My NEW Scope! - Skymax 180 Pro - Planet Busting Power!

Introducing my new (to me anyway) scope, the Skywatcher Skymax 180 Pro Maksutov!
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[@Oamaruastro]

Congratulations on the new scope! I acquired this same scope when I bought my used HEQ5-Pro mount, but never got to use it much and decided to sell it to allow me to get an 8” SCT (which I love). I look forward to seeing what you get with it!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Congrats on your new scope! I'm so surprised this is your first Maksutov! My first "real" telescope was a Mak, an ETX-125 (which was horrible to collimate since you don't have access to the collimation screws without unmounting the scope!). And YES, the jacket works great with a a Mak or Mak-Newt, it works with SCTs too - less effective with the Vixen Modified Cassegrains and other open designs (like classical cassegrains)

[@lukomatico]

Hey mate! I can't believe it's taken me this long to try a Mak, hah! Re: the jacket, I actually came across some of your old posts on cloudy nights where you showed your own jacket if I'm recalling correctly!! Super cool 👍👍

[@RumourHasitYT]

Welcome to the club Luke. I don’t know how I managed to miss this video. I recommend flocking and a Powermate 2x is much better than any Barlow. I’ve got the ASI585MC on mine and the FOV is tiny. Trouble is you can’t fit a sensor much bigger than a 4/3 like the 294 because of the throat diameter of the MAK. You’ll have to get used to mosaics if you wanted to capture the full moon. Good Luck mate

[@AmritP]

just saw your vid, great work on the modifications, think i'll have to consider putting a losmandy plate on mine some time soon. for lunar with a full frame sensor i tend to have to do 2 shot mosaic for the full moon but generally since i like to shoot when its 50-70% for better contrast, been fine in those scenarios.

[@dougiesmart1623]

Great video Luke. I have a 127 Mak and dew is a nightmare. Defo a dew shield or heater (or your insulation solution) is a must.

[@josephluciani5531]

Luke, thanks for the Skymax tour. Always great to see your unflagging enthusiasm for this hobby.

[@lukomatico]

Thank you so much Joe!! Looking forward to sharing more when I can 👍👍

[@GarnettLeary]

Sweet scope. Love mine. Absolutely amazing scope. Excellent for galaxies despite misconceptions

[@lukomatico]

Great to hear my friend!! - your enthusiasm for the Maks actually was part of my reasoning for going for it! I can't wait to have a proper session or two with it, the skies have been troublesome lately haha

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Ah I do like a big like a big Mak 😉You're going to have some fun with that mate. I've got it's baby brother the 127 in the blue tube so it's getting on a bit now, maybe I'll dust the cobwebs from it someday? Clear skies

[@PhilippeNoth]

Cool, finally an astro-youtuber using the Skymax! 🙂 Despite being a beginner - purchased the Skymax 180 for visual planetary and a WO Z73 for DS photo one year ago - I got amazing footage of Jupiter last summer. I bet you will love it too. Could you maybe research the possibilities of adding an EAF or any external focuser to this beast? It is my understanding that it is hardly possible. I would be willing to let a specialist tune it because focusing is tricky @ 2700 FL.

[@lukomatico]

Awesome to hear mate!! I can't wait to try this thing on some planets :-) Re: EAF attachment, that would be cool - I'll have to give it some thought! Cheers!

[@deep_space_dave]

Congrats! Enjoy the deep zoom 🙂

[@lukomatico]

Thanks! 😃

[@Astronurd]

Just had my 180 delivered last week and just fitted an electric focuser, clicklock and two layers of reflectix. Fitted a dew heater strap under the insulation. If you intend using a 3x Barlow with a f15 scope then you will need a camera with huge pixels. For planetary you want 5 x pixel size to be the f ratio.

