The Maksutov Newtonian Telescope an Astrophotography Powerhouse

I wanted to inform the astrophotography community a bit more about the seldom discussed maksutov newtonian telescope. This scope is an excellent design and makes a great tool for astrophotography and widefield viewing.
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[@primoroy]

I have been researching telescopes to buy for several years, and THIS is the first time this design has popped up (other than in my "why don't they" thoughts)!

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Lot of people had this scope! One of the good choices!

[@brianfulda]

The dark horse telescope of astronomy. Great video man!

[@AVAstronomy]

Hi Brian! Yes I totally agree. Thanks man! Glad you liked it.

[@MarkMphonoman]

I own refractors and Maks. Maks are fantastic.

[@GarnettLeary]

Glad you put info up. I know you’ve had it a while. These really are underrated and hard to find info on. Great presentation. Clear skies.

[@AVAstronomy]

Thanks Garnett! Perhaps this will help get them noticed a bit more.

[@XShadowAngel]

Great video as always, thanks. Been looking at buying a mak-newt to try out, so good timing.

[@AVAstronomy]

Thank you! Yeah you really can’t go wrong with a Mak newt

[@StardustAstronomy]

Thanks for introducing this scope.

[@AVAstronomy]

You’re welcome. 👍

[@Astrogator1]

Thanks for promoting an seriously under recognized telescope. Have a SW MN190 it is a wonder! Heavy but something you get used to!! I gave a refractor as well but prefer the MN Don’t understand these people who say the explore scientific one is hard to get / out of production...were trolls spreading same story about skywatcher when I was getting mine. Checked and a few seconds found at least in Europe I can order from multiple suppliers right now for the ES MN. Thanks again for promoting and great video

[@enriqueboeneker]

Thanks, Aaron! My first scope was a Newt. Unfortunately a cheap one... that turned out hard to colimate. But when it was in sharp shape, even that scope was great. I still have the idea to get a Newt astrograph. If I do, definitely will take your advice! Great video as always!

[@AVAstronomy]

Thanks Enrique! Cheers buddy!

[@JonnyPink65]

I love my Newtonian!!!! And I got it at Woodland Hills camera - they are right down the street from my house. I actually prefer that basic focuser but the only trouble I have is mounting the additional guide scope for PHD and the visual as I like using both. But once I have it up, I love it. Thank you for the videos!!!

[@AVAstronomy]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@Enfieldriderlongisland]

I owned many scopes. This one is one I regret selling the most.

[@raphaelhaist5218]

Hey thx for the Video. I bought the same telescope.Could you tell me where I can find the adapter you used to attach your guide scope or what the adapter is named.

[@AstroPixUK]

Really informative video Aaron. Great work again. Still rocking the beard ;)

[@AVAstronomy]

Thank you! Yeah, it’s kinda growing on me, pun intended. 👍

[@GalaxyArtMedia]

Good video, i might try this telescope also in the future ! Clear sky buddy!

[@AVAstronomy]

Thank you! Clear skies!

[@noypi75]

Hello! Great vid. Made me pick up this scope. I know this has been a while, but how were you able to attach an Astro camera to the focuser I’m having issues fitting my Zwo cameras . Ty.

[@RigoFromSpain]

Nice video Aaron !!!

[@AVAstronomy]

Thanks Rigobert!

[@astrobeardimage]

I love my Comet Hunter I use it regularly on the Explore Scientific global star parties. I just installed a 2.6in secondary to more evenly illuminate my sensor on new cam APSC asi 2600. I didn't see any issue with my 183 but when I upgraded to a larger sensor It wanted a larger mirror. I do live broadcasting so I am interested in a flat illuminated field so I don't need calibration frames live. I'm doubt it's any issue otherwise. Love my Comet Hunter! I believe the Losmandy D plate was my best upgrade for that scope JMHO it helped for me though and I am also using a EQ6r. Also I believe the Comet Hunter is discontinued. Have a good one! Clear Skies

[@AVAstronomy]

Thanks for your input. Clear skies! 👍

[@Raoul_Volfoni]

Maksutov Newtonian. I had 3 of them, just sold one. I still have the Intes MN76 deluxe and the SW MN190. The Howie glatter laser is really extremly important for a MN telescope. The key point for having a MN telescope well collimated is to have the primary stricly parallel to the corrector meniscus and perfectly alligned with it. This is needed to get perfect round stars in the coners. The meniscus makes the coma correction. And the howie glatter together with its different attachments is very usefull for that. I use the round circles attachment together with the single spot to nullify the primary tilt

[@AVAstronomy]

Excellent! Thanks for watching!

