Celestron 9.25" or 11"?

Hi, I'm looking at getting either the 9.25 or the 11" Celestron scopes and wondered if any of you had a choice. The 11" seems like a pretty good price for the scope, but the higher-contrast features (for SCT's) of the 9.25" are also intriguing. The prices are close enough that I'm considering either at this point.

I'm probably going to use the telescope for a mix of things, viewing both moon/planets and a bit of deep sky.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Mike

I do not have experience with the 9.25 but do with the Nextar 11. It is a fabulous telescope. It really lacks for nothing optically. The mounting is very good and so is the computer pointing accuracy. My two complaints would follow, too, with a Nextar 9.25. That would be the hand controller has a short cord and the controller does not sit well on the fork tine (especially in the dark)...and trying to 'dock' the base onto the tripod is difficult, at best. One needs to 'mark' the base to the tripod or buy and aftermarket docking unit.

As the other responder said, aperture will rule for deep sky. I certainly would not worry about the 9.25 being better for contrast...the 11 is excellent.

While 41% light gathering advantage sounds like a lot, human vision doesn't respond linearly to light. Even a 20% difference in brightness can be difficult to detect. 41% will certainly be noticeable, but likely won't be in the range of "Wow! What a difference!".

But still, in terms of what you'll see I have little doubt the extra aperture will make up for whatever contrast mojo Celestron seems to give the 9.25. If you really are viewing only a "bit" of deep sky, and stick more to lunar/planetary, the reduced cost and bulk of the 9.25 might be a good idea.

Thanks to all for your notes. I think I'm inclined to the 11" Advanced (cheaper mount, but I'm thinking of setting up a pier at home anyway so the CG5-type would be more for car trips to slightly darker areas once in awhile. It's pretty dark where I live (certainly wide swaths of the Milky Way on nice nights)so I'm not likely to need to trek a bunch to see things.)

Thanks,
Mike

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