[@lukomatico]

Very nice mate!! Congratulations! RE: the pixel size to f/ratio rule of thumb - good point! - with my 2.9um 585 cam I'm probably about right without a barlow

[@AstroSoundscape]

Hey Luke well I'm gonna say great minds think alike mate as we're both trying out our first Mak ! Been really happy with mine and I'm sure you two will get on very well. BTW I have that same Celestron X3 Barlow and have found it to be very good. Clear skies mate.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much Ollie mate, I really enjoyed seeing your first results with your own mak mate, can't wait to see more if you get the chance too! :-) It'll be good to finally test this thing out on some targets when it clears a bit here too. Cheers!

[@nathanbarnard5997]

Congrats on the new scope! FYI, I’m processing some recent data and I have your videos playing on my second monitor. You’re an excellent teacher and my images have greatly improved from your content. Keep it up my friend!

[@lukomatico]

Awesome to hear that my friend, that's cool! Thank you!

[@douglasfleming1]

I have the 127mm version. Great scope 😊

[@darkrangersinc]

Congrats and good luck with any reflector 😂. Looking forward to seeing what you get 💪🏼

[@lukomatico]

Thank you!! 😁 Clear skies to you mate!

[@Mel-127]

Ive looked at these scopes many times but never felt comfortable to own one. I kept going back to the idea of an esprite 160, so purchased the 160 instead. I will look out for your results on the Skymax. Love your videos, you come out with some amazing results. Clear sky's to you.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much Mel! - I think this will be quite a lot of fun to own and use, I really do look forwards to some lunar and planetary + double star work! :-) Clear skies to you my friend, and keep enjoying that Esprit! wonderful scopes!

[@frackcenturion]

its about time you caught up with the 180 😁👍

[@lukomatico]

It's taken me a long time, but I've finally joined the Mak club, haha! :-)

[@carvrodrigo]

Congratz my friend. Maks are very nice telescopes, crisp views. About the collimation inner shadow shifts this is not normal. As a Mak user myself this is caused by mirror shift. The shaft that the primary moves when you focus is a little small then the metal glued to the primary causing the mirror a little tilt that you saw at 6.08min. What you can do is twist the mak focuser all way down where the mirror can rest on the beginning of the shaft, then lock the mirror there and use the crayford focuser. This can solve your issue. Another tip is to collimate after you do it.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much for that mate!! Clear skies :-)

[@anthonyexmouth]

I regret selling my 180. It's the only scope I've ever sold, usually a hoarder. Ditch the barlow and get a decent powermate, barlows suck on this scope.

[@lukomatico]

Good to know!! - I'll endeavour to keep this one, I already quite like it due to how specialised it is! 👍👍

[@user-lt9py2pu6u]

Thanks for the review Luke. I have been considering a long focal length scope for some time but your initial review of this has probably convinced me not to go down the Mak route. If I had an observatory where I could leave it set up I would probably be inclined to think differently, but I'm a bit lazy and don't like playing around with things like collimation or waiting for long periods for the temperature to stabilise. Also I have read somewhere that Maks are not so good on DSOs like galaxies and planetary nebulae which is what I'm more interested in ( even visually I was never that interested in the moon or planets ). I have to say though, that Maks are very competitively priced for there size, and lots of people seem very happy with them. Looking forward to seeing the images you capture with this all the same, might help me change my mind.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much for watching and weighing in, Kevin! - I appreciate your thoughts mate, I think you're probably dead-on too! It sounds like a nice big refractor would be a good fit, or perhaps a well made SCT (easy to collimate, and pretty collimation stable too) - I'm really interested in using this most of all for it's specialized nature, it seems to be a natural fit for planets and lunar work, probably great results without even a barlow! :-) wouldn't be my first scope of choice for galaxies though! All the best! Luke

[@astromatt75]

It's fantastic to see this scope getting some attention. I've been using the Skymax 180 for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. The optics are excellent, especially for lunar and planetary observation. I purchased a Powermate Barlow tube for mine, which works really well, although it requires excellent conditions. Like you, I went into it fully aware of the long cool-down times and mirror flop. I just plan ahead. For grab and go, I also bought a Skymax 127 which cools down far quicker and punches well above its weight. I didn't know about the silver jacket - thanks for that. You are going to love the 180!