[@DannerPlace]

Very good video, thank you.

[@AVAstronomy]

Thanks Dan!

[@noypi75]

Nice vid. Is the Zwo EAF compAtible with the focuser?

[@astronomynotebook]

I have the Skywatcher Mak Newt 190, 1000 focal length....a good telescope for viewing and imaging for planets and deep sky. It has near refractor like image quality.

[@AVAstronomy]

I agree. Clear skies and thanks for watching!

[@Guido_XL]

Me too. The Sky-Watcher 190/1000 MN. It's hard to beat its performance, unless you want to pay a lot more for a scope. The almost perfect allrounder for the demanding beginner and the experienced amateur who doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars or euros on scopes that may be only a fraction better in a certain way. I simply love this Mak-Newt.

[@OigresZevahc]

Hi. What guide Scope and Guide camera would you recommend for this telescope?

[@ati3x]

I have one but the Bresser variant wich i think same as this ES comet hunter. But the weight is not so light as I expected. And the focal ration is F4.8 not 5.3..

[@oceanside2152]

I often work trade shows doing Laser shows, beam effects and animations in booths.. Here's something interesting about the Sky-Watcher 190 maksutov Newtonian you probably don't know. For trade shows, they hand-selected the best Optics, I was told a couple extra steps in the optical testing. (What they were, I have no idea) and I was told they did this for about 50 to 100 of the 190 maksutov Newtonians to hand out as perks to the best, and new Dealers. These high-performance telescopes can be identified by their nickname, first of all , Mak-Newt PBD. The PBD stands for Pale Blue Dot.. and if you have a SW 190 Mak Newt.. look at the white Galaxy in the sky Watcher logo. and if there is a 'Pale Blue Dot' representing Earth in the approximately correct place on the white Galaxy, you have a theoretically perfect collectors telescope. I saw five handed out where I was. Can't say much more cuz I don't want to get my pals in trouble, just saying the city would be a dead giveaway.. So, clear skies and hope you ended up with one of these!

[@AVAstronomy]

Wow what a cool story. I had no idea about that. Just wish I knew about this before I sold my telescope. Either way it was a great scope and performed well. Thanks for watching!

[@baz_astra]

I've been struggling to collimate this bear of a scope. I really want to like it, but it's a tough one. I followed your steps, but I have horrendous coma in just ONE corner of the field - the rest is okay. Any ideas?

[@chitownxring1444]

Aaron, so would you say the only cons on this scope are the weight 15.4 lbs. OTA only and the size due to wind knocking it around? Something I also never thought about is how does mirror quality effect images?

[@AVAstronomy]

Weight is only a con if your mount can’t handle it. Also, haven’t had much problem with wind knocking it around, this goes back to having a sturdy mount. As far as the mirror quality goes, these are mass produced so that will vary, but I’ve gotten good results with my model.

[@edlitoborski5061]

Great Video, what was the name of the laser collimator you used again? Thx

[@AVAstronomy]

Thank you! Howie glatter laser

[@connorjones284]

I also have the comet hunter. I have used it for about a year, and each time I take it out I like it more and more. It is now my favorite scope between my Celestron 4se, comet hunter and Celestron sct 9.25. I think the reason it's not a popular design is that it's quite a bit more than a regular Newtonian and refractor and sct imagers will only use those designs and are not on a budget. It is hard to convince a beginner to pay double for a corrector plate, they simply don't understand the value they are getting. Also, I have a telrad on my comet hunter. Best finder period...

[@AVAstronomy]

yeah, I can see that.

[@TevisC]

I REALLY wish this design was available down to 4.5 inch!!

[@michaelvstheworld3680]

The Comet Hunter is a great "do it all" scope.

