Celestron vs Meade

darwin-t · Joined: 10 Nov 2007 Posts: 1

I'm looking at the Meade LX200GPS - 10" and the Celestron CPC 1100 GPS. I have been an amateur astronomer for 20 years, but haven't done anything for several years. I built a 10" scope with a dob mount. In the past I've done mostly planetary and lunar observing, but with a computerized mount I expect to concentrate on deep sky objects also. I also may use the scope to track satellite passes and have been told that the software to do this works with either scope.

I will use the tripod but may also use a permanent mount in the future.

I'm torn between the two and could use some advice. Is there much difference between the scopes, drives and quality? How is the service from Meade and Celestron? What questions should I be asking that I haven't thought of?

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5402

Hi

The LX200R is a modified Schmidt-Cassegrain which is Meade's version of a Ritchey-Cretian and, as such, may be a slightly better choice for astrophotography, though either would exccel for that application. On the other hand, the extra inch on the CPC1100 is going to help for the faint stuff.

All in all, it is really very much a Ford versus Chevy question. We have a CPC1100 in stock, right now, but not an LX200R in a 10"
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