[@lukomatico]

Excellent to hear that Matt!! So glad to hear of another happy owner, I've honestly been really impressed with it so far! It's sharp as heck through the eyepiece which I really enjoy, it's getting me excited for planet season! :-) I'd love a 127 someday too for a bit of grab & go lunar! - glad to hear you like that also! Clear skies to you my friend!! :-)

[@nikaxstrophotography]

Looking forward to the results mate

[@Jcorban08]

Congratulations on your new scope, Luke!! Its exciting news!! The thermal jacket sounds very promising. Would be interested to learn more, if possible. Enjoy and clear skies!! ~John **edit** I don’t know if a tri-Bahtinov mask is feasible for collimating. I’ve found it (tri-Bahtinov) helpful collimating my SCT while in focus. Best!

[@lukomatico]

Thanks for that mate! - I'll perhaps talk more about the jacket in a future video, that's a nice idea - thanks! RE: the tri-mask, potentially! I think it'd probably work! Clear skies mate!

[@TareqAstroPhoton]

It is a nice scope, you will love it, i started with it since 2018 and it didn't disappoint, only cons with it is that i dreamed since 2019 to go much bigger aperture because of it, but for what i used it for mainly moon it is awesome, congratulations! My advice is to go with a dual speed Crayford focuser, and if you can i advise you to get Powermate 2x maximum or one of those 1.4-1.6x around, 3x or more is too much, and if you want to do more of mono lunar images then depends of which camera i like IR642 filter.

[@lukomatico]

Thank you so much!! I think I'm going to really enjoy this scope as a visual tool for the planets and moon, as well as doing some AP of course! I actually have just got another scope too which I'll definitely talk about in a future video, so look for some comparisons potentially there too! :-D (edgehd11!)

[@SpaceRocksandStardust]

That is a “Big Mak”! Congrats!👏🏻🥳

[@lukomatico]

Thanks mate!! :-D

[@ekalbkr]

What fun! I'm interested in seeing what you can get out of it. Sending clear sky vibes your way...

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much mate! 👍👍

[@TelfordO]

Hi Luke, what a lovely addition looking forward to your images, be they Planets or the Moon, but also please experiment and do some dso's i have some people use smaller Maksutov's from skywatcher the 130 on Galaxies and such., i have been tempted to buy one in the past. .

[@lukomatico]

Thank you for the feedback mate, I'll take it on board!! :-D cheers!

[@jesuschrist2284]

Would love to see an attempt to use this for galaxies

[@SimonsAstro]

Nice looking scope mate! Looking forward to seeing the results Luke👍

[@lukomatico]

Thanks Simon mate!! 👍 Can't wait to see what it can do!

[@AmatureAstronomer]

Nice looking.

[@lukomatico]

I think so too!

[@AstroLaVista]

Nice job on the insulated jacket there, Luke, and congrats on the planetary/Lunar beast :)

[@AstroLaVista]

I reckon it looks cool (no pun intended), like a NASA space probe

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much Chris mate! I think it'll be a ton of fun when the planets are back in view, until then some lunar and double stars will be very welcome!! :-) Re: the jacket, it's growing on me, haha!

[@bengterlandsson7921]

It’s a great scope, if you could share your experience in how to collimating it would be highly appreciated. Thanks, looking forward to seeing your results from using it.

[@KingLoopie1]

You will enjoy the mak! When kept in its own ballpark it's an amazing instrument. I have 2 nexstar 4se, 1 celestron c130, and 1 150 f10 which appears to be a repainted intes. Still looking for an older Meade 7" (yeah, OK,... I've got a problem...) The older Meade 7" was made with a 7" corrector and an 8" primary so as to not lose any light from the light days refracting outwards by the negative corrector. I don't know if the modern maks have that feature or even whether or not it makes a difference... But I'd like to find out!

[@lukomatico]

Excellent to hear you're such a Mak enthusiast! :-D re: the oversized primary, that's a feature on the newer skymax like mine too so you get the full 180mm :-) I believe it was just the gold tube ones that were undersized 👍 Cheers mate!

