starhunter345
member
Reged: 12/26/12
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Celestron or Meade ?
#5631351 - 01/19/13 11:13 AM
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Hello Friends,
I am from India and I am planning to buy my first Telescope of 6", but I am confused with Celestron or Meade. As well I have some questions in my mind like -
0) Is 6" is right aperture to start with?
1)shall I go as Reflector(Newtonian)or SCT.... my most liking is deeper sky, so which one is useful?
2)Whether GOTO is the right option for me?
So need your expert opinion on which one shall i buy.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Regards,
Mohit
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: starhunter345]
#5631401 - 01/19/13 11:38 AM
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Mohit:
First let me Welcome you to Cloudy Nights. 
Both Celestron and Meade make good telescopes. If deep sky is your desire, bigger is better but what is most important are the conditions, the how much light pollution there is. Will you be observing from the city or from somewhere more isolated?
Jon
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rcdk
super member
Reged: 11/13/10
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: starhunter345]
#5631411 - 01/19/13 11:47 AM
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On the goto question, picture yourself using the telescope. Will you enjoy hunting down objects to view, or would you prefer to let the telescope do that for you?
Many first-timers plop their new telescope down under the stars and find they have no idea where to even start.
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csrlice12
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/22/12
Loc: Denver, CO
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: rcdk]
#5631514 - 01/19/13 12:53 PM
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"Many first-timers plop their new telescope down under the stars and find they have no idea where to even start."
Yep, and the full truth is, that's how we all started out. Even as a kid with a christmas telescope, put it together, take it outside, plop it down on the ground, .....
Here's where I disagree with you...Even with NO knowledge of the night sky, there are things to view. Some obvious, some just point the scope at something and look.....It's those first views that determine how in'depth we go in this hobby. For some, it will never go beyond plopping it down and looking around, and this is fine. I'll admit earlier on, some of the things I've seen, I didn't know the names or designations, I only know I saw it in the eyepiece--this sparked my interest in learning other things about the universe. The sky is there for all of us, there is no right or wrong way to do this hobby (well, I guess if you smashed up your equipment after every viewing session, that'd be going the wrong way)
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Space Dragon
member
Reged: 02/19/12
Loc: Scotland UK
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: csrlice12]
#5631705 - 01/19/13 02:59 PM
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The sky is there for all of us, there is no right or wrong way to do this hobby (well, I guess if you smashed up your equipment after every viewing session, that'd be going the wrong way)
Love it........brilliant 
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Doc Willie
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/31/10
Loc: Mid-Hudson Valley, NY, USA
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: Space Dragon]
#5631859 - 01/19/13 04:54 PM
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Much depends on your budget. Priority should be aperture. 8" is significantly better than 6. The most aperture for the money is a Dobsonian mount. An SCT with GOTO will cost about 3 times as much.
Meade vs Celestron is far less important than who your dealer is. Meade and Celestron are both big companies who do not emphasize service. If there is a problem, you will want to be dealing with a dealer who will take care of you.
I started with an 80 mm f/10 refractor, and got very frustrated in the first few months trying to find things. When I got a GOTO it was like a miracle. Then I outgrew that and got a large Dob, and I often do not use the finder computer on it at all. We live and grow.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: rcdk]
#5632277 - 01/19/13 09:55 PM
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Quote:
Many first-timers plop their new telescope down under the stars and find they have no idea where to even start.
Fortunately, Mohit has Cloudy Nights so we can help him with that.
Jon
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cavefrog
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/11/08
Loc: loozyanna
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5632321 - 01/19/13 10:13 PM
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Many say the SCT is the best all around and versatile unit.
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RobertED
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/11/03
Loc: Johnston, RI
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: cavefrog]
#5632829 - 01/20/13 09:46 AM
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I have owned BOTH!!! I totally enjoyed using BOTH!!! Sorry, I may NOT help you make a choice.....but I think you'll do well with either!!!!
I currently own a basic C-11 and Atlas mount. I love Lunar and Planetary observing/photography. I also do love going after the Deep Sky Fuzzies for a change of pace. Clear Skies, starhunter!!!!
