First telescope for father and son

[Louis D]

Just wanted to add my impressions from last night's viewing session alternating between the 72ED and 127 Mak during our first clear night in 2 weeks:

1. The Orion Nebula had way more extent visible in the Mak than in the 72ED.  Those 55 additional millimeters made quite a difference.
2. Trying to find it in the Mak was way more difficult than in the 72ED due to the 3.5x longer focal length creating a very narrow field of view.
3. The Orion complex was way more pleasing through the 72ED due to the low powers possible with it.  I could take in the entire area at once or magnify various parts thanks to a maximum TFOV of 6.5 degrees.
4. High power views (55-85x for the 72ED) through the frac weren't that great compared to the same powers through the Mak.  They were just too dim and undetailed to be enjoyed.
5. My 17mm eyepieces were my preference last night in the Mak yielding about 90x and a 1.4mm exit pupil.  I tried 12mm, and it just seemed to much power for the conditions.
6. Having two scopes for a grab and go setup seems ideal to me.  It's a little heavy all mounted up, but I could still pick it up single handedly with ease.
7. The 17mm Nagler T4 is indeed sharper on axis than the 17mm AT AF70 (Celestron Ultima LX equivalent).  I could pick out the Trapezium with ease at 25x in the 72ED with the Nagler while they tended to merge together in the AF70.  Maybe I'll keep the Nagler after all for my grab and go kit and save the 17mm ES-92 for the Dob.  The ES-92 is just too heavy for the little frac.

[NordicSyene]

31 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Just wanted to add my impressions from last night's viewing session alternating between the 72ED and 127 Mak during our first clear night in 2 weeks:

1. The Orion Nebula had way more extent visible in the Mak than in the 72ED.  Those 55 additional millimeters made quite a difference.
2. Trying to find it in the Mak was way more difficult than in the 72ED due to the 3.5x longer focal length creating a very narrow field of view.
3. The Orion complex was way more pleasing through the 72ED due to the low powers possible with it.  I could take in the entire area at once or magnify various parts thanks to a maximum TFOV of 6.5 degrees.
4. High power views (55-85x for the 72ED) through the frac weren't that great compared to the same powers through the Mak.  They were just too dim and undetailed to be enjoyed.
5. My 17mm eyepieces were my preference last night in the Mak yielding about 90x and a 1.4mm exit pupil.  I tried 12mm, and it just seemed to much power for the conditions.
6. Having two scopes for a grab and go setup seems ideal to me.  It's a little heavy all mounted up, but I could still pick it up single handedly with ease.
7. The 17mm Nagler T4 is indeed sharper on axis than the 17mm AT AF70 (Celestron Ultima LX equivalent).  I could pick out the Trapezium with ease at 25x in the 72ED with the Nagler while they tended to merge together in the AF70.  Maybe I'll keep the Nagler after all for my grab and go kit and save the 17mm ES-92 for the Dob.  The ES-92 is just too heavy for the little frac.

Thank you kindly! I've received the Mak, and we've had a total of one evening without clouds... That was mostly spent looking at the moon, and was a resounding success! The Tycho Brahe crater being a special favourite. I am curious to how you see the ED72 or ED80 complementing the Mak, compared to a Dobsonian.

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, NordicSyene said:

Thank you kindly! I've received the Mak, and we've had a total of one evening without clouds... That was mostly spent looking at the moon, and was a resounding success! The Tycho Brahe crater being a special favourite. I am curious to how you see the ED72 or ED80 complementing the Mak, compared to a Dobsonian.

I'm glad things are going well for you (and I assume your son as well) with the new scope.  The great thing about the moon is it looks different every night if you observe along the terminator.

I remembered an eighth observation about the Mak vs the ED72.  The 17mm AF70 maintained a clean view of the Trapezium right to the edge in the Mak while it got unrecognizable near the edge of the ED72 despite the field flattener I always use with it (short fracs have a very curved field at the focal plane).  Maks are very forgiving with respect to eyepieces thanks to their long f-ratio.  You won't have to spend as much on eye pieces with the Mak as you would with a fast Dob to get a similar level of performance.

The Orion Nebula should be about 26 degrees up from the horizon at your latitude, so make sure to check it out as well.  It's by far the most spectacular nebula in northern skies.