[@2ASupp0rter]

@a.v.astronomy good morning, I have a very similar telescope, it's the Bresser Messier 152mm Carbon Fiber Mak-Newt, the Diameter is 152mm, the Focal Length is 740mm, and its ratio is f4.8. This scope is the predecessor to the "Comet Huner". I have a ZWO ASI183MC Pro Cooled Camera to image and am having difficulty achieving focus. I have it mounted on the Crayford Focuser using the 11mm, 16.5mm, and 21mm extensions and just can't seem to get the back-focus correct. Do you have any recommendations that could assist me? BTW, I enjoy your content a lot!

[@AVAstronomy]

Hi Gary, there’s a couple things I do to help achieve focus for the first time. For me, I believe the easiest thing to do is to get it in focus during the day. Get everything set up and point the scope at the furthest tree or street like that you can. Set the exposure really short and this will give you almost like a live view as you adjust The focuser to find focus. Your camera has a smaller sensor than APSC and so it will have a different back focus requirement. You might wanna check with ZWO to find out what that number is as that could help you out as well. Thanks for watching clear skies!

[@2ASupp0rter]

@@AVAstronomy Thank you!!! That's exactly what I ended up doing, I used a cell phone tower as a target about 1/2 mile away; was able to get focus, albeit during the Miami mid-day the image was lacking contrast, but hey, this is an astrophotography camera, and not meant for that much light. I was very pleased with the focus after I figured out the extensions needed, (part of the issue is that I failed to take into account the l-eXtreme's extension when added to the image train. Tonight I'm imaging Thor's Hammer, the skies are clear but I'm in a Bortle 7 area about 10 miles from downtown Miami. I'm sure you understand that dilemma. Luckily, I am a member of SCAS (Southern Cross Astronomical Society) and they allow me to use their site in the Redlands (Bortle 4), I plan on taking time this weekend and setting up overnight, Hopefully, the mosquitos don't eat me alive! Again, I always look forward to your content, you are one of the fellow astronomers that inspired me to take the leap from a visual astronomer to an astrophotographer. Your videos helped me decide on what gear I wanted to use for imaging. The Telescope is very similar to your Comet Hunter, I believe it was the foundation that Scott Roberts and David Levy used to develop the Comet Hunter. It has a carbon-fiber tube, it's the same Aperture at 152mm, but the Focal Lenght is 9mm longer at 740mm, and doesn't come with the Carbon Fiber Dew Shield. I use a ZWO ASI183MC Pro Color Cooled to image, an ASI290MM mini on the 30mm ZWO mini Guide Scope, attached to the ZWO ASIair pro, which also controls my Dew Zappers and my ZWO EAF. The OTA and Image train is attached to an EQ6R-Pro which is also connected to the ASIair Pro. Again, thanks for bringing astronomy to the masses on KZbin!

[@AVAstronomy]

@@2ASupp0rter Gary your comments truly mean a lot. This is the main reason I started this channel was to inspire people to pursue this incredibly rewarding hobby of astrophotgraphy. So glad you have found my channel and that it inspired you. That inspires me to keep putting out more content to help others. God bless you sir and clear skies!

[@Booboobear-eo4es]

Unfortunately, the 152mm David H Levy Maksutov-Newtonian scope is now out of production. At least the 190mm SkyWatcher Mak-Newt is still being made. I may grab one while there are still here.

[@thedonahoes]

I could be wrong, but I think it's out of production. I've got one and I've been having problems with it and I called ES about it. they told me that it was out of production I would need to ship it to them. It would be about $100 shipping each direction. So at the moment it's in the case in the basement collecting dust.

[@AVAstronomy]

Hmmm.. I wasn’t aware of that. Woodland Hills has it listed on their website as “more on the way”. What kind of issue were you having with your scope?

[@thedonahoes]

@@AVAstronomy bright stars in images have a multi-colored flare around them. Doesn't appear to be out of collimation as the stars are pretty pinpoint to the edge. I'm using an APS-C sensor. I also have a 4-in mak newt from Lomo Astele. I've had it for about 20 years. It served me well. I'm a big fan of the design, I really wish I could get this one working, but I struggle with the $200 shipping just to get it back to ES for them to look at.

