Meade 5000 127 vs 80 APO

Hi All,

Showing my inexperiance here! I am looking at buying either the Meade Series 5000 APO 127mm or 80mm with the intention of planitary observing and imaging.

In terms of performance, what are the benefits and drawbacks of the larger more powerful scope? Will I get larger (more detailed)images of the planets? Will I need much better viewing conditions to use it effectively?

Is the larger scope worth the extra money?

Any experiance with scopes of similar type size used for lunar and planitary work, along with any other input, would be apprechiated.

Paul

I have the 127ED APO 4000 and a WO 80mm APO triplet. I will say that the 80mm is aperture challenged for planetary compared to the 127ED. The APO is better color corrected but the 127ED is only slightly less corrected.
The large scope is better for visual use on most things eccept for wide field views.
The 80mm is better for photography becuase it is faster and wide field.

Hi Paul,

If your interest is planetary, go with aperture. I have an WO 80mm ED, and have had a 6" achro refractor (AR6). There is no comparison. You will see much more detail, more contrast, be able to use higher power and have a brighter image with the 127.

Having said that, you will obviously have different mounting issues. The 80mm size is great for a quick observing session. If seeing isn't great, or clouds threaten, you might not want to "lug" out the bigger scope.

Seeing can be very location dependant. In my area, seeing will usually support 5" or more. If seeing wasn't good enough for 5", I might very well take out the 80mm, but not for much planetary viewing. Wide feild and deep sky are not so seeing dependant.

You will need more opinions whether you local skies generally support 5". Additionally, where do you observe? Any "local" seeing issues?

Good luck.

Gregg

In terms of performance, what are the benefits and drawbacks of the larger more powerful scope? Will I get larger (more detailed)images of the planets? Will I need much better viewing conditions to use it effectively

You will see much more detail in the 127. You will
need better viewing conditions to get the full 127mm worth
of detail, but it will almost always show you more
than the 80mm.

The 80mm will be better if you are
restricted to "quick looks" where you cannot let the
larger 127mm cool down for 30+ minutes, or don't have
the extra 5 or 10 minutes it might take to set up the 127mm.
The 80mm + mount can probably be kept assembled and
carried outside in one go; the 127mm is probably 2 to 4
trips outside (mount, counter weights, tube, etc.).

Is the larger scope worth the extra money?

If you can afford it, yes.

Any experiance with scopes of similar type size used for lunar and planitary work, along with any other input, would be apprechiated.

I am personally a big fan of these Russian Mak-Newt scopes
(MN61, MN66, Orion Argonaut, etc.). They can be had for as little
as $600 used on Astromart (scope only, no mount) and will equal the
lunar and planetary performance of a 127mm APO. It is slightly
different observing experience than refractor, but views are
indeed "refractor-like." They are probably a little more
sensitive to thermal issues, and you might need to rotate the
tube to get comfortable viewing position. But I'll throw that
out as a budget alternative in similar aperture class. If you
google "orion argonaut" some good info will come up on them.
I've tested three of these Orion Argonauts and all were excellent.
In side-by-side visual tests against 155mm APO it was pretty close.