Travel scope for Mars opposition 2018

[Ags]

I'm not sure it would be great at the 200x mags I would want to us on Mars. I still think taking the Twilight mount is the best option.

[happy-kat]

What about mounting your az3 tripod head on different legs?

[Ags]

I can't stand the AZ3, a totally misconcieved contraption.

[GavStar]

This thread got me thinking about arranging a trip to la palma for next year. I'll probably aim for a little after opposition so that mars is higher before midnight. I'm also aiming to hit close to the new moon for dark skies and Milky Way views. I think I'll take my tv85 but the discussion about the skymaxes is very interesting.

I wonder if a 127 skymax would give a better view of mars than the tv85?

[iPeace]

37 minutes ago, GavStar said:

I wonder if a 127 skymax would give a better view of mars than the tv85?

Now that's one question I'd like to see answered. I keep thinking that it would take a Mak 150 to make the difference worthwhile. And whether a Mak 150 fits my current observing style and habits, to say nothing of the number of - and average duration of - observing opportunities I actually get, is another question, not easily answered with "yes".

[Ags]

Yes, we are going before the opposition so bad for rising times, but that shaves 33% off the holiday cost. Almost enough savings for a mak 150 

Regarding scope resolution, I once generated some spot diagrams for various refractors versus Mars at 18 arcsec:

http://opticsandalgorithms.blogspot.nl/2015/04/refractor-diffraction-patterns.html?m=1

The brightness of the diffraction ring is somewhat exaggerated of course.