55 replies to this topic

[Uhhjoe82]

Im looking for a good goto telescope that can handle larger eyepieces like Baader Morpheus and Baader Zoom Mark iv. I want to see the solar system, but would also like to view deep sky objects like nebula and galaxies. I understand deep sky maybe fuzzy. I’m looking at Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 AZ gte, Startravel 102, Celestron 130 SLT. I’d like to keep the price around $500. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Knasal]

I think at their base price after tax (and definitely after shipping and delivery charges if you need it sent to you) , it’s going to put you beyond your price point of $500 for any of those options, unless you buy used.

 

At your price point, there is an excellent option for you in the Cloudy Nights Classifieds right now, and pickup is 1 hr east of Indianapolis IN.

 

Take a look at this: https://www.cloudyni...umerous-extras/

 

This would get you going nicely.

 

Kevin

Edited by Knasal, 06 June 2025 - 10:56 PM.

[Pixeltim]

I think at their base price after tax (and definitely after shipping and delivery charges if you need it sent to you) , it’s going to put you beyond your price point of $500 for any of those options, unless you buy used.

 

At your price point, there is an excellent option for you in the Cloudy Nights Classifieds right now, and pickup is 1 hr east of Indianapolis IN.

 

Take a look at this: https://www.cloudyni...umerous-extras/

 

This would get you going nicely.

 

Kevin

Either that or a used Nexstar 6se

[Knasal]

Either that or a used Nexstar 6se

I think even that scope bought used will probably cost more than the OP’s budget of $500.

 

Kevin

Edited by Knasal, 06 June 2025 - 11:58 PM.

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

Your budget is a little low for a decent go-to telescope, but on the off chance that you already have a telescope that would be suitable if it were go-to, you might check out PiFinder (search Cloudy Nights and google), which won't make a telescope go-to, but which will provide a fast and easy way to find things with an altazimuth-mounted telescope.

 

Clear sky ...

[Jon Isaacs]

Im looking for a good goto telescope that can handle larger eyepieces like Baader Morpheus and Baader Zoom Mark iv. I want to see the solar system, but would also like to view deep sky objects like nebula and galaxies. I understand deep sky maybe fuzzy. I’m looking at Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 AZ gte, Startravel 102, Celestron 130 SLT. I’d like to keep the price around $500. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

My two cents:

 

You are looking to spend $500 on a GOTO scope to use eyepieces that cost $350 each.  The telescope is much more important than the eyepiece in determining what you will see.  You will need several eyepieces... 

 

Spend most of your budget on the telescope and mount, get some good basic eyepieces like the Astro-Tech Paradigms.  They're $70 each and very capable.  

 

Jon

[Sebastian_Sajaroff]

I agree with Jon : the telescope and its mount are more important than the eyepieces.
Planets and deep sky objects look much better on a manual 8" with 100$ eyepieces than on a computerized 4" with 350$ eyepieces.
Deep sky objects are severely affected by your sky quality (transparency and light pollution)
The mount is very important as well, a wobbly shaking view ruins the experience. Dobsons, for one, offer a solid stable mount, ideal for starters.
Some Dobsons come with computer assistance (like Celestron StarSense), others are purely manual.

[Pixeltim]

I think even that scope bought used will probably cost more than the OP’s budget of $500.

 

Kevin

https://www.cloudyni...n-nextstar-6se/

 

Asking price of $500, includes shipping.

I sure like mine.

Edited by Pixeltim, 07 June 2025 - 06:05 AM.

[Russell Swan]

Im looking for a good goto telescope that can handle larger eyepieces like Baader Morpheus and Baader Zoom Mark iv. I want to see the solar system, but would also like to view deep sky objects like nebula and galaxies. I understand deep sky maybe fuzzy. I’m looking at Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 AZ gte, Startravel 102, Celestron 130 SLT. I’d like to keep the price around $500. Does anyone have any suggestions?

