Underwhelming

[raymo]

Made a big mistake. After many years of visual with a minimum 200mm
aperture, and often 250mm or more, I got a new SW 120mm achro for
the sake of portability and super quick setup. Nothing wrong with the scope,
nice and sharp, but my favourite objects such as 47 Tuc are decidedly
underwhelming under anything but an extremely dark sky.:sad::sad::sad:
raymo:

[glend]

Aperture is king, especially visually. You could use it for narrowband imaging, it would be fine for that.

[Camelopardalis]

Dare I suggest a nice C8 raymo :P

[MortonH]

I second the C8. It's made a big difference to my balcony observing at home. Before I was using small aperture scopes due to the limited space. Plus the height of the eyepiece in my Newt makes it impossible to block out the lights nearby.

[raymo]

I just sold my C-8 OTA, as it required a mount that made the whole setup heavier than I find convenient; can't have it both ways I suppose.
raymo

[barx1963]

I hear a lot of people on IIS going on about refractors and how great they are for visual but NOTHING beats aperture! I have a 4" refractor now and it is a lovely scope but for visual use I would much prefer my home made 8" dob and to it, not to mention my 20"
Great optics cannot increase light grasp.

Malcolm

[raymo]

I might have to get an 8 or 10 dob for dragging out into the yard when my
need demands it, use the 120 for taking to dark sites.
raymo

[Wavytone]

Hi Raymo, don't diss the achro too quickly. I've been full circle.

My first "real" scope was a 4.25" f/15 Thomas Cooke refractor vintage 1880, and still the most memorable after 45 years despite having used scopes up to 30" reflectors, and made a few - 4", 6" 8" and 12" Newtonian, 12" cassegrain... 8" dob...

... and I'm back to a 130mm refractor.

[Kunama]

The old 'Horses for courses' comes to mind....

I still find the 120-130mm refractors to be the perfect tool for the brighter planets and the moon......
but we recently viewed 47Tuc in 100, 120, 150, 300 and 457 mm scopes and there is no question about it, aperture rules on globular and nebular objects....
resolving the core of Tuc and seeing the different coloured stars therein was magical in the M300 and K457...
even managed a clear 567x on Tuc and Tarantula !!!

[RobF]

The laws of physics are a pain in the arse at times really :lol:
Aperture and weight. At least the refractor probably looks nice?

[Wavytone]

The scope you will love is the one you find a pleasure to use. There's no point having a big one (a 30" or 40" come to mind) if you can't actually use it easily and frequently.

[raymo]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.
raymo

[Atmos]

While in Melbourne I use a 4" refractor for 100% of my visual time. Being only able to look at bright objects from where I live means that aperture isn't as important. My seeing here hasn't even approached what the 4" is capable of delivering which is why I don't bother setting up my 12" dob. Under dark skies nothing beats aperture though!

[cometcatcher]

What about a compromise. A 6 inch dob is about as easy to carry around as the refractor and has a bit more photon collecting power. Or even a 6 inch mak/cas.

[silv]

or go a totally different visual path: bino. binoscope or a big traditional.
or a binoviewer on your existing 120 achro!.
Wouldn't add any more hassle to your quick setup, either.


the immersive experience makes up for a lot of missing aperture.
you are "right there" with bino . like virtual reality. beyond words beautiful.

[silv]

When I recently was planning in that direction, I had decided for "BST Starguider" binoviewer from the UK, also sold as "Arcturus" binoviewer in the states. CN and Stargazer lounge do have some "it's really ok!" reviews.
Came with 3 diff barlows to accommodate most scope types' backfocus. And a pair of eyepieces, 30mm I think. you'd be up and running with one order. It sold for ~140€ in Europe as I recall.

Must be frustrating, your experience. First, you sell off everything to make the pain a short one. And now you are not enjoying yourself, anymore.
I hope you'll go for bino viewers or similar with your 120 achro. totally different. and wonderful :)