Light Polluted Skies - TMB 92 SS or 130 SS?

I am new to this forum... dreaming about owning a TMB 130mm SS refractor but when I look at the night sky in my patio the dream comes to a quick end. The city glow where I live rises well above the horizon. It goes up at least 35 degrees in all directions. In fact, the naked eye can only see a handful of stars straight up. This is certainly no New Mexico sky but does this mean I should limit my dreams/choices? Would I be better off with a very portable refractor like the TMB 92 SS that would allow me to more easily go to darker skies (1hr away)?

I intend to use the new telescope for imaging and viewing with perhaps a small bias towards imaging.

What would you do in my shoes under bad (perhaps terrible) skies in your own patio? TMB 92SS or TMB 130SS ?

Thanks.

Reality is that travel itself is never as convenient as ones' backyard. I'd opt for the larger scope which has more resolution & light grasp regardless of location, and just put up with the greater bother when travel is possible. BTW, if you have any yard available, locating over grass is better than on concrete patio per local Seeing conditions.

Raul Jarquin said:


What would you do in my shoes under bad (perhaps terrible) skies in your own patio?
Thanks.

I'd get a C8.

Under light polluted skies, aperture is extremely important. Four or five inches really ain't gonna get it. And that lovely wide-field performance for visual and imaging of the refractor doesn't amount to pea-turkey under compromised skies. More aperture and more focal length is the way to go if you're troubled by light pollution.

Thank you for the many replies and interesting points of view. As an avid photographer I am often willing to carry the largest camera that will do the job, often carrying a heavy 4x5 view camera with a matching heavy tripod. Refractors got my attention because of my desire to record photographically as large a gray scale as it possible in low contrast conditions - polluted skies. My ideal setup would allow me to use some of my photographic equipment which includes a Nikon D3X full frame camera and some film bodies like my favorite a 6x6 film based medium format Rollei 6008. I am leaning towards the TMB 130SS but the manufacturer seems to be out of stock for the next few months...