If your intent is to view galaxies and nebulae and your skies are significantly light polluted, then I would not consider anything less than 6” of aperture. The best bang for the buck would be a dobsonian, preferably at f/6 or more to accommodate planetary magnifications. 

[EsaT]

Im looking for a good goto telescope that can handle larger eyepieces like Baader Morpheus and Baader Zoom Mark iv. I want to see the solar system, but would also like to view deep sky objects like nebula and galaxies. I understand deep sky maybe fuzzy. I’m looking at Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 AZ gte, Startravel 102, Celestron 130 SLT. I’d like to keep the price around $500. Does anyone have any suggestions?

130 SLT's mount is flimsy, besides other issues, so scratch that:
https://telescopicwa...lescope-review/
 
For good solar system views you'll want sturdy mount, because magnification magnifies also any shake and wobble.
You don't want just touching eyecup of the eyepiece to cause telescope wobble...
 
That's really the issue here.
Good sturdy computerized mount is plain expensive for its payload capacity.

 

Also if you're short on spare time and would want to do quick observing sessions, computerized mount typically needs significant amount of extra work before it can find anything and you can start observing.

There's simply downside to every telescope and question is where you're ready to compromise.

 

 

Cheap "fast" achromat refractors like that StarTravel 102 aren't good lunar/planetary telescopes, because that short focal ratio increases chromatic aberration inherent in lenses:

"The Moon was what I expected from a short-focus achromat. At lower powers (up to about 50x) the view was fine, albeit with a bright purple haze runnin’ all ‘round the limb (apologies to Hendrix). However, when pushing the magnification up to 100x, whilst the image remained sharp, everything was washed with purple light, destroying contrast and really spoiling the view."

http://scopeviews.co.uk/SW102.htm

And 100x is low magnification for the Moon...

Which is the only celestial object looking visually like in images.

 

Wide low magnification views of star clusters etc is where fast achromat refractors shine...

Inside the limits of aperture's light collecting power.

Visual deep sky observing is all about collecting as much light as possible.

[Mike Q]

I think at their base price after tax (and definitely after shipping and delivery charges if you need it sent to you) , it’s going to put you beyond your price point of $500 for any of those options, unless you buy used.

 

At your price point, there is an excellent option for you in the Cloudy Nights Classifieds right now, and pickup is 1 hr east of Indianapolis IN.

 

Take a look at this: https://www.cloudyni...umerous-extras/

 

This would get you going nicely.

 

Kevin

That isn't a bad idea at all and only a 4 hour drive from valley city

[Mike Q]

Im looking for a good goto telescope that can handle larger eyepieces like Baader Morpheus and Baader Zoom Mark iv. I want to see the solar system, but would also like to view deep sky objects like nebula and galaxies. I understand deep sky maybe fuzzy. I’m looking at Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 AZ gte, Startravel 102, Celestron 130 SLT. I’d like to keep the price around $500. Does anyone have any suggestions?

https://www.cloudyni...umerous-extras/

 

I will repost this one as it would be a good deal and only a 4 hour drive from you, maybe only three because he is east of Indy.  Jon has it right on the eyepieces, i would be looking at the Astro Tech eyepieces to but i would be going for the 82 degree models which are around 120 a pop and excellent eyepieces

[SeattleScott]

4” aperture can work for open clusters, but not many galaxies and nebulae, unless you have dark skies. So yeah, get a bigger scope, either buying used, or shifting some budget from eyepieces.

[SeattleScott]

And yeah, for a couple hundred bucks or so, you can make most scopes “GoTo” with greater ease of use than those standard GoTo scopes you listed. Starsense and PiFinder are a couple popular options, although there are others now.

[Uhhjoe82]

I already own the Baader Morpheus and Zoom Mark iv eyepieces. I used to have the Nexstar 6se which was a great scope. I ended up selling it when I upgraded for to the Edge HD 9.25 for my astrophotography.
Good eyepieces do make a huge difference. The difference in clarity and FOV is dramatic with the Baader eyepieces compared to the Standard eyepieces that came with the 6se.
I don’t want to spend to much for second scope just for fun visual purposes. My wife says she misses just exploring with the 6se and using our eyes instead of a computer screen. So that’s why I’m looking for a cheap fun scope. For visual what would be the best type of scope? Maktov Cassagrain, SCT, Newtonian, or Refractor? Let’s pretend each has a 4” aperture. What gives the best views?

