c8 VS 6" achro

For light poluted deep sky viewing, would you prefer an older c8 80's version not sure on the coatings or a 6" achro of a Celestron cr150 or Meade ar6 quality.
Thanks

victor truglio said:

For light poluted deep sky viewing, would you prefer an older c8 80's version not sure on the coatings or a 6" achro of a Celestron cr150 or Meade ar6 quality.
Thanks

I wouldn't buy anything if I weren't sure of the integrity of the coatings. If the coatings are good, I'd get the C8 for the lack of false color issues. That's just me though.

victor truglio said:

For light poluted deep sky viewing, would you prefer an older c8 80's version not sure on the coatings or a 6" achro of a Celestron cr150 or Meade ar6 quality.
Thanks

The short answer:

Either one would be fine... should be able to trade either one for a decent 10 inch GSO or Orion Dob.

The longer answer:

I imagine if one did a light through-put calculation, they would be about the same... Since this is about DSOs and not planetary and double star viewing, the wider field of view of the 6 inch refractor would be a real advantage...

It depends too on how one observes the Deep Sky, if you are like me and it means a combination of starhopping and sependipidious wandering around looking, then the pristine, higher contrast views of the refractor would be preferable.

But in any event, I am not a fan of either scope... as I said, an 8inch or 10 inch GSO or Orion Dob does the deep better than either of these two.

Jon

The views are not the whole story. I have a 4" achro, and, although I really like the extremely crisp views, it is probably the least-used of my scopes. The main reason is the inconvenience of the variation in eyepiece height as I move around the sky. It would take a very tall, heavy tripod to hold the scope steady far enough up so that I wouldn't have to practically be flat on the ground when viewing near zenith. And then it wouldn't be all thta easy to move it out of the house. I don't see this mentioned much when scopes of different kinds are compared, but it seems to be a pretty major factor to me. Just another example of how the "best" scope is the one you will actually use.

victor truglio said:

For light poluted deep sky viewing, would you prefer an older c8 80's version not sure on the coatings or a 6" achro of a Celestron cr150 or Meade ar6 quality.
Thanks

If you must view in light polluted areas _always_ use as much apteture as possible. The C8 is the ticket.

IMHO, I'd go the C8 route... no false color, larger aperture, longer F/L (but can be reduced with a reducer/corrector if needed) and much easier to handle (much shorter tube, less stress on the mount)...
At least I would try to verify that there are no blemishes on the mirror and lense coatings... if possible.

Clear skies to all,