Nexstar 6SE owners........ How do you find the contrast on them ?

[bobafett]

Any Celestron Nexstar 6 owners out there that can comment on it's ability on the planets ? How is the contrast ?

Buying a new scope in the coming days (you may have seen my earlier thread) - the nexstar 6 is starting to edge it's way to the top of the pile but I'm also considering the Skywatcher 127MAK or 150MAK and was a little worried about the contrast loss I've heard with some SCTs when compared to MAKs of the same aperture.

Also any image shift troubles with the Nexstar 6 ? - I read another thread saying the Skywatcher 150 suffers from image shift.

Any help would be appreciated.

[johninderby]

The Celestron 6" SCT is very good on contrast. In a head to head comparison with a Skymax 150 Mak I did a while ago it was a tie between the SCT and Mak, but if forced to choose it would have to be the SCT. The SCT was much lighter and you could get away with a smaller mount, and it did cool down faster so I would go with the 6" SCT. Image shift is minimal with the SCT. I think it's the case of a Mak with average contrast for a Mak v an SCT with exceptionally good contrast for an SCT.

The 127 Mak is also very good and it's a lot cheaper than the other two, and while you'd be giving up aperture, at that price it's certainly worthy of consideration. The 127 has always impressed me with just how good it is considering the price and aperture.

So if I was choosing it would be either the 127 Mak or the 6" SCT with the decision being based on budget.

John

[John]

I had some of the best (and most contrasty) views of Saturn that I've ever had through an 8" SCT but it did need to be in good collimation to deliver this. Whenever the collimation went a little off, contrast was the 1st thing to be impacted.

[robhal9000]

Hi,

I have never had any issues with image shift. The lighter scopes like this benefit from some vibration damping (see your other thread) and they do suffer from minor focusing issues because the focusing mechanism moves the whole mirror.

I find the contrast be good on the 6se and improved with the use of a decent ortho or planetary EP.

My 4 main EPs for my 6se are

24mm Baader Hyperion for my widefield (it is not worth going above 25mm because of the tube/baffle/hole in the mirror in the 6se is only about 30mm wide and you get little or no benefit from 25mm+).

20mm WO 66 degree EP. General stuff. Came as a pair with my binoviewers.

12.5mm William Optic SPL range for planetary. Nice contrasty EP

7mm Baader Ortho for high mag planetary. (great, but tight eye relief)

The view you will see will be small disks for all the planets. Just in case you thought it was going to be like being in close orbit round the planets, no scope will show that big an image. The Moon, different story.

Mars - polar caps and variations in surface detail, dark areas standing out against the red/orange.

Jupiter - Red spot, moons, banding.

Saturn - Rings, moons, ring shadow some banding and the Cassini div. under good conditions.

Sky conditions will often have a bigger effect than scope or EP issues. Filters either coloured, Light pollution or contrast can help bring out the details.

If it wasn't for the price I would whole heartedly recommend this scope and unlike most modern appliances you don't change your scope every year or two. A well maintained scope will last you for many years and can have a decent resell value when you eventually move on to something bigger.

[brianb]

Any Celestron Nexstar 6 owners out there that can comment on it's ability on the planets ? How is the contrast ?

Not in the same class as a good apo refractor of the same aperture, but then it's a hell of a lot cheaper & very portable too.

The only comment I'd have on the choice of a C6 as a planetary scope is that the C8 is better (more aperture almost always helps!) & not a lot less portable.

[bobafett]

Thanks for the replies.

I currently have a Skywatcher 120 refractor but it gets little use as I find it too cumbersome to get up and down the stairs so I tend to always use my short tube 80 refractor for general viewing.

I'm just looking for something that will yield slightly better views than my 120 refractor but that will be quicker and easier to move around and I think the GOTO will help me view more objects with the limited time I have available.

So it looks like the nexstar 6 may fit the bill and tick all boxes.

Do you think the nexstar 6 will yield better views of the planets than my Skywatcher 120 refractor ?

[robhal9000]

Hi,

I think an SCT will beat a cheap refractor of the same or lower aperture at everything. I stress the word cheap.

[brianb]

I think an SCT will beat a cheap refractor of the same or lower aperture at everything. I stress the word cheap.

And a 6" SCT will beat ANY 5" scope - any design, any optical tolerance - more light grasp, more resolution offsetting the slight loss of contrast caused by the central obstruction - providing the SCT is properly collimated & allowed to cool to ambient. (A 6" SCT doesn't take long!)

[bobafett]

Thanks again for the replies.

Think i'll take the plunge and go for the 6SE then.

Cheapest I can find it is on www.binoculars-uk.co.uk anyone had any experience buying from them ? Or recommend someone who'll do a price match ?

They have it at £710 + postage and that includes the VAT.

UPDATE: none in stock with that supplier !

[russ]

And a 6" SCT will beat ANY 5" scope - any design, any optical tolerance - more light grasp, more resolution offsetting the slight loss of contrast caused by the central obstruction - providing the SCT is properly collimated & allowed to cool to ambient. (A 6" SCT doesn't take long!)

Maybe worth noting the differences may only be very small indeed. The jump from 5 to 6 is tiny. Even a 2" jump only yields small gains, especially on the planets. Just thought i would prime you first just in case you are expecting the 6SE to 'blow the doors off' the 120. The main gain here is the ease of setup and use.

That said, i was comparing a 6SE (belonging to Llamafarmer) against an LX90 (belonging to Marco) at our darksite meet on Saturday night and was mightily impressed with the 6SE. There was very little in it between the two scopes. The LX90 showing slightly more on the deepsky. But the difference almost non existent on Saturn.

