Re: contrast in SCT & MC : Meade, Celestron, Intes ?

I hate top posting, but I'm going with the flow here.

I have a Konus Mak 5" (130mm). My first scope was an Orion 6" dob. The konus
blows the orion out of the water when it comes to detail. I don't have much
experience with Mars, which I'm looking forward to changing now that it's
getting closer to us, but a quality 5" sct/mak can produce astonishing
results. A color filter is suggested and good observing conditions. The only
way you will see major improvement over what you currently own is if you go
much larger. I personally think that if you are not getting the results you
want with a near 5", then a 6" will not perform much better. There's just
too little of a difference. Moving to 8" would show noticeable increases in
detail. Moving to 10" or 12" would give you want I think you are looking
for. Don't second guess your scope. There are plenty of people who wish they
could afford something nicer...just as there are those who wouldn't own a
scope as "cheap" as yours or mine. I've seen pics of Mars taken with an
ETX90 that were unbelievable.

My suggestion is to make a decision. Either front the money for an 8" or 10"
SCT/Mak, or keep what you have, and buy a couple accessories to help get all
you can from it. You could try CCD, digital cams, upgrade the mount...there
are numerous things you can do.

I love my Konus to death, but they really botched the focuser. I'm in the
process of fixing that problem. I'm switching to a 2" diagonal and adding a
fine-focus crayford. This will allow me to tweak that extra bit of focus
that the factory focuser can't achieve. Plus I'm getting about 20% more
light because I learned that the factory diagonal had a stop in it that
actually blocked part of the light path. It basically dropped my 1.25" light
path down to 1". Little fixes like this are what the hobby is all about.
Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do and how you like it once
you have it all set up.

Tom

"John Deer" <JD@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:88678$4340107f$d135c4af$18352@xxxxxxxxx
> The Intes 6" Mak can show some detail. All these telescopes have large
> central obstructions and sensitive collimation requirements.
> I have seen some long focus 6" Newtonians with small secondaries do
> better my old Intes Mak Cassegrain 6".
>
> You might consider a larger aperture telescope. Mars is small and needs
> high resolution optics.
>
> A webcam might help you "see more" with your scope.
>
> JD
>
> > Watched Mars this night - Europe - with 5" Celestron SCT, but
> >
> > Mars seemed to have only little detail to offer.
> >
> > Is this due to a "contrast-fatigue"
> >
> > Will a constrast-upgrade to Meade 5" ETX or perhaps the
> >
> > Intes Micro M 500 be worth the while ?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Jens
> >
> >


.

Relevant Pages

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