Edited by Uhhjoe82, 07 June 2025 - 08:19 AM.

[Knasal]

https://www.cloudyni...n-nextstar-6se/

 

Asking price of $500, includes shipping.

I sure like mine.

Good find, but if you do a search of the CN classifieds you’re going to find this is by far an exception. I’d be asking questions.

[Knasal]

I already own the Baader Morpheus and Zoom Mark iv eyepieces. I used to have the Nexstar 6se which was a great scope. I ended up selling it when I upgraded for to the Edge HD 9.25 for my astrophotography.
Good eyepieces do make a huge difference. The difference in clarity and FOV is dramatic with the Baader eyepieces compared to the Standard eyepieces that came with the 6se.
I don’t want to spend to much for second scope just for fun visual purposes. My wife says she misses just exploring with the 6se and using our eyes instead of a computer screen. So that’s why I’m looking for a cheap fun scope. For visual what would be the best type of scope? Maktov Cassagrain, SCT, Newtonian, or Refractor? Let’s pretend each has a 4” aperture. What gives the best views?

My recommendation? Find a local astronomy club and see if they have some loaner scopes for you to try, or better yet, does someone have a scope in the aperture you’re looking for that you can try on a clear night?

 

A Quick response to your other options:

 

Maksutov-Cassegrain
Pros:

Very compact and portable.
Excellent planetary and lunar performance—often better than an SCT of the same size.

Cons:
Narrow field of view—not ideal for wide-field deep-sky objects 
Faint deep-sky objects may not pop at 4" aperture with its long focal length.

 

Schmidt-Cassegrain (SCT)

Pros:
Compact and versatile.
Decent all-around performer.
Can be adapted for many observing styles.
Cons:
Slightly lower contrast than refractors or Maks due to central obstruction.
Still needs collimation occasionally.
Long focal length narrows the field of view

 

Newtonian Reflector
Pros:
Cheapest per inch of aperture.
Bright, wide-field views (especially with a short focal ratio).
Great for deep-sky viewing on a budget.
Cons:
Requires regular collimation.
 

Refractor (Apochromatic, ideally)
Pros:
Sharpest image per inch of aperture (no central obstruction).
Best contrast and color fidelity.
No collimation needed (very low maintenance).
Excellent for planetary, lunar, and bright deep-sky viewing.
Cons:
More expensive per inch of aperture (especially if it's an apochromat).
Longer tube

 

Personally, I’d take the Dob, but that’s me.

 

Kevin

Edited by Knasal, 07 June 2025 - 10:05 AM.

[Jon Isaacs]

I already own the Baader Morpheus and Zoom Mark iv eyepieces. I used to have the Nexstar 6se which was a great scope. I ended up selling it when I upgraded for to the Edge HD 9.25 for my astrophotography.
Good eyepieces do make a huge difference. The difference in clarity and FOV is dramatic with the Baader eyepieces compared to the Standard eyepieces that came with the 6se.
I don’t want to spend to much for second scope just for fun visual purposes. My wife says she misses just exploring with the 6se and using our eyes instead of a computer screen. So that’s why I’m looking for a cheap fun scope. For visual what would be the best type of scope? Maktov Cassagrain, SCT, Newtonian, or Refractor? Let’s pretend each has a 4” aperture. What gives the best views?

 

You want a GOTO scope that performs well on the planets and deep sky on a $500 budget that includes the mount.

 

I'm thinking this 6 inch Skywatcher mini-Dob.

 

https://astronomics....letop-dobsonian

 

Otherwise, if GOTO in not important, a 6 inch F/8 Dob is the classic "APO killer."

