.altairastro.com/Starwave-80ED-R-V2-FPL53-Refractor-Telescope.html  with a focal length of 550mm, but shorter, more compact fracs are also available if space/weight is an issue.

There are adapters to allow you to mount a dovetail on a photographic tripod, for example: http://www.tringastro.co.uk/starwave-mini-vixen-format-clamp-to-fit-camera-tripod-9648-p.asp  I reckon this would be just as fast as mounting a spotting scope.

 

[VisualBod]

Thanks for the advice chaps. I'm still inclining towards a spotting 'scope as I like the idea of "right way up" - it makes it easier to compare the view with bins, especially when planning starhops. And I can use a spotter during the day for a bit of light birding

Any thoughts as to whether a 100mm will buy me much in the way of light-gathering capacity, in real life terms, over an 80mm refractor? I found one site that suggests the gain might be just 0.1 magnitudes (10% gain, roughly) rather than the half a mag or more that one might expect from the increase in surface area. Oh to have both to experiment with!

Edited October 26, 2016 by VisualBod
Typo

[Ben the Ignorant]

31 minutes ago, VisualBod said:

Any thoughts as to whether a 100mm will buy me much in the way of light-gathering capacity, in real life terms, over an 80mm refractor? I found one site that suggests the gain might be just 0.1 magnitudes

A 100mm objective has 125% the diameter of an 80mm one, thus it takes in 1.25 x 1.25 = 1.56 as much light. That is a 0.5 magnitude gain, coupled with the lenses' natural strong contrast compared to mirrors, the 100mm would clearly sharpen and brighten the views.

I don't have a spotting scope but I've considered them a few times because of the weatherproofing and shockproofing. They have very short dewshields but it's easy to make a longer one. The only real problem is how to attach a finder, but since it does not have to be a permanent mod screwed to the body, that shouldn't be too difficult, either.

Finally, don't limit yourself to the Messier list. Messier never scanned the sky to find all the faint fuzzies and clusters, he just stumbled upon a few while following comets. The Herschel list, on the other hand, is the result of a true systematic scan, and has four times as many possible targets. That's why good pocket star atlases are never limited to the Messier iist.

[VisualBod]

4 minutes ago, Ben the Ignorant said:

Finally, don't limit yourself to the Messier list. Messier never scanned the sky to find all the faint fuzzies and clusters, he just stumbled upon a few while following comets. The Herschel list, on the other hand, is the result of a true systematic scan, and has four times as many possible targets. That's why good pocket star atlases are never limited to the Messier iist.

 

I was hoping to progress beyond the Messier list, but I've often thought that many of the other lists only really work if you have a 16" dob and are observing from the middle of the Arizona desert But, only one way to find out I suppose ...

Has anybody seen NGC 253 (the Sculptor Galaxy) from the UK with a small refractor? If so, what aperture? I'm curently thinking that 253 might be a good test of a small refractor's performance. I am of course lusting for a 100mm rather than an 80mm. Small aperture fever already!

[Ben the Ignorant]

24 minutes ago, VisualBod said:

 I'm curently thinking that 253 might be a good test of a small refractor's performance.

It's always interesting to search for a scope's limit but first, you can't judge it on one target, and second, that would be more a test of air dryness and blackness than a test of the scope itself. Performance varies wildy with conditions: just remember that the naked eye can see up to 7th mag in great air, or no better than 4th in so-so atmosphere.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Ben the Ignorant
typo

[Stefek]

I have Regal 100. It is really solid nicely built 100mm FPL51 doublet. It comes with zoom eyepiece (22 -67x manification) . Eyepiece has the thread to put camera on. 

Focuser is not really built for astro use , but can serve the purpose. 

I managed to put 178 camera instead of eyepiece, just to try is it of any use for astrophoto in primary focus. 

As it is f/5.4 , it is reasonably fast . Unfortunately an erecting prism introduces some artifacts on the stars and it is doublet so CA will be there

as you can see it on attached images.  Leo triplet is just one hour, M100 is 2hours integration. Images are just with removed background, color calibrated and stretched , with a bit of curves. No any other processing. Could have focused a bit better with Bathinov and made artifacts less visible.

Well, Regal will not make an APOD image, but it cold serve someone who want to turn it to the sky for fun. 

I believe that standard astro APO refractor is a better choice for dual use than spotting scope.

 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Stefek