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Old 07-10-2020, 09:15 AM
astro744
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astro744 is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,244
Whenever I hear balcony I think small space, limited sky and noticeable vibration at higher powers. I would rule it GOTO due to lack of alignment stars and inability to access whole sky. I would also rule out astrophotography due to vibration. My first thought would be a short refractor on an Alt-Az mount and navigate manually and learn the sky in the process.

There is a 102mm/f5 refractor in the classifieds at the moment on an AZ3 that would suit but by all means go into a store like Bintel and have a look and you will see what will and will not likely suit your balcony. I would rule out a longer refractor as it can be quite cumbersome in a limited space and perhaps even more difficult to access the eyepiece if you are close the the balcony edge. (As I have not seen your balcony I am only imagining a telescope close to the edge of the safety rails to maximise the view of the sky).

An SCT is more compact than a longer refractor and provides more aperture and if 8” is too much to handle then perhaps a C6, C5 or similar is an option. A short refractor is a whole new experience with potentially much wider field of view than an SCT so it comes down to what you prefer to view, (low power sweeping or high power individual objects).

Of course the amount of light pollution may be a determining factor and for low power sweeping with say 500-600mm focal length and 4mm exit pupil or less you may still get a rewarding experience in the city if you have significant light pollution. If you have a darker sky then you can increase the exit pupil and potentially widen the field of view depending on which eyepiece you use.

You can no doubt use you short refractor for planets and it’s performance (in terms of chromatic aberration) will depend on the design of the optics (and dollars). Aperture is of course limited in a small refractor but you will be surprised what a quality product can show. I use a Tele Vue 60 on a TelePod as my grab’n’go and if I was on a balcony I would use it or perhaps buy a TV76 on TelePod or TV85 on Panoramic mount (if and when the dollar ever becomes parity!).

I wouldn’t advise that you buy them without first getting a taste of a lower cost small aperture refractor first (or looking through one of the mentioned ‘scopes). If you find a used ED80 in the classifieds, grab it and you may find it is all you need since it has very good colour correction. A non ED model is fine for low to med powers and even on planets at higher powers as chromatic aberration may or may not bother you and you can minimise its visibility with a suitable filter. An ED100 would of course be a logical upgrade but unfortunately it is a much longer telescope that the ED80 hence my initial suggestion of the 102/f5 in the classifieds (non-ED).

In summary if you want as much aperture as possible (smaller than C8), go with say a C6 or C5 or similar otherwise a short refractor. The mount is your choice on what is manageable for you. Sorry I keep quoting Celestron SCT numbers and I understand you have a Meade 8” on LX200. Note there may be lighter 8” SCT options also to consider than your Meade and perhaps others may suggest some for you as I am not familiar with what is available.

Edit: Also noticed a GOTO mount in the classifieds you could use with the 102/f5 if you didn’t like the AZ3.

Last edited by astro744; 07-10-2020 at 10:07 AM. Reason: Added last para.
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