What is recommended for lunar observing?

I am interested in Lunar and Planetary observing and in the future imaging.

It should to be portable.

Price? I have no clue. I'll consider all contenders.

I've been told that a Stellarvue 4" Apochromatic refractor would be the
ticket. Any comments?

Thanks,

F Marion

Get an equatorial mount with electric (motorized) slow motion controls. It
doesn't have to be GOTO, since you should know or learn where the planets
are. Not being GOTO also skips a step on some GOTO mounts; finding
alignment stars. Less expensive also. At the high magnifications you're
going to have to use, slow motions are a must. This also means make sure
the mount is heavy enough to take the telescope you're going to put on it
and steady out rapidly when the telescope is moved.

Great optics. Well built and collimated, or easily collimated if not. I
found that things like large secondary obstructions do make a difference,
but not everyone can afford an apo refractor that's big enough and long
enough (in focal length).Maksutovs and long foal length reflectors can make
good planet telescopes too, but if you're really serious about it, try and
go for a high quality refractor. Unfortunately, this means big bucks.
--
Sincerely,
--- Dave

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A man is a god in ruins.
--- Duke Ellington
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"Francis Marion" wrote in message
news:zbyjc.30552$0u6.5370499@attbi_s03...
I am interested in Lunar and Planetary observing and in the future
imaging.

It should to be portable.

Price? I have no clue. I'll consider all contenders.

I've been told that a Stellarvue 4" Apochromatic refractor would be the
ticket. Any comments?

Thanks,

F Marion

I've been told that a Stellarvue 4" Apochromatic refractor would be the
ticket. Any comments?


Hi:

Whichever design you choose, I'd consider at least 6 inches (8 is much better)
as a minimum for serious Lunar observing and imaging. Sure, you can see a lot
with a smaller scope, but more light and more resolution will for sure come in
handy on many nights. My most used Lunar scope at the moment? A C11. Years ago,
I used a 12.5 inch Newtonian frequently for imaging.


Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

Francis Marion wrote:
I am interested in Lunar and Planetary observing and in the future imaging.

It should to be portable.

Price? I have no clue. I'll consider all contenders.

I've been told that a Stellarvue 4" Apochromatic refractor would be the
ticket. Any comments?

A short-focus apo is a good choice *if* you think your imaging needs will
include wide-field images. They are designed to provide wide, flat fields.
Otherwise, as Rod suggests, you might want to aim for a bit more aperture,
because especially planet observing will eat up all the aperture you can
feed it, so to speak.

In my experience, planet observing is more demanding in terms of optical
quality than lunar observing, where the contrast is higher. If you know
someone who can help you rate a scope's quality, you might consider an
8-inch SCT. The reason I suggest this one is that it is a reasonably
compact scope, and a lot of imaging accessories are made to fit on SCTs.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

I smell money chasing satisfaction with a tinge of wreckless greed. No
C8 will satisfy you! OK.

Portable Cheap? Try a m603 or a mn61 or a Tech6.

Less portable Less cheap? Try a mn86, 8" mewlon, or Tech8.

By the way there is a full set of Zeiss Abe Orthos with the 33mm! for sale on
Astromart at $4500 in walnut case... might as well pick those up also. Only 100

were sold in the USA. Rarity alone darws one to these not to mention some of
the
best hi-contrast orthos ever made for lunar planetary work. They might be as
good
AP's new eps or the SuperMonocentrics.

Enjoy your 12" Zambuto if you go to that insetad seeking full scale lunar
views!

Jerry





Francis Marion wrote:

I am interested in Lunar and Planetary observing and in the future imaging.

It should to be portable.

Price? I have no clue. I'll consider all contenders.

I've been told that a Stellarvue 4" Apochromatic refractor would be the
ticket. Any comments?

Thanks,

F Marion

For Imaging and if your interested in lunar then planetary is not out
of the picture. A 4" apo should provide nice views but it is rather
aperture challenged. Id recommend a 10 or 12 inch newt or perhaps a
sct in that range. Bottom line a good mount with slow motion controls
is needed. Prefably a GEM.

Rich


On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 19:07:11 GMT, "Francis Marion"
wrote:

I am interested in Lunar and Planetary observing and in the future imaging.

It should to be portable.

Price? I have no clue. I'll consider all contenders.

I've been told that a Stellarvue 4" Apochromatic refractor would be the
ticket. Any comments?

Thanks,

F Marion