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Sniemiec
member
Reged: 08/09/12
Loc: Johannesburg, South Africa
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: RobertED]
#5633492 - 01/20/13 04:15 PM
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Welcome Mohit
You have already made the best decision for your astronomy journey.
You have joined this forum, and asked for help.....
You will not find a more helpful, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable bunch of people anywhere! You will soon come to realize ( as I have) that you are joining a unique (or at least unusual!) truly global 'family'. Willing and able to discuss the most esoteric and complex questions about optics (amongst many other topics), or what color you should paint your home made 'scope. With equal enthusiasm and lack of judgement.
Their knowledge is encyclopedic, experience vast, enthusiasm infectious, and desire to help - truly humbling.
As to your original question. I had the same questions as you very recently, and came to the following conclusions (mostly as a result of surfing this forum)
There is no one right answer!
The two most important things are dark skies, and diameter of aperture.
The best scope is the one you will use the most.
SCTs are the easiest config of OTA to live with, but are a compromise in many ways
Celestron and Meade both make superb scopes. But do not provide any decent support in US. Let alone the rest of the world. Better to rely on your local dealer! That is the relationship you need to build.
Buying the scope is merely the start! You will inevitably develop the need for other attachments. Then this forum, and your dealer really become important.
Summarizing many viewpoints- a 6-8" SCT, with a GOTO mount is difficult to beat as a place to start.
The best way to find out what works for you is to find a local club. Go along and ask questions! You will be welcomed.
Whatever you decide - good luck, and let us know...
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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products
Reged: 05/07/07
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: Sniemiec]
#5633541 - 01/20/13 04:46 PM
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Mohit,
A 6 inch SCT or a 80mm or so refractor on a CG-5 level mount with goto is an excellent and well priced place to start. The 80mm will give you nice wide views to take in large objects like the Andromeda galaxy whereas the SCT would give you higher magnification views of smaller objects like the Ring nebula. The CG-5 level mount (like the new Celestron VX mount) would leave you with some room to grow and the ability to use different types of telescopes and is relatively easy to use. I would stick with Celestron at this point.
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bcuddihee
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/04/06
Loc: Cincinnati Ohio
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: EFT]
#5633735 - 01/20/13 06:28 PM
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If you are going with an SCT, i would suggest an 8" as it has enough resolving power to show detailed views of planets and is really the baseline for resolving globular clusters. It also is forgiving of eyepieces making use of plossls and 68 degree ep's very enjoyable. If you ever decide to go with binoviewers the additional aperture is essential. Anything less, SCT wise, IMO will leave you wanting.
bc
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tecmage
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/13/10
Loc: Groton, CT
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: bcuddihee]
#5633913 - 01/20/13 08:42 PM
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Hi Mohit,
Welcome to Cloudy Nights. My advice is if you get the chance, try out some equipment first. Is there an Astronomy Club near you?
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starhunter345
member
Reged: 12/26/12
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: tecmage]
#5634311 - 01/21/13 02:40 AM
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Thank you so much friends for your grand welcome and sharing excellent thoughts on my question and guiding me on that…..
Actually, here in India I stay in Mumbai a highly polluted city in the world, so dark sky is next to impossible for me, and I also aware that for my hobby I need to go out of city at least 100 miles away… and I am going to do that on each of the weekends from now....:)
Regarding deciding on 6" Celestron telescope (SCT) is due to budget constraint, because we don't have a direct shop or a direct dealer of Celestron / Orion /Meade etc. in India,(so this cost me double the actual price after import) and I have also seen that there is no direct shipping possible from any of the major sites like Amazon, telescope.com etc. I know Ebay does that but I don't have good experience with ebay global / India in past…
I was in US (Texas – Austin) for some while last year for company's work and I enjoyed the darker sky then that time I decided to buy one 11” telescope of Celestron over there, but then I got to know that importing Telescope in my country is a very BIG Deal and still if I am importing the same and taking along with me then I need to salute each Custom officer (corrupt ppl) ……:(
Anyways friends, I finally decided to go with Celestron Nextstar 6 SE GOTO, after reading lots and lots of material from “CloudyNights”.
