Viewing the planets

[Simon Dunsmore]

Hi Folks, 

I'm thinking of adding another scope to the collection. I have a Skywatcher 72ED for wide field, a Skywatcher 130pds for dso and astrophotography but I'd really like to view (and possibly photograph the planets). 

I'm thinking of a used skymax 127 but open to suggestions. Budget around £170. 

Thanks for your help 

Simon 

[Kyle Allen]

How about a 150PL? They are £185 new. You get a lot of aperture for your money but it could be challenging to mount due to its long physical length

[Nigeyboy]

+1 for the 150-PL. I have one and it’s perfect for lunar and planetary obs. The long focal ratio means you get good magnification from modest eyepieces and the 150mm of aperture makes for lots of light gathering! I have it in the EQ3-2 which to be honest does struggle a bit!

[Simon Dunsmore]

Thanks for the suggestions. 

I have an Heq5 pro mount, so that would probably be OK. 

How does the 150PL work for astrophotography? 

Any thoughts on the 127?

[Nigeyboy]

I have not yet dabbled in the dark art of AP apart from a couple of shots done by holding my iPhone up to the eyepiece! The OTA is about 1.2m long and does catch the wind easily. I would think a Mak would be more easy to use for AP plus it would have a longer focal length. 

[Simon Dunsmore]

7 minutes ago, Nigeyboy said:

I have not yet dabbled in the dark art of AP apart from a couple of shots done by holding my iPhone up to the eyepiece! The OTA is about 1.2m long and does catch the wind easily. I would think a Mak would be more easy to use for AP plus it would have a longer focal length. 

Hi, yes I had the same thought about the wind. Mmmm🤔 

[Nigeyboy]

Would it just be AP of the moon and planets then?

[Simon Dunsmore]

6 minutes ago, Nigeyboy said:

Would it just be AP of the moon and planets then?

 

Yes, I think so, as I have the 130pds for dso. 

[Nigeyboy]

While I’m certainly no expert, I would think the Mak would be easier to use for that sort of AP. The smaller OTA and longer focal length would be a double bonus! I’m sure someone with hands on knowledge will be along soon!!

I’m hoping to use my 150-PL for basic lunar AP once I get a set of motors for my EQ 3

[Stu]

Visual or imaging or both?

[Simon Dunsmore]

Bot

9 minutes ago, Stu said:

Visual or imaging or both?

Both ideally 

[Simon Dunsmore]

11 minutes ago, Nigeyboy said:

While I’m certainly no expert, I would think the Mak would be easier to use for that sort of AP. The smaller OTA and longer focal length would be a double bonus! I’m sure someone with hands on knowledge will be along soon!!

I’m hoping to use my 150-PL for basic lunar AP once I get a set of motors for my EQ 3

Thanks for your input. 

Hope you get those motors soon! 

[DeanCJ]

Hi Simon.

My wife and I have had a Symax 127 for a year or so now and have found it to be a cracking little scope. Saturn and Jupiter along with their larger moons are no problem with medium to high-medium power, as far as the GRS and Cassini division go, with patience, we have only seen these a few times when the seeing has been very good. We have also seen Uranus and Neptune, although small in the eyepiece, there is a definite hint of colour. We can never agree on the colours (blues and greens seem to be reversed for us) 
The brighter Messier objects are also no problem for this scope either, and the smaller star clusters are a delight, as far as double stars go, I prefer this to our 8se they seem to be sharper. Lunar views are stunning and it can handle quite high magnification.
It does need cooling, I find 30 minutes to be a minimum but 45-60 perfect, also the aperture is really 120mm not 127mm and the fov is quite tight, so much so, we bought a Startravel 102 for wide field views.
I have never done astrophotography but the focal length of this scope is 1500mm with a f11 ratio which I gather is not ideal.
Some people describe Maks as planet killers, the 180 may well be but the 127 maybe not?, others say Maks punch well above their weight, I suspect this may well be correct but I don’t have enough experience to say, other than I find this scope for visual use, fantastic especially for it’s size and cost.