Planetary scope.

[JohnC]

We now have an EQ6 pro mount with a Megrez 72 for the wide field stuff, (camera is a modded 300d). Thinking which scope for planets. options include

ED100

Skymax 150/180

Megrez 90.

Camera will be either a toucam or neximage.

Which one would you recommend?

Thanks

John and Dawn

[Paxo]

I would be swayed towards either the Skymax 150/180 at the moment, FLO has them on a special promotion at the moment.

Steve..

[brianb]

I would be swayed towards either the Skymax 150/180

irrespective of the price - the extra aperture is worth it. The 180 is a fair weight and takes a long long time to cool. Consider the MN190 which has better quality optics and copes well with wide field low power work as well as planetary/lunar. You'll need an EQ6 to hang it on.

[Doc]

SW Equinox 120 APO

[Ford Prefect]

I would be swayed towards either the Skymax 150/180 at the moment, FLO has them on a special promotion at the moment.

Steve..

I would agree with Steve the Skymax is the way to go especially at current prices. I have a Megrez 90 and while it does give some nice views of the planets, it doesn’t have the magnification of the Skymax

Cheers Jon

[DaveGibbons]

I would go with the Skymax pro 180. Stunning on the planets , magnificent on the moon , best lunar views I have ever seen. Needs a

couple of hours cooldown though so not one for a quick look if kept indoors.

cheers

Dave

[JohnC]

Thanks for the replies. The Skymax 180 is looking favorite at the moment. Cool down time is not an issue as the scopes will be out long before use. One final question (apologies).

We wish to image a few galaxies...would the scope do this or would the Megrez 72 be better for that?

Thanks again.

John and Dawn.

[Ben Ritchie]

I'd vote for the Skymax 180 too - cooldown isn't such an issue if you setup early, and conditions here aren't like some parts of the states where temperature deltas are so large that you can sometimes never reach ambient. In AZ it's not uncommon to get as much as 10-15F/hour drops until midnight, I remember one night setting up an C14 at 6pm and it still wasn't cooled down six hours later.

As for galaxies, the 180mm Mak has 2700mm focal length, it's extremely demanding to do long-exposure imaging at that focal length so you'd be better off with the Megrez. That's rather short focal length for many galaxies but perfect for M31, M33, M81/82 etc.

[JohnC]

Thanks Ben.

One of my favorite targets will be M51, what F/L would be best to get a decent pic of this?

[Ben Ritchie]

M51's relatively small, here's an example short-FL refractor image plucked at random off the 'web

M51 Wide Field 06-23-09 | Mahoning Valley Cortese Observatory

so the Megrez would be similar to that. Personally I find about 1000mm focal length a good balance for many galaxies (i.e. a 5" f/7.5 or thereabouts), which will give you more of a 'zoomed in' view without being too hard to guide or too seeing-dependant.

[JohnC]

Thanks for all that.

OK, decision made.

Final set up will be:-

Mount EQ6 pro.

Megrez 72 wide field.

Skymax 180 planets

Equinox 120 Galaxies and planetary nebulae.

Cameras will be modded 300D and a toucam or neximage.

This appears to give a good spread for the required targets.

Thanks to all for the advice.

[Ben Ritchie]

Along with the 16" dob you have for visual I can't fault that setup, pretty much the perfect "value for money" lineup in my book. You can get better 'scopes in each category and there are better mounts than the EQ6, but in every case you're spending quite a bit more £££ for small increments of performance.

Only possible suggestion would be to look towards a DSLR with live view as it's a real help in nailing down focus - unless you already have the 300D, hard to tell from your post if it's a plan or if you already have some of it.

[JohnC]

The 16" has been swopped for the EQ6 as we are getting a larger dob.

The outlay is being made as a last round of purchasing, due to a lifestyle change. We have the Megrez and the dslr already.

Will be ordering the Skymax straight away as there is a great deal on at the moment. The 120 may wait awhile in the hope that a secondhand one may come up. ( secretly would love to get a WO FLT 132...where do you draw the line?)

We are not fully fledged imagers so i think that these scopes will keep us happy for a long time. (don't we all say that )

[Ben Ritchie]

secretly would love to get a WO FLT 132...where do you draw the line?

Do your research if you're tempted by that one.

edit: I should expand on that comment. I've not used a FLT132, but have seen a number of posts in assorted forums raising concerns about quality control. So if you're considering it, it's worth looking into the concerns, your dealer's support (hint, FLO!) and how to identify the issue before parting with cash.

second edit: you don't need to understand German to read this one Equinox schlägt - William Fluorostar FLT-132 - Astro-Foren.de - Die unabhängige Community - something with a Strehl number of 0.49 in the green should never have got through QC, a premium refractor should be >0.95