by Gfamily2 » Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:41 am
Hi
The traditional advice has been that a 2" increment in scope size doesn't really give much of an appreciable difference to what you can see - so if you were going to move up with a Dob, I'd say aim for a 10" or 12" aperture instead.
For Maks in your price range, you would probably either get a 5" (127mm) scope on a GOTO mount or maybe a 6" scope as an OTA only. These will give you a higher magnification with any eyepiece than your current scope, but they don't capture any more light, so they are only better for small bright objects (like planets), or for looking in close detail at the moon or sun (with appropriate filters).
Do you have a local astro society? They can be great at regenerating interest in what you can see with your current scope, as well as giving you a lead into where you want to go next with your Astro hobby.
One thing I can say for the 5" Mak is that it makes a very transportable scope for taking out to dark locations (including packing in the car for holidays), as it doesn't take a lot of space, and it benefits from dark skies.
Scopes: Meade 8" SCT, Skywatcher 127mm Mak, Raffle winner of SW ST80
For imaging: Pentax K5, Asda webcam, Star Adventurer (new toy)
For companionship: Mid Cheshire Astronomical Group.
(Not a moderator)