[@Vic-pz5oh]

Luv my mak 127.never needs collimation.just need a dew cap as dew magnets😂

[@petesastrophotography]

Great stuff Luke, I do love Maksutov's. I still have my Orion Optics OMC-140 that I bought around 25 years ago. I've thought about getting a Skymax several times but just never got round to it, might have to look into it again (you can never have too many scopes after all!). Like yourself I'm looking to get back into lunar/planetary work, the last time I looked at a planet through a telescope must be 20 odd years ago now (I gave up due to our terrible seeing). Looking forward to the Mars opposition in January, while nowhere near the closest it's going to be very high in the sky which bodes well for seeing etc.

[@lukomatico]

Hey Pete! - Ah mate I'm excited for the Mars opposition! I'm actually just generally excited for seeing the planets again to be honest, I've really missed it! :-D Truth be told I actually am so excited for it, I went ahead and purchased another new (used, but new to me!) scope last week.. an EdgeHD11! I really must behave now though as my piggy bank won't be able to take much more, haha! On the note of planets, I bet your RC12 will be a heck of a planetary machine too, that huge mirror and open tube will really help get some details I think - the relatively large C/O won't matter much in the grand scheme I bet Hope you're doing well mate!

[@petesastrophotography]

@@lukomatico Nice! I have a Celestron CPC1100 that I haven't used for years, I will be digging that out as well for planetary work. I think comparing the SCT and RC side by side will be an interesting experiment. I keep eyeing up the Stellalyra Classical cassegrains on FLO, I think one of those would make for a really nice planetary scope being F12 with a smaller CO.

[@lukomatico]

That's awesome!! Those CC's do look to be excellent bits of kit, as is your CPC1100 - wonderful! 👍👍 I love most long f/l scopes like that to be honest, as I've gone along in astro it seems my tastes have turned towards longer focal length scopes being what brings me the most joy (still love wide field though!) I guess I also enjoy having 'the right tool for the job' too, that brings an element of satisfaction even when you don't always get to regularly use them - I remember the days of having one or two scopes total and trying to do everything with them and feeling a bit trapped in a way! Apologies for the random commentary, thinking aloud in text-form, haha! Clear skies mate! 👍👍

[@KevinMurphy0403]

Well done on your purchase. Absolutely wonderful telescope for the moon and planets. Excellent on globulars also, havent tried it on other DSO's so can't comment. I got one about a year ago and I really love it. I have the 127 version and I would highly recommend this also, and, to be honest, I use this more (on an alt/Az tripod for casual lunar and planet viewing). I would recommend storing it outside in a shed or sealed container (in the shade) due to cool down time. I also got the Astrozap dew heater which is essential. They say these telescopes are nearly as good as APO's, I would go further and drop the "nearly". Amazing piece of gear for the price.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much Kevin! - I really think it's going to be a lot of fun! :-) I'd love a 127 now too for the same reasons you mentioned, they're likable scopes! I agree RE: the apo mention too, I've looked through some nice refractors and this thing has to be right up there in contrast and sharpness, at least visually - beautiful views. Cheers!

[@gabewrsewell]

ooh i’d be curious to see you try another test in the short vs long subs series, focusing in on how it affects resolution! we saw a bit of a difference i think in the tests so far, but i’d be curious to see something like 30s subs vs 3 minute subs on a galaxy, with the least sharp percentage of frames rejected. i really don’t know if any lucky imaging effects will show up on the scale of 30s or so, and if they’d make up for the higher likelihood of noise with short exposures and a slower scope like that, but i’d like to find out!

[@lukomatico]

Thank you Gabe! That could be a cool video idea all of its own I guess, hope for some clear skies soon!!

[@stevelyon8334]

Try it on the sun with a filter for the sun it's really good, galaxy's are a brezz (as long as the wind is blowing). Have fun, get a dew sheild to avoid stray light and watch out for dew!!!!

