Sky at Night Magazine

[GedB]

Hello all,

I hope you don't mind the silly question and one I am sure you have heard before!

My son has been using his cousins Nexstar 4SE and has well and truly gotten the bug. I have been asked continually about buying him his first telescope and to be fair he has spent a lot of time researching which has been great to see.
He would like to go with the Nexstar 5SE, but having seen the level of interest he has been showing I have been looking at the 6SE with him.

My question to the forum experts, is the step up from the 5SE to the 6SE worth the additional cost?

Thanks in advance

[Aratus]

It is always worth the additional cost of greater aperture. It isn't just an inch difference, it is surface area. Remember the old 'Pi R squared? 5 inches is 19.6 square inches. 6 inches is 28.3 square inches. That's a 30% increase in the light coming into the telescope. In the end it is a question of the money which only the owner of the money can answer.

If your son is serious about the hobby, (it sounds like he is) and you can find the extra money, then the 6" telescope will be a fantastic telescope that will provide access to a great number of objects in the sky. Having said that, a 5" is a fine telescope too, but the 6" will bring in more.

[Gfamily2]

I've read that the SE4 and SE5 share the same mount, whereas the SE6 shares the same mount as the SE8, so I would expect that your son would get a lot more 'spare capacity' for his (your) money with the SE6. Also, the light gathering capability will be that bit better (not enough to go 'wow' over, but it'll make things easier to see).
Also, I notice that if you buy from Wex photographic, they're currently cutting the price of the 6SE by £250, so it's only £120 more than the 5SE
5SE
http://www.wexphotographic.com/celestro ... pe-1534039

6SE
http://www.wexphotographic.com/celestro ... e-1534040/

(I've no connection to Wex, and there may well be the same offer from other vendors).

[GedB]

Hello all,

Thanks for taking the time to reply and the advice it is much appreciated.