In addition to the difference so helpfully added  by another respondent to the question, in the more  general sense I would add this:    The Schmidt corrector (developed by Bernhard  Schmidt, a German optician working in the 1920s  and 1930s) permits an exceptionally wide field  scope of very low focal ratio and relatively low  aberration: thus, the types of telescopes used for  sky surveys (like the famous Palomar set) are made  with a very “fast” Schmidt and cover a wide angle  of sky.  However, the commercial amateur SCT  scopes are usually not much faster than f6.3  (typically f10) which negates some of the value of  the Schmidt corrector system.  Professional  Schmidt telescopes may have very large aperture  correctors (they are measured by the size of their  corrector and not the diameter of the primary  mirror; the Palomar Schmidts are 18″ and 48″  systems.)    The Maksutov (developed by a Soviet inventor)  corrector lens is usually not made in sizes much  larger than about 12 inches, due to the mass of  the meniscus lens.  Amateur Maksutovs are  available up to 7″ now, but in the past the most  frequently-encountered models were only 3.5″ in  diameter.  All the optical surfaces are spherical,  which makes it easier to construct a very fine  instrument giving exceptional performance (re  Illingsworth, FACTS ON FILE DICTIONARY OF  ASTRONOMY.)    More information on telescope types is found in  our software program: see our website.

Recently mambers of the Astro Club I am a member of had all members  fill out a questionaire on the telescopes they have and or plan to have  in the future. Included were problems or complaints with their scopes. Of  the 220 or so members, 137 had Meade Schmidt Cassagrains, most being  LX-200’s a few LX-50’s and 3 LX-100’s. There were lots of owners who had  several telescopes, myself included. For the record, only 17 Celestron  Schmidt Cassagrains.     Of these 137 owners of Meade schmidt cassagrains, there was only one  comment made on own owner who had a damaged finder scope who had to send  it back to the factory for a replacement. No users had electrical  problems or even mechanical problems.     From this, I have to conclude that only the squeeky wheel gets the oil  and the only comments you hear from most users is the one or 2 percent  who actually have problems.      For the record, Paul L. a life long meade basher who we as members of  MAPUG have petitioned to have him removed from MAPUG with over 100  signatures on Postcards sent to me so far. Has never liked Meade  telescopes because they came out with the Lx-200 12″ months after he  bought his C11, and has never owned a Meade telescope.     I’m bringing this up because when ever paul hears comments about  meade, you can rest assured that he will be there giving his negative  comments about Meade.     You will usually find his comments negative and harsh `and always  against Meade, so far as to turn the topic of any subject into a Meade  bashing ordeal. I’m Putting together an archive list of all of Pauls  comments from MAPUG and Sci.astro.amateur and now from this group to show  people that he is trouble to any astro internet group.     Of the 83 comments I have copied off the MAPUG archives listing so far  as well as saving all of his e-mail to the group, 76 of these 83 comments  in one way or another deal with Paul bashing Meade.     He also calims the he has stock in Meade which is not true since I  recently bought 100 shares of meades stock and his name was not listed as  one of the shareholders.     Just thought I’d let the good people of this group be forwarned about  Paul Laughton.

Guess that the problem is that you seem to think that a scope can do only  one job.  Scopes that are designed for planetary work (typicaly long F ratio  instruments) can be used for deepsky work – thier only problem with this is  that they generally have a smaller FOV and thus won’t see much of the sky at  a time – while the Rich Field type of instruments that are expounded for  deepsky work will give good views of the planets – you just have to get used  to the very short FL EPs to see anything at the high powers that the planets  need.  Inbetween there is a huge range of instruments that will do what you  want to do.  For the price range that you have specified, almost 3/4 of the  telescopes that are being made can fit your requirements.  An 8″ SCT is  quite compact and transportable and there are a lot of  Newtonian telescopes  that will fit into the car.  I’ve seen 18″ and bigger scopes put into Honda  Civics.  The choices are yours to make.  The shorter the FL of the scope is, the lower the magnification that you  will have with a particular EP.  Go figure out what you really want and buy  it.  I could tell you that the LX50 is what you want but then you’ll get  peeved at me when you find from somebody else that a different scope is what  you should have bought so I won’t recommend any particular scope.  Have Fun and Keep Looking Up.

As a newcomer to astronomy I am having trouble deciding between the Meade 5″  refractor and the 10″ LX-200 scope.  I basically understand the differences  between the two types of telescopes, and the prices are almost identical.  However I am concerned about culmination of the LX-200 and up keep of the  mirrors.  The refractor appears to me to be the most trouble free but since  I have no practical knowledge of either I maybe totally in the dark.  I live  in rural area of southern Illinois and will be looking at the planets and  moon as my primary focus, but I don’t want to limit myself or my children to  future enjoyment of my new hobby.  Thank you to all that tries to help.  I  appreciate any advise anyone can give.