[@lukomatico]

Thanks for the ideas mate!! Cheers!! :-)

[@stadtchronistjennersdorf6351]

Crater is Petavius or as some do say "Tachometer" as of its apperance. :-)

[@lukomatico]

Spot on! :-D I had a particularly nice visual session on this crater right before putting the camera on, really interesting to see shape and shadow working together - it felt 3d

[@Wombatzone31]

Love it! Been tossing up between The 180 pro or a Edge8HD

[@lukomatico]

Superb! I think the edge is probably the way to go though, more versatile and a touch more aperture - that said, the mak is a very specialized scope and good at its job by all accounts!

[@JonnyBravo0311]

I went with a 8" EdgeHD for the versatility. I use it for deep sky imaging both natively and reduced. I use it for planetary and lunar. Collimation is extremely easy. Is it the best at any particular job? No. It's definitely a jack of all trades kind of scope that gets the job done. I think the biggest drawback of the scope is the focus mechanism of moving the primary mirror - especially with planetary imaging where you might want to do micro adjustments to focus pretty often. For deep sky imaging it's a non-issue because I ensure all of my focus runs end by pushing the mirror up the tube (counter-clockwise turn) to prevent mirror flop.

[@edwardgill1042]

Highly recommend mounting a Losmandy dovetail on the side opposite from the vixen dovetail. The Celestron orange colored dovetail for the 8" SCT fits perfectly and is "cheap" to boot. Why? The vixen is too narrow (heavy tube easily rolls out of the clamp when mounting and especially unmounting) and too short (hard to balance). You have to disassemble to scope, not too scary if you're careful and methodical.

[@lukomatico]

Excellent to hear that! - I've been considering a losmandy dovetail on radius blocks as a potential upgrade, - glad to hear the celestron part fits though, that could be a lot more cost effective! I definitely agree the vixen is a bit small for a scope like this 👍 Cheers for taking the time to share!

[@MatthewHolevinski]

Thanks! Wish I had a mak and nice dark sky. I gotta group of about 30 kids that are expecting a tour of the night sky tonight. I am neither competent nor qualified, (sigh) gonna be a rough evening.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks so much mate, that's really kind of you to give support again!! :-) I hope your tour went well, that sounds like quite a challenge haha! 👍👍

[@MatthewHolevinski]

@@lukomatico Cancelled on them brats :) honestly they waited too long to confirm, and we had a storm moving in, we *technically* coulda done some viewing, but honestly it was just better to postpone.

[@Tony-Elliott]

Hi Luke very nice scope mate would be good to see this scope and the sharpcap live stacking the planets later on in the year when they are better placed

[@lukomatico]

That would be cool, sounds good!! 👍

[@user-it4ry8fp5o]

I was wondering if you could tell me more about the focuser? I’m interested in possibly trying the 150 Mak if I could get a Crawford focuser. I owned a Questar 3.5 for about 40 years, but sold it when I decided to get into AP. I now have an AM3, ASI2600 Duo, ASIAIR Plus and an Askar V. I need very lightweight equipment for my back. I always enjoy (& learn a lot) your videos!

[@lukomatico]

Hey there! - It's quite a well made crayford, but it does consume a lot of back-focal distance, thus altering the end focal length & ratio of the telescope, this effect would be more pronounced on the 150 I believe. I find the in-built focuser works well for what I'm doing, so I have taken off the crayford and simply use the scope's own focuser now :-) If doing planetary/lunar etc, I think there's no need to change out the focuser on these modern skymax scopes - the mirror flop isn't so bad really. Hope that helps! Luke

[@3dfxvoodoocards6]

Would be nice to see a image comparison with a newtonian or refracfor

[@lukomatico]

That's potentially doable! :-)

[@gileschester4295]

Hi Luke. Good vid as always. I was wondering if you could post a link to the insulation material you used ? All the best.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks mate! - it was SuperFOIL 3mm, two layers thick - along with the same brand aluminum tape for the seams and joints :-)

[@gileschester4295]

@@lukomatico Great, thanks.

[@davekemp750]

You need to send that down to Rotherham for thorough testing, should take about 12 months of solid testing 😅😁

[@lukomatico]

Haha Dave!! :-D it'll probably take us about 12 months to get any clear skies at this rate lol!

[@davekemp750]

@lukomatico very true

[@davepastern]

Congrats, but I really would have recommended going with a Celestron C9.25" which won't have the cooldown issues of the Mak.

