EQ8 R Pro mount what to place on it?

[Nigella Bryant]

Hi all, I've a recent purchase of an Eq8 R pro mount and undecided as to which telescope to mount on it. I've a C11 and a 12inch f4 Newtonian. 

The C11 is great for planets but Jupiter and Saturn are low near trees for me at the moment and fading fast into the western sky. 

The Orion optics 12ich f4 is great for DSO and spectroscopy having used it once a few years ago with my star analyser 100. 

So do I just go with the Newtonian and swop over next year when Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be much higher. 

What a choice, lol 

[callisto]

Yeah, go with your Newt and put the planet killer to bed for next year 

 

Mark

[johninderby]

Maybe a Mak-Newt?  If you could find one of the MN86 IntesMicro Maksutov-Newtons would be a great planetary scope. Hard to find nowadays though. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by johninderby

[rl]

Is this an observatory setup with a once-in-a-blue-moon lift on to the mount or will it be a regular thing?

I would suggest the C11 would be a LOT more convenient for visual use given the eyepiece positioning. The Newt may well prove optically the more versatile setup (but SCT aficionados may beg to differ). If your main interest is deep sky photography then personally I'd go with the Newt just on speed. You can do planets and spectroscopy well on either. 

My OO CT12 f/4 was wonderful on an EQ8. It did very well indeed visually on planets ..don't let the fast f-ratio put you off. Providing your scope has a decent mirror the sky will be the limiting factor most of the time. The only down side was rotating it in the cradles to access the eyepiece, and you could need steps when it pointed towards the zenith. The CT12 sat very high in the cradles to get a balance. 

Convenience counts for a lot with big scopes....made that mistake myself more than once!

[Paul M]

I'd love an EQ8 on a fixed pier (no observatory option here) then I'd get the big Newt on there ready for the winter DSO highlights.

Or you could treat yourself to a nice big RC, make that mount work for it's keep!

If you ask "A or B" on SGL you know the answer will always be "C" 🤣

[Nigella Bryant]

I'm learning towards the Newtonian, I do imaging so there's always a camera in the focuser so where the eyepiece is doesn't really count. I usually use the pc screen to visually look at the DSO anyway after it's download. 

Also it'll be on a pilar in an observatory. So no lifting in and out. 

[Nigella Bryant]

12 minutes ago, Paul M said:

I'd love an EQ8 on a fixed pier (no observatory option here) then I'd get the big Newt on there ready for the winter DSO highlights.

Or you could treat yourself to a nice big RC, make that mount work for it's keep!

If you ask "A or B" on SGL you know the answer will always be "C" 🤣

My budgets been blown for two years with the Eq8 R pro mount, lol. So a new big RC is not an option but a nice 17inch RC would be nice at £17,000, lol. One could easily bankrupt oneself with this hobby, lol. 

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, callisto said:

Yeah, go with your Newt and put the planet killer to bed for next year 

 

Mark

I'm leaning towards that, thanks.

[Alan White]

Nice to see you are at the which scope to mount stage Nigella, I presume the mounts in and ready to roll.

I am disappointed you have no large refractor to mount 😉but based on the choice and timing, we’ll go with the ships funnel

 

[Nigella Bryant]

6 hours ago, Alan White said:

Nice to see you are at the which scope to mount stage Nigella, I presume the mounts in and ready to roll.

I am disappointed you have no large refractor to mount 😉but based on the choice and timing, we’ll go with the ships funnel

 

My refractors 100mm, 80mm and the Lunt solar scope are triple mounted in the solar obsy, lol. That's on the neq6, lol.

I'm kiting out the night time dome with mirrors, lol 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Nigella Bryant