For ~$228.00 (that was the price last time I heard) you can buy an 80mm refractor from  Eagle Optics (www.eagleoptics.com).  It’s the Celestron Firstscope 80 EQ WA (Wide  Angle).  You get a nice portable scope, a GEM (German Equatorial Mount), a star  diagonal (which isn’t great…) and an eyepiece.    Here’s where you can find the scope…  http://www.eagleoptics.com/eagle/telescopes/celestron/celestron_teles…    Here’s where you can find a review of the scope…  http://hometown.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html  Go to the middle of the page and download the “Skywatch! Download the November-December  1999 ISSUE HERE!!”    Good luck,

The best advice is to find a local astronomy club and talk with knowledge  folk nearby.  At your price limit you might find a used Meade ETX-90 Astro  (the older model ETX-90 without the dual axis drive and controller.)  The  ETX-90 Astro is a 90mm hybrid reflector refractor (a Cassegrain reflector  with a front correction lens) and includes a high quality (about $90 US) 26  mm eyepiece, a nearly useless finder scope, a table top tripod, and a motor  driven polar axis.  The included eyepiece will give about 50 X  magnification.  For planetary viewing your next purchases will likely be a  2X Barlow lens and a 18 mm eyepiece.    One thing to consider is that the cheaper telescopes come with smaller  diameter eyepieces which will not really be useful on a better quality  telescope.  The 1 1/4″ diameter eyepieces the Meade telescopes use will do  fine for any high quality telescope you might buy in the future.  The  shorter focal length eyepieces (especially the cheaper ones) have shorter  eye relief (your pupil must be closer to the lens) and are difficult to use  with glasses and you tend to see “floaters” and eyelashes as well as the  sky.    Try to find a copy of “Starwares” or a copy of a magazine such as “Sky &  Telescope” or “Astronomy.”

It’s been a while since I did any serious star studying (about 7 years).    At the time, I bought the biggest telescope I could find.  I didn’t look  that much and got a Tasco telescope.  I can’t find the manual (moved many  times) but it has a diameter of about the size of a big coffee can and is  about 5 feet long.  If I remember my terminology right it is just a regular  reflector telescope.    Basically the reason I quit is because I moved to a heavily light poluted  area (Wichita, KS) and had a hard time finding anything.    So, I moved again, am back where I was before and now have clear skies and  can see the Milky Way again.  What I’m wondering, is how much do these LX  telescopes go for?  I’ve seen some sites with great images that I could only  hope to find with my Tasco.  The reason I say this is the mount on the Tasco  is some thin wooden legs, the aiming mechanisms are little twisty things  that only twice the handle, not turn the scope, and when I find something,  if I brethe it moves and I can’t find it again, or search for twenty minutes  to find something as simple as Saturn.    So, I’m looking for a better mounted telescope, preferably something I can  use a database of information on so that I don’t have to search too much.    Also – are there any good computer based star map software out there  anymore?  I can’t remember the name of the one I usd back then, SkyMap or  something like that, but I can’t find it anywhere.    Thanks

What type of telescope is this that everyone takes about in this newsgroup?  I went to a camera store the other day to browse their selection of  telescopes. Most of their stuff was meade. The guy working their suggested  I go with a certain type of telescope by meade. I neglected to get the  model number. But it cost 369 dollars. Being new to telescopes and wanting  to get one badly what can people tell me about meades in general? About  the scope he showed me?  (I know no model number, but I do remember him  telling me that it was for astronomical viewing only as it would not  invert the image, and that one need not care about inverting space images.  It was a real cool telescope.)  Any other info will be greatly appreciated. Also if there is a FAQ could  someone point me to it.  I am new to the hobby of telescopes and star gazing.  Thanks

I have made extensive measurements on the Meade 12 and 10 inch  telescopes.  I have one of each and my profession involves noise and  vibration control thus I have instruments to make such measurements.    When set up in the equatorial mount configuration and loaded with  assorted accessories both telescopes oscillate in several low frequency  modes with frequencies of 8 to 16 Hz. The exact frequency depends upon  the scope and its exact loading (weight).    The direction of the mode of oscillation in perpendicular to the fork  with the fork pointing to the north and the tube toward the south  horizon.      The important issue is that when tapped, i.e. touched or when a camera  mirror flops, the oscillation lasts 8 to 10 seconds.  Thus I recommend  that photographic exposures of short duration such as for the moon or  planets not be made until the oscillation damps out. About 10 seconds.    If there is interest in this topic, I will send mor information about  this problem.

Greetings,          I have been thinking about getting a new telescope. I plan on spending  $500 to $1,000 for the telescope. The telescope that I have been looking at  is the Meade starfinder equatorial 8. After reading about the problems that  people have had with the LX-200 dec. motors, I was wondering if anybody has  had any problems with the starfinder series of telescopes. Also is there  any other telescope that you can recommend for less than $1,000. I am  wanting a telescope with a equatorial mount.  I have look at some of the  Schmidt-Cassegrains telescopes, but I think that they are out of my price  range. Thank you for your help.