Quote:
Originally Posted by tnott
I would star test the setup you have first, before replacing everything with optics that may only give better images on 1% of nights.
|
Thats some kind of generalisation. I find that really good optics perform noticeably better for longer moments in poor seeing conditions. Mirrors that have a _geometric_ blur spot of half the airy disc diameter, with the wavefront deflections of some kinds of poor seeing, seem to show tighter star images for longer periods. This is not theory its on the basis of 30 years of practical observing. In short, I find better mirrors can give superior performance all year round under more varying conditions.
In the case of some of the scopes I see at star parties, with collimation problems and no maneagement of thermal issues, there'd be no benefit from better optics. Many of the large cheap Dobs I see in the field are let down on that score as the owners are too busy being `blown away ' by the brightness of the images.
