The best scope?

I can't seem to make up my mind about which scope should be my first(technically its my 2nd but its been a long time). I want the best scope I can get for my money. I am looking at a budget of 1500 dollars. I know that can get me a really nice 80-102mm ED refractor. On the other hand I can get a lot more aperture in a newtonian type scope. I once owned an orion ed 80 and greatly enjoyed the planetary views but deep sky observing was never really up to par. I'm not sure if it's because I live in the suburbs or if 80mm is just too small to have nice views of deep sky objects. I know Meade has a 16 inch lightbridge truss dob that seems like it would be great for the money but my concern there is optical quality and if the views would be sharp and crisp. Please give me some advice or suggestion if any of you who have had experience with both types scopes. Thanks.

I know Meade has a 16 inch lightbridge truss dob that seems like it would be great for the money but my concern there is optical quality and if the views would be sharp and crisp. Please give me some advice or suggestion if any of you who have had experience with both types scopes. Thanks.


Your question is a good one, there is no easy answer... Well there is.... The real question is this: Which one are you going to buy first, the Newtonian or the refractor? It's not one OR the other, a decent 4 inch refractor and a decent larger Newtonian make good companions... There is simply no way a 4 inch refractor can provide the deep space views of a 10 inch Newt. And there is just no way that a 10 inch Newt can provide the "ready when you are" views of a 4 inch refractor... think which one first...

A few thoughts.

- Aperture is nice but picking the right sized scope so that it is both potent and manageable is the key. Personally I think a 12.5 inch is a good size for the Newtonian and something around 4 inch is good for the refractor, my Astro-Tech AT-102 ED is F/7 and light enough that it can be used like an overgrown ED-80. A 16 inch Newtonian can be a handful...

- Getting the good views out of a big scope requires good seeing and taking care with the setup, collimation, cooldown... And then there are the eyepieces and the Paracorr...

Myself, around the house I use em all, big and little. When I head the dark skies, I generally take a big one and a little one but the big one gets more use.

I suggest starting with a larger Newt, probably a 10-12.5 inch, it'll knock out your eyes... Then after a while, add that 80-102mm refractor. There is a certain something about the small scope view that is quite attractive, I think it's more attractive when one not dependent upon the small scope for everything, when one knows there is a big gun ready if need be.

Jon

aaron vaillant said:

I can't seem to make up my mind about which scope should be my first(technically its my 2nd but its been a long time). I want the best scope I can get for my money. I am looking at a budget of 1500 dollars. I know that can get me a really nice 80-102mm ED refractor. On the other hand I can get a lot more aperture in a newtonian type scope. I once owned an orion ed 80 and greatly enjoyed the planetary views but deep sky observing was never really up to par. I'm not sure if it's because I live in the suburbs or if 80mm is just too small to have nice views of deep sky objects. I know Meade has a 16 inch lightbridge truss dob that seems like it would be great for the money but my concern there is optical quality and if the views would be sharp and crisp. Please give me some advice or suggestion if any of you who have had experience with both types scopes. Thanks.

Take the middle path, grasshopper.


A 3 - 4-inch scope might not keep you satisfied too long for visual use, even if it is well made. A 16-inch Dob, will, believe you me, likely be too much. You might use it often at first, but you'll soon find reasons to stay inside and watch American Idol even if the skies are clear rather than wrestling with this big dog.

Think "8 - 10 - 12-inch"...of any design...with the emphasis probably on 8 - 10 rather than 12. If you are considering a Dob, you could do worse the the Orion XT10.

8)

I would agree with what has been said so far. I have 3" and 5" refractors, 10" and 14.5" Dobsonians and they are totally different animals.
The refractor has its good points, it has a nice crisp look and will do quite well with double stars, planets, Moon and such. The Dob will work for this and for the dimmer objects, like galaxies and nebula.
I would say a 10'12" Dob would be a great start. Get one with a good mirror, buy a second hand one and then you can get a quality scope for your budget.
This is a shot of my 10". It is small enough to fit in most cars and yet has a very good view on most any object.
My guard dog is on the watch, so it is safe!

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The 14.5" is much bigger and requires a larger vehicle to transport it. But it is a nice size and not too big or tall.

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Hi Aaron,

Lot of good suggestions and advice for you so far, here's another line of thought for you. I bought an Orion 8" SVP Newtonian OTA used about a year 1/2 ago for right @ $200.00. It was in really good shape for a used OTA, optics typical fair to good for that price class of OTA, pretty standard off the shelf Orion R & P focuser. I used it as purchased for a few days then started the "project" when finished I have plus or minus $1400.00 in it. So what did I do to it you may ask??!

1.) Moonlite CR1 with the servo focus (I do some hobby AP)
2.) Royce 203mm Primary Mirror to replace the original Orion.
3.) Protostar Pyrex 98% secondary (2.14" but a 1.8 or so would be better if purely visual obs - less obstruction)
4.) Slight reconfiguration of the Orion Primary cell (9 point instead of 3)
5.) Repaint (just because I wanted it white instead of dark gray)

Like I said total $$$$ right at $1400.00 in it and I have yet to sell off the Orion 8" primary; 2.28" secondary & other parts, so once I sell those off it will be less than the current 1400.00.

What I got for the money is great, the old Orion optics were good to about 200X (F10) for visual planetary, and not nearly as sharp and contrast-y as the new replacement optics. The difference in the views from what it was to what it is now are astounding, stunning even. Last opening I had I pushed it up on Saturn and I was able to easily push it to a hair over 400X with a Power Mate 4X (F20 the Royce mirror is 1005mm fl instead of the 1000mm fl of the Orion). The detail on Saturn was still sharp and clear, cloud/gas bands, could see 3 moons very sharp and pin point as well as still get a sharp view of the rings.

So after I sell off the original Orion optics I'll have achieved a very high grade OTA with 8" optics for considerably less than $1500.00. Some assembly required, but if you could find one of those "Chinese" Newtonian OTAs somewhere cheap used you could "build" yourself a really nice OTA.

CS & GL
Mark Jordan
Greenfield IN