[John]

Maybe worth noting the differences may only be very small indeed. The jump from 5 to 6 is tiny. Even a 2" jump only yields small gains, especially on the planets. Just thought i would prime you first just in case you are expecting the 6SE to 'blow the doors off' the 120. The main gain here is the ease of setup and use...

Russ makes a good point here - under some conditions your 120mm refractor may well actually provide slightly better views than the 6" SCT although the latter will be colour free of course.

An 8" SCT (or an 8" dobsonian for that matter) would deliver a more noticable difference but might not meet your other criteria of course.

[bobafett]

Hi thanks again for the replies - and I hear you on the 8" Nexstar but that stretches my budget too far. I understand also that the difference between the nexstar 6 and my 120 won't exactly be giant leaps but with a touch more light gathering and more ease of use and portability I think it will make all the difference for my viewing.

Well I've taken the plunge anyways.........

Just ordered a Nestar 6SE.

Did a bit of shopping round and got it for £749 with next day free delivery and that included a few extras thrown in......

Additional celestron 15mm eyepiece

Moon filter

Lens pen

I guess it pays to shop around

I'll let you know how I get on once it arrives.......

Thanks again for the pointers.

[John]

Congratulations !

If you do not already have one, a dew shield or heated dew prevention band is more or less obligatory when using a SCT in the UK - dew seems to build up so easily on that front corrector plate.

They really ought to provide those with the scope rather than the other "freebies" !.

[bobafett]

Congratulations !

If you do not already have one, a dew shield or heated dew prevention band is more or less obligatory

Yeah the celestron one for the Nexstar 6 was around £25 - £35 I think. Seems pricey for what it is........

Any reccomendations on materials to use for making a "home-made" dew shield ?

Just something that would do for now at least......since I'm all spent out !

[brianb]

Any reccomendations on materials to use for making a "home-made" dew shield ?

Corrugated card works but tends to go soggy & disintegrate. Closed cell camping mat foam is ideal.

[robhal9000]

Hi,

Some people have used neoprene and stitch on velcro. The stick on stuff tends not to be strong enough. There is a link in this thread to a supplier

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/94968-home-made-dew-shield.html

[Demonperformer]

Any reccomendations on materials to use for making a "home-made" dew shield ?

I got an A1 sheet of stiff black card from the local hobby shop, cut out a slice to give me a 12" cylinder that fitted round the front end, cut a 2" notch to fit around the dovetail bar. I have since added a layer of 5mm rubber mat for additional strength, but used it without for six months without any problems. The notch holds it nicely in place.

[Armsoft]

As a newbie myself thinking of moving up the scale to a 6" (either Meade or Celestron) I found your definition of What Can be seen in terms of size etc to be just the type of information that I as a newbie needs.

Its very easy when starting off in Astronomy to get carried away seeing close ups of Mars/Saturn etc and believing that your going to get this level of viewing with your scope, and then suffer the dissapointment when you only get to see the outline of a planet with just a bit of detail.

Thanks very much robhal9000 for the clarification, very much appreciated.

Mark

Hi,

I have never had any issues with image shift. The lighter scopes like this benefit from some vibration damping (see your other thread) and they do suffer from minor focusing issues because the focusing mechanism moves the whole mirror.

I find the contrast be good on the 6se and improved with the use of a decent ortho or planetary EP.

My 4 main EPs for my 6se are

24mm Baader Hyperion for my widefield (it is not worth going above 25mm because of the tube/baffle/hole in the mirror in the 6se is only about 30mm wide and you get little or no benefit from 25mm+).

20mm WO 66 degree EP. General stuff. Came as a pair with my binoviewers.

12.5mm William Optic SPL range for planetary. Nice contrasty EP

7mm Baader Ortho for high mag planetary. (great, but tight eye relief)

The view you will see will be small disks for all the planets. Just in case you thought it was going to be like being in close orbit round the planets, no scope will show that big an image. The Moon, different story.

Mars - polar caps and variations in surface detail, dark areas standing out against the red/orange.

Jupiter - Red spot, moons, banding.

Saturn - Rings, moons, ring shadow some banding and the Cassini div. under good conditions.

Sky conditions will often have a bigger effect than scope or EP issues. Filters either coloured, Light pollution or contrast can help bring out the details.

If it wasn't for the price I would whole heartedly recommend this scope and unlike most modern appliances you don't change your scope every year or two. A well maintained scope will last you for many years and can have a decent resell value when you eventually move on to something bigger.

[ollypenrice]

And a 6" SCT will beat ANY 5" scope - any design, any optical tolerance - more light grasp, more resolution offsetting the slight loss of contrast caused by the central obstruction - providing the SCT is properly collimated & allowed to cool to ambient. (A 6" SCT doesn't take long!)

Oooooooohhhhh......

Olly

[dweller25]

And a 6" SCT will beat ANY 5" scope - any design, any optical tolerance - more light grasp, more resolution offsetting the slight loss of contrast caused by the central obstruction - providing the SCT is properly collimated & allowed to cool to ambient. (A 6" SCT doesn't take long!)

Really ????????

[ollypenrice]

Really ????????

Well, as Brian knows, I could not possibly believe this! I wouldn't pit our 10 inch SCT against our premium 5.5 apo on the planets. Give me the apo any day.

Run for cover!!!

Olly

[Deneb]

Damn, I should have bought an 6" SCT instead of my 4" APO...

Nadeem..

[Deneb]

Damn, I should have bought an 6" SCT instead of my 4" APO...

Nadeem..

[dweller25]

Damn, I should have bought a 6" SCT instead of my 5" TAK ...

[twotter]

Two 4" APOs???

That's one heck of a pair of binos