Re: New Guy Questions; Opinions wanted

I'd lay odds that if that mirror of the old scope was cleaned and recoated
and alined, it would be up to par.

Old Scopes Never Die, They just get Rebuilt.


--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
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"John Banister" <banister@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dmfvkh018d5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>I have been lurking on sci.astro.amateur a while and have enjoyed to
> information therein. I have decided to buy a Go-To telescope and would
> appreciate some advice. Thanks in advance for any help.
>
> I have been doing some viewing with my later father-in-law's homebuilt 6"
> Newtonian, but it was built in the 30's and is way past its prime. I hope
> to continue viewing planets and move to more deep space objects with
> better
> equipment.
>
> I live in the country (about 80 miles from Dallas, Tx) and do not have any
> neighbors in sight (1/2 mile) of my house. I will be doing all my viewing
> from this location, so portability is not a great factor. I am unsure of
> the level of light polution at my location, but the sky seems dark above
> with only a faint glow from Dallas on the Southwest quadrant. I can
> easily
> see the Milky Way on dark nights.
>
> My budget allows me to choose between one of three Celestrons Go-To's, and
> I
> would appreciate some advice:
>
> 1. Celestron Advanced Series Computerized Go-To 6" Achromatic Refractor
> C6
> R-GT
> 2. Celestron Nexstar 8i Schmidt-Cassegrain Modular Telescope
> 3. Celestron Advanced Series Computerized Go-To 10" Newtonian C10 N-GT
>
> Here are my questions:
>
> 1. Given the limited need for portability, the obvious choice would seem
> to
> be the 10" reflector. But I wonder if I would be able to use the greater
> arpeture this close to a large city (80 miles from city center) due to
> light
> polution? Any comments?
>
> 2. Does the ease of use of the 8" S-C trump 2 extra inches on the
> Newtonian? Opinions solicited.
>
> 3. Do the Go-To drives on the refractors and reflectors work as well as
> on
> the S-C? I have read that they do not, but that information is a bit old.
> I want to be able to have school children over and give them tours of the
> sky, so and effective Go-To system is important.
>
> 4. Is the lens quality on the 8" Nexstar as good (practically speaking)
> as
> on the 6" and 10" Advanced Series scopes?
>
> 5. Could the refractor actually be a better choice despite it's smaller
> arperture?
>
> Again, thanks for any input.
>
> -John Banister
>
> 2. Would the ease of setup and
>
>
>


.

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