 

The best views in a 4 inch will be in an ED/APO refractor. The scope alone will be at least $600 and you will need a mount and a diagonal.  

 

And when all is said and done, the 6 inch Newtonian will go deeper and probably be better on the planets.

 

Jon

[SeattleScott]

My recommendation? Find a local astronomy club and see if they have some loaner scopes for you to try, or better yet, does someone have a scope in the aperture you’re looking for that you can try on a clear night?

A Quick response to your other options:

Maksutov-Cassegrain
Pros:
Very compact and portable.
Excellent planetary and lunar performance—often better than an SCT of the same size.

Cons:
Narrow field of view—not ideal for wide-field deep-sky objects
Faint deep-sky objects may not pop at 4" aperture with its long focal length.

Schmidt-Cassegrain (SCT)
Pros:
Compact and versatile.
Decent all-around performer.
Can be adapted for many observing styles.
Cons:
Slightly lower contrast than refractors or Maks due to central obstruction.
Still needs collimation occasionally.
Long focal length narrows the field of view

Newtonian Reflector
Pros:
Cheapest per inch of aperture.
Bright, wide-field views (especially with a short focal ratio).
Great for deep-sky viewing on a budget.
Cons:
Requires regular collimation.

Refractor (Apochromatic, ideally)
Pros:
Sharpest image per inch of aperture (no central obstruction).
Best contrast and color fidelity.
No collimation needed (very low maintenance).
Excellent for planetary, lunar, and bright deep-sky viewing.
Cons:
More expensive per inch of aperture (especially if it's an apochromat).
Longer tube

Personally, I’d take the Dob, but that’s me.

Kevin

This is a pretty good summary, although I would add the clarification that narrow view versus wide view is only relevant for low power observing. At 100x magnification, assuming using eyepieces with equivalent AFOV, the view will be just as wide and bright in a Mak or SCT as a refractor or Newt. So it is really just that a Dob can often go a bit wider to help frame the big stuff, like Beehive and Double Cluster. Or getting a brighter view of nebulae using a filter. The wider view at low power also helps for locating stuff without GoTo. For general purpose DSO observing using GoTo, the wider field at low power makes little difference. Perhaps your GoTo alignment need not be as precise.

[Jon Isaacs]

This is a pretty good summary, although I would add the clarification that narrow view versus wide view is only relevant for low power observing. At 100x magnification, assuming using eyepieces with equivalent AFOV, the view will be just as wide and bright in a Mak or SCT as a refractor or Newt. So it is really just that a Dob can often go a bit wider to help frame the big stuff, like Beehive and Double Cluster. Or getting a brighter view of nebulae using a filter. The wider view at low power also helps for locating stuff without GoTo. For general purpose DSO observing using GoTo, the wider field at low power makes little difference. Perhaps your GoTo alignment need not be as precise.

 

Keep in mind, that low power views correspond not only to wide views but also bright views. Under darker skies, SCTs and Maks suffer when compared to faster refractors and Newtonians.

 

A 4 inch F/10 with the 24 mm of the zoom will provide a 1° field with a 2.4 mm exit pupil. The 17mm Morpheus, a 1.2° field with a 1.7 mm exit pupil.

 

Jon

Edited by Jon Isaacs, 07 June 2025 - 03:24 PM.

[maniack]

I find that a 5-6" SCT is a good all-round scope for GoTo usage. There's a lot of capability while keeping the size and weight down, allowing for an overall lighter GoTo system. The standard 0.63x reducer gives a wider view while correcting for some aberrations. Since the OP is already familiar with SCTs this choice makes the most sense to me.

 

I've bought 2 5SE systems used, for around $300-$350. Yes these deals are a bit rare, but $500 should be very doable. Another option is the Celestron DX5 which is push-to system that works very well, and can be bought from Amazon Resale for ~$500 (and sometimes less).

 

One other note on maksutovs - although a lot of folks say these don't require collimation, I've bought 2 used ones recently that were noticeable out of collimation. The other 4 I bought used were fine though (note that all of these were Synta units). Now that I've collimated two of them I think the procedure is not all that different from SCTs

[vtornado]

over your budget but I would recommend an 8 inch goto dob.  

