Hmmmm...just thinking of my next scope

[davidpretorius]

Well maybe not my next one, but something to aim for!

http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?ProdID=90


Why do the big planetary guys use Celestron?? Why not meade?

I can't fault Rumple's c9.25 for viewing M42 and respect asimovs opinion very highly.

Mainly a planetary scope but I do enjoy all facets of astronomy.

Any thoughts for someone looking to go down this path one day???

[Miaplacidus]

Just perfect for Jesse's next birthday, don't you think?:)

[davidpretorius]

yes, 7 yrs old in march next year. ready for junes opposition. ok, i am confident...I will just go talk to the wife....back in a sec!!!

[asimov]

No longer taking that path. I'm totally satisfied with what I have.

Are you thinking SCT only ? not another newt but bigger than your 10" ?

Bigger is not necessarily better.

[anthony2302749]

I have been thinking about my next scopes. First choice would be the 18" Obsession just for visual astronomy. My second choice would be the Meade 14" LX200R for planetary and DS photography.

And I plan to have both.

Anthony

[Starkler]

Dave you should make Bird an offer on his old newt if you want a dedicated planetary newt ;)

Me, I'd like a 15" obsession or similar :D

[[1ponders]]

Apart from the Celestron 9.25, I'd choose meade over celestron. If for nothing more than better value for money. I'm yet to look through a meade SCT that didn't meet my expectations, though I've looked through a few celestrons that disappointed.

[acropolite]

I think I read somewhere that the C9.25 has a different mirror shape and a smaller central obstruction hence better imaging performance. If I was buying again it would be a C9.25 on an Eq mount.

[cjmarsh81]

I think you would hate a scope that is not a dob. It is not as modable.

[davidpretorius]

i am keen to see how well the c14 has performed over damian peach's c9.25 from last year and chris go's c11 from this year.

where will it all end with imaging planets ie the next 10 years.

basically jupiter is nearly 400px high at the moment with my toucam and 1250 fl dob, so a 800 x 600 camera or bigger dwn the track

this c14 has a 3910mm focal length, throw a 5x powermate and an extension tube to get to 7.7x and it is getting silly.

but then again, who thought earth bound telescopes could do jupiter at 10,000mm a few years ago???

anyway lotsa good options, thanks guys

[ving]

not getting good enough images from your current setup dave?

[davidpretorius]

love what i am getting now and love looking thru it. even find pleasure looking at diffraction rings during collimation due to time spent on it.

just forward planning i spose

$15000 is a lot of money

[ving]

sure is dave :) that's buy a pretty good house in botswana!

[Robert_T]

Hi Davo,

Read my mind. I awoke this morning thinking what my next (and ultimate) scope should be. I keep wavering (which is just as well cos I can't afford either) between the C14 and the Mewlon 250.

The Mewlon 250 would be my dream scope, but its hard to part with $10K just for an OTA that's only marginally bigger than the C9.25. That said the advantages for an ultimate planetary scope are there. 1/20th wave optics. Built in electric secondary focussing so no mirro shift issues etc. Open tube so cool-down much easier than with an SCT. 10 inches also seems about the ideal size for resolution and portability, usability and performance with respect to seeing etc. Feel free to send me free money so I can indulge myself ;) .

But if it ain't the Mewlon 250 it will be the C14. It's cheaper, it's proven (best images I've seen) and has 14 inches of resolution on fine detail which is a big jump up from 9.25. The downside is the closed tube cool-down (perhaps a Lymax thingy) and biggness might put me off dragging it outside. I suspect it will be mre restrictive wrt the seeing conditions when it's worth using.


Ah, such pleasant and harmless ponderings.

cheers,

[Miaplacidus]

Hell, Ving, that'd buy a mansion in Queenstown!

[g__day]

Three thoughts on this.

First the mount, although the CGE is very modern, sleek looking and can carry alot of weight, surely the Losmandy G-11 with Gemini outperforms it in every way and is slightly cheaper.

Next the OTA - are you planning on long exposure astrophotography? Then a Carbon Fibre tube might be better so that changes in thermal temperature don't change your focus and end up ruining your shots.

Third on astrophotography (budget what maybe $4K for a SBIG camera + autoguiding on top of what you have) - well apparently the focal lengths of the C9.25's primary and secondary lens and mirrors are ideal for astrophotography versus a bigger scope for you light reach alone. If your goal is do astrophotography maybe pair two scope (three if autoguiding) a large SCT for illumination data and a smaller, very high quality APO for RGB (better contrast) and then stack their data?

[Vermin]

I looked into purchasing the CGE for months, and agree on the G-11 call. Have a read through each mount's Yahoo group message archive.

[davidpretorius]

those g-11 look the goods and g_day, you are starting to scare me, but I can see what you are saying.

Vermin, just bite the bullet and when the seeing is great here in tassie, lend it to me!!

[Vermin]

Pfft! I wish. No I'm afraid I'm only getting a GM8 to mount my TV101 on.

This should be a good compliment to my 16" Dob, which is what I ended up going with instead of an 11" CGE.

[pluck]

The C14 OTA enjoys legendary status in both generic astrophotography, and science and of course it makes an awesome visual instrument. There has been a lot of comparison over the years, but for pure optics, even a second hand C14 OTA can be an incredible instrument.

Check out this C14 photo of Jupiter I discovered this morning:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/damian.peach/200604150615dp.jpg

We've just discovered our 7th Supernova with one - but of course professional-class mounts and CCD Cameras help too.

Paul