Refractor or SCT

[A_D05]

So I am fairly new to the hobby, what I mean is I have a Celestron Astromaster 114 right now but its hard to use because of the non computerized equatorial mount as well as the red dot sight is bad. I am mainly interested in looking at DSO’s because they seem very interesting. My question is should i get a refractor or sct for observing dso’s and sometimes planets? I want a computerized one with tracking so I don’t have to take a long time finding nebulae and galaxies. Also, is there a certain type of filter to see color on nebula when not using eaa and just viewing with your eyes? I am looking to spend between $600-900

thanks, 

drew

[Miguel1983]

Hi,

i think this telescope will check most of your boxes, i guess you can do some EAA with it and/or livestacking, but keep in mind this is AltAz, so there will be field rotation.

M42 is probable (i could be wrong) the only DSO where you can see a hint of color, but don't expect miracles.

Filters like a contrast booster or Oiii for visual just provide some more contrast so the DSO is a bit more defined, but they work best in large aperture scopes, 8" might be not big enough to gain something with a filter if you are not in a dark location.

[Kyle Allen]

I have the manual version of the 200P Dobsonian linked to above. It’s a great telescope for deep sky observing as well as the Moon and planets. I think that if your main interest is DSOs then get the biggest aperture you can afford yet can still comfortably move around. 
 

You won’t see colour in most nebulae because they are too faint for our eyes to detect colour. However, I’ve seen a hint of green in M42 (the Orion Nebula) and some planetary nebulae show subtle colour also. 
 

Keep in mind that dark skies make the biggest difference when observing galaxies and nebulae.