Hello!

[Eric Vai]

My name is Eric, and glad to be here. I'm from Maine, United States. I am going to buy a refractor very soon, but I'm still trying to decide on the matter as to which one.

[JoshHopk]

Hi Eric, welcome to SGL 

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[Archaeoastronomer]

17 minutes ago, Eric Vai said:

My name is Eric, and glad to be here. I'm from Maine, United States. I am going to buy a refractor very soon, but I'm still trying to decide on the matter as to which one.

I'm new here as well, it seems extremely friendly, i see you come from Maine, I LOVE MAINE COON CATS, they are huge, i would have to be a fisherman to feed one though!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon

[ronl]

Hello Eric, and welcome to the community, hope you enjoy your time here in SGL,

It's not that easy to choose a new scope, good luck with that, see you around the forums.

Clear Sky's.

 

[Mr Spock]

Hi Eric, welcome to SGL 

[Floater]

Welcome. Hope you have lots of fun with the hobby. 🙂

[banjaxed]

Hi Eric, welcome to SGL.

[PeterCPC]

Hello Eric and welcome.

Peter

[Simon Dunsmore]

Welcome to the forum. It's a great community a wealth of information. I'm sure that there are plenty of opinions on Refractors. 

I purchased my first refractor about a year ago. Skywatcher 72ED and love it! 

Have fun

Simon 

[Eric Vai]

Thanks everyone! 

[sloz1664]

Hi Eric, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

Steve

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Eric, welcome. 

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire 🙂

[Dr Strange]

Welcome aboard Eric! Take a look at https://www.explorescientific.com . Their ED APO refractors are top flight and good for visual and astro photography (AP). The minimum size I would suggest is 102mm with 127mm being better for visual. Both work very well on the Celestron Advanced VX GOTO mount though AP on it with the 127 is a challenge but doable. My most used scope was their 127mm FCD1 on the Advanced VX. I could be setup, aligned, and viewing or imaging in under 15 minutes if I was moving at a moderate pace. It is not the cheapest option out there but compared to other hobbies it is relatively affordable. If you want to image with the 127 a Celestron CGX or Skywatcher EQ6-R is the mount you will need not to be frustrated.