Help me spend some money

[Casus_belli]

Got an un-expected windfall today so Im now looking at my meade etx90 with contempt. My dear wife tells me I can get a new telescope if she can have a new bathroom suite. Done! Ooh I love that woman

I have been looking at meade lightbridges with envious eyes. I want something thats easy to setup, portable (so I can get away from a new factorys security lights, completly swamped my handy viewing place with light the rotters!)

I'll keep the etx 90 for attempting to learn astrophotography in the future.

Im new to astonomy but really caught the bug when I bought the etx last year. However I want to see more! With greater detail! I want an all rounder something I can use for planets and deep sky objects.

Im still learning the sky but do know where a good number of intresting things are so Im not a complete newbie.


Not looking at spending over £1000


Any advice would be greatly apprieciated

[redshifter]

The lightbridge should be a great scope! Depending on aperature, you might consider a solid tube dob since you mention ease of setup. However, solid tube dobs above 10" will require a wagon or van for transport, so portability takes a hit.

Gotta love a wife who allows us to spend $$ on our hobbies! I'm glad mine puts up with my home theater addiction as well, now those are some expensive upgrades...

[aurora]

I don't know what scopes cost, or what is available, in the UK. So can't comment on what you can get for your budget.

But based on what you said, you should look for the largest aperture that you can afford and move readily. Which sort of leads to a Dob, either tube or truss.

For visual viewing, the more aperture, the more light is gathered, the more objects can be seen.

[Sp1ke]

What about one of the NexStar SE range from Celestron? They're much lighter and so more portable than similar SCTs. The NexStar 6 should be just within your budget and the NexStar 8 just over it.