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little_ hubble
member
Reged: 04/19/08
Posts: 16
Loc: Aschaffenburg, Germany
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hello!
i´m thinking about replacing my orion 80ed for an orion 127mm mak as planetary scope for air-travel. i´m very pleased with the performance of my ed. in theory larger aperture leads to a higher resolution. but in the real world, i´ll have to deal with longer cool down times und tube currents. a cooler could be a solution.
question is: will i get better planetary performance even under severe conditions, for example in the desert? if, how much better would it be?
greets, martin
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Steve Darden
super member
Reged: 07/29/07
Posts: 147
Loc: Woodstock, GA
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I have both of those scopes and I would say that the views are only slightly better than the 80ed on the planets up to about 180X. Over 200X the Mak pulls away from the 80ed. The 80ed starts to get dim around 200X on the planets. (I've had it up to 300X on the moon.) If I had to guess, I'd say the view in the Mak is about as bright as a 4 inch refractor with the contrast of a 3.5 inch refractor and the ability to easily hit 250X - 265X on the planets before it runs out of light. As far as cool down time, mine takes 30 minutes most nights. I just set it outside an hour before I plan on viewing. I'd be interested to hear what others think.
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Orion XT10 with Moonlite focuser
Orion Starmax 127 Mak
Orion 80ed with Moonlite focuser
Too little free time
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Eddgie
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/01/06
Posts: 1642
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As long as the ONLY things you wanted to look at in the desert were plantes, the 127 scope will do a bit better. I have compared my C5 with excellent optics to an 80ED I used to own, and the C5 was better on planets. Assuming the Mak also has good optics, I would expect the same from it.
But man in really dark skies, I would SOOOOOOOOOO much rather have the 80ED. Many of the targets that fit handily in the field of a C5 in semi-urban skies get REALLY STINKING BIG under dark skies.. My C5 is not nearly as compelling to use under dark skies as my 80mm scope was (which I replaced with a 102mm scope). The field of view is too narrow for really exciting viewing under dark skies.
But if you ONLY intend to look at planets, then go with the Mak. It should give a slighly more detailed view solar system targets.
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Celestron C14, CGE (Big Al)
Astro-Physics 6" f/8 (Buffy)
Televue 101 (No name, but I call it my Widescreen HD Space TV)
The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
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bcuddihee
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/04/06
Posts: 877
Loc: Cincinnati Ohio
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I think I would opt for the 127 mak for these reasons. In really dark skies I would want as much light gathering as possible for planets, and I know you did not specifically mention DSO's, but we all get there, wanting to view open clusters, globs and yes..even galaxies, sooner or later especially when we are presented with dark skies.
I have had both a Starmax 127 and a WO80 FPL-53 doublet. Yes, the 80 had a nice expansive and sharp view, but sooner or later you want to bring objects to bear..a bit more image scale so to speak. Planets will benefit from an increase in resolution and most Messier objects will fit in the FOV of the Mak. There are a few extended objects..ie double cluster, M45, M31, and regions of Sagittarius, that would benefit from a short fl 80 ED. Most everything else will benefit from the increase in aperture. With the 127 you will actually start resolving stars in larger globs under dark skies. With the 80 you will be hard pressed. Now if we were talking a 100 or 102 short FL ED scope I would be preaching something different, but an 80 I believe is too challenged on Planetary and DSO's for me to recommend it.
Another note..you will find getting decent powers with med fl. length fl ep's much easier with a f10 system than with the 80. Just my thoughts...
BC
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B Cuddihee
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1968 Jason Empire 60X700mm refractor (my buddy from way back)
Celestron Nexstar8SE(a remarkable 8" grab and go)
Feathertouch Microfocuser
Stellarvue 50mm "Sparrowhawk" finder
Denk bino's with Power x switch
Pair of 28 RKE's
Pair of Smart Astronomy 19 EF's
Pair of 20 TV plossls
Pair of 15 TV plossls
Pair of 15 Garrett SWA's
7mm UO HD Orthoscopic
Agena 38 SWA
Agena 26 SWA
Garrett 2" 2x ED Barlow
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davidpitre
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 1385
Loc: Central Texas
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A 6" mak is still airline portable. In this case you will be significantly pulling away from the 80mm refractor.
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David
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bcuddihee
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/04/06
Posts: 877
Loc: Cincinnati Ohio
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David, you make a very good point. A c6 will show a greal deal more than a 80 ed or a 127 Mak, and the difference in weight between a 80 ed and a c6 is about 2.5 lbs. Not a whole lot ov difference.
BC
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B Cuddihee
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1968 Jason Empire 60X700mm refractor (my buddy from way back)
Celestron Nexstar8SE(a remarkable 8" grab and go)
Feathertouch Microfocuser
Stellarvue 50mm "Sparrowhawk" finder
Denk bino's with Power x switch
Pair of 28 RKE's
Pair of Smart Astronomy 19 EF's
Pair of 20 TV plossls
Pair of 15 TV plossls
Pair of 15 Garrett SWA's
7mm UO HD Orthoscopic
Agena 38 SWA
Agena 26 SWA
Garrett 2" 2x ED Barlow
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little_ hubble
member
Reged: 04/19/08
Posts: 16
Loc: Aschaffenburg, Germany
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Thanks for your helpful replies. I hope no-one got gray hair because of my deep-sky ignorance.
I´ve decided to postpone the purchase of a 6-inch mak and take my 80ed to Namibia. Since I´ve already purchased an ed90 and an Intes mn56 this year I got a little bit of remorse spending another 600,- Euros.
I´ve already been there. Actually there´s no need to take bigger aperture scopes over there. They have some very nice lodges with observatories and scopes for hire. The 80ed will do fine (also for wildlife observation) until I stop by there:
http://www.tivoli-astrofarm.de/htm_e/e_astronomie/e_c11.htm
o.k, i admit it. i´ll do some deep-sky there.
greets, martin
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