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Ordered 150PL for planets anyone used one?


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I've been using small refractors for my planetary viewing, 72mm etc short focal length.

Decided I want to more light gathering.

So I ordered a skywatcher 150PL f8 1200mm focal length.

I believe these are good planet busting scopes and looking for people who have used one that can tell me if your experiences.

I could of gone down the 200p route but I thought the smaller secondary and longer focal ratio of the 6 inch f8 would be better contrast etc.

Thanks Gary 

Edited by stafford_stargazer
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I have no experience with the 150PL, but I did build a 6" F/8 "planet killer" Newtonian in the distant past. Mine had a secondary of just 36mm or so,  just some 24% secondary obstruction (SO), which made it perfect for planets, and no slouch on deep sky viewing. The 150PL has the same 36 mm SO (according to this pdf), so performance should be similar. An 8" with 33% SO will show more detail, but with slightly softer contrast. My current C8 shows more detail on planets, despite its higher SO.

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I use one, not just for planets. It's gven me some good detail on the gas-giants and on Mars, conditions permitting. I often use it for "general" observing anyway, providing the target isn't too big. It can nearly fit the Pleiades or both Perseus double-clusters in the FOV with a 32mm Plössl. Good for splitting doubles too and does well with "lesser" eyepieces.

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I once owned a 6" F8 newt, it wasn't actually the SW model but it did have the same CO.....the physical design of the scope is good for Lunar and Planets.   Collimating is easy too due to F8.

Enjoy!

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I think you'll find the 150PL a really nice scope for lunar and planets. It will show you much more detail than your 72mm refractor, but the diffraction spikes (or diffraction 'smears' in reality) are really noticeable when viewing the brighter planets (Jupiter and Venus). The experience is very different to a refractor, you won't see such a clean edge to planetary disc, so the view will look a bit more 'messy', but the detail will be there on the disc. Lunar should be superb.

One of the biggest surprises with my 150PL was how good it is on DSOs - I remember one of my clearest ever views of the Veil through my 150PL. I think this is party because it is so much easier viewing close to the zenith when you view with a Newt, which is where you tend to get the darkest sky and the best seeing. It's also very, very good on tight doubles. The other thing I love about Newts is you can give them a big hug when you are looking through them. 🙂  

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If you find the contrast is a bit lacking on planets, a cheap yellow and skyglow/light pollution filter stacked together does wonders.  It's basically a baader contrast booster for less money.  I tried it on the 130pds I use and it blew me away.

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You can add a #80A blue to that. And if you really like to observe planets, consider the Baader neodymium (moon and skyglow) or the Baader Contrast booster. The first one is excellent for Jupiter and works very good on the sun. The second one is very good for Mars. The contrast booster gives a bit of a yellow cast and on the moon its like using a #8.  These filters are not cheap but definitely worth their money.

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