Grab and go upgrade from mak127

[Trentend]

With rubbish recent viewing conditions and a seemingly constant  “poor” forecast on the weather app, I’m considering upgrading my lunar/planetary visual set up for those occasional 10 minute clear windows in the back garden. Currently have a mak127, M2 Stellarvue mount and Gitzo series 5 tripod. Great little scope and punches well above its weight but looking for more brightness and contrast. Have always wanted to scratch the mak180 “planet killer” itch but already have a C11 on a planet/AZ100 which is a beast to carry and cool-down and I think the mak180 would get little use hauling all that weight out for a quick session.

So was flicking through the pages here the other day and stumbled across the Stellalyra 6” CC which I’d never heard of but seems to tick the boxes. Long focal length (similar to the mak150), good for visual, quick cool down and relatively light. Question is would this sit ok on the M2 with diagonal and binoviewers (I think so as the M2 has a c.9kg load limit) but not so sure about the Gitzo tripod. Any thoughts? Would this be much of an upgrade?

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Trentend

[Louis D]

I've really been enjoying my GSO 5" f/5 Newtonian with Linear Bearing 2" focuser for quick outings.  It's low cost, relatively light, holds collimation very well, has no cool down issues, has sharp optics, puts the eyepiece up nice and high so I can keep the tripod low for stability, goes from wide field to high power views with merely an eyepiece change, and has a usable two speed focuser.  You might need a pier extension for your mount to use one without hitting a tripod leg at high elevations.  If you're picky about edge to edge sharpness at low to mid powers, you might want to pickup a GSO coma corrector for it.  If you concentrate mainly on high power viewing, you'd want to remove it anyway because it introduces spherical aberration at high powers.

[dweller25]

Mewlon 180 - light, excellent contrast, never dews up, 1/20th wave optics.