I strongly recommend Cloudy Nights is the excellent site for anyone who is interested in gaining information on Astronomy / Astrography / on Equipment / for Beginners, because here you get knowledge based on Experience and not just a theory / concepts. As well for any in-depth material and all kind of queries regarding Astronomy gets well answered.
I feel myself proud to be a member of such a excellent and extraordinary site. Thanks to site administrator for the same for giving me a membership.
Thanks each of you who guided me. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Also I will require your help on buying accessories like eye-pieces, filters and many more thing.
Once again Many Thanks to you all…...God Bless you all ..:)
Regards,
- Mohit
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CJK
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/05/12
Loc: Scenic SE TN
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: starhunter345]
#5634468 - 01/21/13 08:18 AM
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Welcome, Mohit! I applaud your determination in pursuing this hobby! Please do keep us posted!
-- Chris
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csa/montana
Den Mama
Reged: 05/14/05
Loc: montana
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: starhunter345]
#5634641 - 01/21/13 10:16 AM
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Mohit, another Welcome to Cloudy Nights! We are most fortunate to have you as a member of Cloudy Nights! We look forward to reading updates of you aquiring your scope, and the kind members here with lots of knowledge & experience, will be glad to guide you to eyepieces, etc., to help you get the most out of your scope!
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csrlice12
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/22/12
Loc: Denver, CO
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: csa/montana]
#5634863 - 01/21/13 12:33 PM
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Be sure to give us a first light report! Welcome to CN!
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tecmage
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/13/10
Loc: Groton, CT
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: csrlice12]
#5634892 - 01/21/13 12:42 PM
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And don't forget pictures!
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Madratter
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/14/13
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: Doc Willie]
#5636695 - 01/22/13 11:32 AM
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Quote:
Priority should be aperture.
I simply can't agree with this. I have big scopes (20"). I have small scopes (4"). I use all of them for deep sky observing.
In my opinion, useability is far more important than aperture. If it is something you can and will take outside, you will see far more than with some bigger telescope that is just too much effort.
There are many hundreds of objects that can be seen in a telescope as small as 4 inches.
I'm not disputing that aperture is nice to have. I own the 20" for a reason. But I don't think it is the priority.
-- Shifting gears as to whether the OP should get a goto scope or not, we don't have enough information. A lot depends on what you want to look at and how. Some people are stamp collectors. They like getting as many objects logged as possible. A goto scope can make those people very happy. On the other hand, some people really enjoy the hunt and knowing the context of where an object actually is, etc. A goto scope for them may be nothing but added expense. Some people are in the middle. I'm one of them. Sometimes I enjoy just seeing a lot of different objects fast. Sometimes, I like taking my time and doing it the old fashion way.
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csrlice12
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/22/12
Loc: Denver, CO
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Re: Celestron or Meade ?
[Re: Madratter]
#5636718 - 01/22/13 11:46 AM
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and somedays its a matter of which do I want to use today.....Last night for the Moon/Jupiter viewing, I broke out the dob. Why? The XLT tracks, why would I want the dob? Why, because I was able to pull it out, collimate it, and be viewing while I'd still be North aligning the tripod of the refractor. I was also using my heavier eyepieces too, and at 2.2 and 3.08 lbs, that's just too much for a balanced refractor on an EQ mount. Also, because of the moons brighness, I was worried that Jupiter might be too washed out with the refractor. With the dob, even with the moon in the FOV, Jupiter showed 3 to 4 bands (in and out). Now, it was early 6-7pm total viewing time. Also, the dob is stored in the shed, so it was already cooled down, the refractor was inside, so it would have taken some cooldown time. Like Madratter said though it really depends on what you want to do that night. There are nights I prefer the refractor over the dob, especially if I'm doing planetary, lunar, or double star viewing, or if I don't want to "nudge", but just sit and watch.
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