[@lukomatico]

Thanks Dave! - well, you might a future video I have planned then, haha.. - I actually picked up an EdgeHD11 the other week!

[@davepastern]

@@lukomatico congrats mate! Make sure to cool that down like you had planned with the Mak180. You'll probably struggle to only get a few clear nights per year with either scope for planetary imaging. What camera are you planning to use?

[@MrMrduke1975]

Congrats! I’m very curious why you got sick of your Newtonian?

[@lukomatico]

Thanks mate! - I think it's just a case of adjustments being difficult in the obsy sometimes, and keeping an open tube design clean that really bugged me haha! :-)

[@MrMrduke1975]

@@lukomatico ah, yea, I could see how that could be annoying

[@CDigata]

You mixing with da toffs nar then.. soon you will have a scope for every day of the month 🔭

[@lukomatico]

Haha, not quite there yet, but at this rate it won't be long 😅

[@jesuspineiro1622]

Hi Luke. What happened to the Meade 10" f/10? It's a great planetary telescope. Did you never work with it again? Hugs

[@lukomatico]

Hey there my friend! :-) I do wish I'd kept that old meade, it was an interesting scope and I felt it had a good optical figure! Alas, I needed money at the time! That said, I now have another SCT in my possession - an edge HD 11" 👍 Big hugs!

[@jesuspineiro1622]

@@lukomatico Oh yes, the old MEADEs have good optics. The C11 EDGE is also great. A hug

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

Luke I don't own a mak yet, but I have for a while now, thought the easiest way around the cool down problem is simply to place the OTA itself outside for a couple of hours, then when night falls, your mak OTA is already cooled down for your astro night? What am I missing please?

[@elbass0]

He wants it to be grab and go for adhoc use. That doesn't align with putting it outside for hours first.

[@lukomatico]

That's absolutely what I'd usually do mate yeah! :-) the mak really does take a freakishly long time to cool though, - like elbass0 says, I wanna be able to just set it up and grab some captures on a whim, the insulation seems to have really helped for that! 👍

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Maks are surprisingly difficult to get to thermal equilibrium due to the extremely thick meniscus lens - and it get worse with size, 180mm is pretty big for a Mak. In fact, depending on the temp changes throughout night, it's possible for a Mak to never achieve equilibrium during the night. Thus, an insulating jacket is a great way to deal with this issue. Instead of looking for equilibrium, you actively avoid it. The thick meniscus and thick mirror already help with that, and then the jacket completes the insulation - with the result of a scope with very few internal air currents!

[@tomhoskins4913]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Good information.

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

​@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks Cuiv, what you say really makes sense. I appreciate now I really had no idea just how bad a problem larger Mak's have with cool down!

[@anata5127]

Skymax 180 ($1500) and Mewlon 180 ($2200). Why Skymax? I have seen Skymax 150 and Mewlon 210 in action (visual). It is massive. Mewlon 210 blown Edge 9.25 “out of water” as well.

[@lukomatico]

Hey Ana! - price and availability really, this came up reasonably nearby and at a huge saving over new price so made sense 👍 Re: mewlon, they're supposed to be incredible for sure! For contrast though, I've seen tests between a mewlon and a skymax and the skymax had a better strehl! (Maybe an isolated case, who knows - interesting all the same though!) r2.astro-foren.com/index.php/de/12-beitraege/04-zweispiegel-systeme-astrofotografie/789-d069b-vergleich-180-mewlon-dall-kirkham-und-180-skywatcher-maksutov

[@anata5127]

@@lukomatico This is problem with all these tests. According to tests IOptron mounts are on the same level with AP and 10micron mounts. What in reality happens is that beginners buy a lot of “trash” equipment that after countless buying any selling (I guess; not-so-happy -with) becomes more expensive than buying once truly quality equipment. I know countless people, including me, who learned this hard way.

[@BlackThunderRC]

Try an Intes mak. Youl never want to use anything else doe high power work.

[@lukomatico]

I'd love to one day! :-)