 

$500.00 is very tight budget for a goto.  Any goto scope will be aperature limited.  The mount being goto will be light duty and be on a wobbly tripod.

 

Can you live with push to?  You can make a manual push to system with a paper setting cirlce and inclinometer.   You can harvest a sky sense module from a cheaper telescope.   I have had some success with astro-hopper.

 

I have the sky-watcher az-gti, a nice mount.   It could work but you limit yourself to around 4-5 inches of aperture.

I run a 100 f/5 on it.  It will have a lot of CA for Jupiter/Mars.  Current price is $525 without a tube.

 

For deep sky the number one need is a dark sky.   Open clusters and Globs can survive somewhat in suburban light pollution.  

Edited by vtornado, 08 June 2025 - 12:31 PM.

[Uhhjoe82]

Ok I think I’ve narrowed it down between 3 scopes.
1. Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 AZ-GTi
2. Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTI 150 (I’m really interested in this scope and it’s probably the most affordable. I’m just a little unsure if it can handle my heavier eyepieces like the Baader Morpheus 17 and the Zoom Mark iv.)
3. Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT

Out of these 3 which one does everyone suggest especially for just exploring the sky and maybe looking for some galaxies and bright nebula. I understand that with all these, the deep sky objects since will be more like fuzzy patches.

[Stretch67]

You want a GOTO scope that performs well on the planets and deep sky on a $500 budget that includes the mount.

 

I'm thinking this 6 inch Skywatcher mini-Dob.

 

https://astronomics....letop-dobsonian

 

...

 

And when all is said and done, the 6 inch Newtonian will go deeper and probably be better on the planets.

 

Jon

Huh.  $545.  I bought mine from High Point Scientific just two weeks ago for $470.  High Point is now charging $545 also.  I'm glad I jumped on it when I did.

 

I hadn't bought a telescope in decades, so reading online reviews was a must...

 

https://telescopicwa...escope-reviews/

 

With large-ish aperture, Go-To Dobson mount, and portability being key factors, I ultimately decided on the Virtuoso GTi 150.  I've really been enjoying it, weather permitting.  Sorry about that, everyone. 

 

I did make a shroud from EVA foam and velcro, thusly...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=8VMASGCLvp0

 

And a sturdy wood table with folding legs, inspired by this...

 

https://eyesonthesky...diy/2x4-tripod/

Edited by Stretch67, 07 June 2025 - 04:58 PM.

[maniack]

Ok I think I’ve narrowed it down between 3 scopes.
1. Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 AZ-GTi
2. Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTI 150 (I’m really interested in this scope and it’s probably the most affordable. I’m just a little unsure if it can handle my heavier eyepieces like the Baader Morpheus 17 and the Zoom Mark iv.)
3. Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT

Out of these 3 which one does everyone suggest especially for just exploring the sky and maybe looking for some galaxies and bright nebula. I understand that with all these, the deep sky objects since will be more like fuzzy patches.

For #1 and #3 you're maxing out the weight on the mount and tripod. In both cases a tripod upgrade would be helpful (harder to do with the SLT mount but possible if you are handy).

 

To be fair I don't have direct experience with #3, but the optical tube is both heavier and longer than the 127SLT I do have extensive experience with. And I did eventually move the mount head onto a surveyor tripod for better stability.

 

On another note I find the Celestron Nexstar systems much, much easier to use than the Sky-Watcher systems. The Sky-Watchers require North-level positioning before alignment, while the Nexstar does not. So the Nexstar is much quicker to get up and running. I also don't care for WiFi control, so ended up buying a hand controller for my AZ-GTi. But the Nexstar controller is a lot more intuitive for me (why I do have to hit enter twice to actually slew to a target on the Synscan controller?).

 

I'd still choose a 5SE or 6SE over any of these. I also prefer the ergonomics of catadioptrics over Newtonians.