Which Telescope will I use the most

Guest

Hi,

I am interested in purchasing a telescope for both celestial and terrestrial viewing. I am considering the Celestron Nexstar SE series, the Meade ETX 125 PE, and the Celestron 130 MAK. The price of the ETX 125 PE would be my upper price limit. At some point I would like to be able to take pictures with a Canon EOS Rebel XT, both terrestrial and astrophotography. Would saving for the ETX be overkill on the terrestrial viewing? Would I be better off with one more economically priced, such as the 130 MAK, or the Nexstar SE series?

Thanks for your input.

Tony

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5509

Hi

Any of these can be put to work for daytime work (on the SE, you must choose a refractor or Mak, not a reflector), but only the ETX and SE are suitable for astrophotography. It's only overkill if you don't use these last two for astronomy. You are specifically paying for features for astronomy.
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tpatnode · Joined: 07 Jun 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Southern Pines, NC

Hi, Thanks for the quick response. The Nexstar scopes I was considering are the Nexstar 4 SE, 5 SE, and 6 SE. I think the 4 is a MAK and the 5 and 6 are Schmidt-Cassegrain. Can any/all of these be used for astrophotography? how about terrestrial photography? will the images be erect and correct on the terrestrial applications?

Thanks,

Tony

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5509

Hi

Yes, all can be used for astrophotography and daytime photography, though you will need to add a 93658 wedge on the Nexstar 6 (built-in wedge on the 4SE and 5SE) to use it for astrophotography.

Images will be upright, but reversed right to left. Most folks use them this way for day work, but you can further correct the 4 SE right to left with the 94116 erect image diagonal.
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