[@AVAstronomy]

@@thedonahoes I hear you on the shipping. You may be able to get them to send you a shipping label free of charge. It doesn’t hurt to ask. They have a lifetime warranty. May be worth a shot.

[@jameskyler5441]

@@AVAstronomy They have been out of production for nearly 2 years. They're nearly Impossible to find And when you do find one shipping is usually cost prohibitive The ones remaining by Orion and skywatcher that are still in production are double the cost of what that one was

[@musa7606]

@@AVAstronomy "Woodland Hills has it listed on their website as 'more on the way'”. I spoke with Explore Scientific and they said they weren't expecting any this year. Otherwise this would be my first choice for my next scope.

[@aykebernal608]

Sir what is the best telescope you can recommend under the price point of 500 US Dollars. Can it photograph deep space objects like Jupiter and Saturn? I am just a beginner to astrophotography, your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

[@AVAstronomy]

If you want to do planetary astrophotography then focal length is king. You best bet in my opinion would be a maksutov cassegrain or Schmidt cassegrain telescope. They do quite well for planetary and you can get one like the sky watcher 127 Mak for about $435 or the C6 for about $629. The trade off is the Mak cass isn’t the best for deep sky objects like nebulae and galaxies but for planetary they are solid. Hope this helps. You still would need a decent mount like the Celestron AVX mount, camera, perhaps a Barlow, and some eyepieces for viewing. All in all, truth be told getting a decent setup for planetary that includes, scope, mount, and camera will run you around $2k or so. If you decide to shop for one I’d really appreciate if you use my links in the description box of my videos. The pricing is the same for you but I get a few pennies when you do. Thank you! Good luck and clear skies!

[@mighytsirus]

Nice one! Why don't you use dew-shield?

[@AVAstronomy]

Thank you! I actually use the dew shield every time, just happen to leave it out on this particular video. 👍

[@justinvernal]

👌🇺🇸

[@michal_king478]

Collimation is a thing that seems so complex at the beginning but after doing it a few times, it literally takes no more than a few minutes at most. Really dont see why everyone always recommends to get an expensive refractor for ap. I personally think newtonians with a coma corrector or maskutov newts are the best unless you dont care about money :D a good 10" f5 newt with a corrector can set you back about 1200-1300 usd and produce awesome sharp images. You cant really beat that

[@michal_king478]

maybe less deppending on the shop and country

[@AVAstronomy]

Yep, I agree. Newtonians are an awesome option for imaging amd the budget.

[@andrea25021974]

Could you please name the collimator you are using?

[@AVAstronomy]

Howie glatter

[@edlitoborski5061]

Just curious, why did you sell the Comet Hunter? Have you changed your mind on mak Newts? Thx and clear skys.

[@AVAstronomy]

Hi Ed, I (regrettably)sold the comet hunter because I thought I would be better off with a little more aperture and a little faster f ratio. Looking back, I should have kept the Mak-Newt. I’ve since reduced my setup to a more portable one with a widefield refractor. Larger newts belong on a large solid quality mount in a backyard observatory IMHO. Perhaps one day when I can build one I’ll get a larger Newt.

[@padind]

any reason why that telescope was discontinued

[@AVAstronomy]

Wish I knew. It was a great scope and an excellent value.

[@EderaldoManoel]

Speak about this collimator.

[@AVAstronomy]

I'll talk more about it in a future video. Did you have a particular question about the collimator?

[@byzcol]

Now if I could only find one to buy...... :(

[@AVAstronomy]

There is the Sky watcher Mak Newt but like most telescopes they are on back order.

[@blstewart001]

Mak-Newt all the way.

[@AVAstronomy]

great scope design for sure

[@southbronxny5727]

No final pictures?....shame.

[@AVAstronomy]

Yeah I really wanted this to be more about the scope and its capabilities rather than a particular image I’ve taken with it. However, some example images would’ve been a nice touch. Thanks for watching!

[@bkpickell]

I love how there are links in the description to 7 telescopes and none for this scope. Why do creators in astronomy do reviews without links to the products they are reviewing? And if the reason is they aren't available, then why waste our time with a review? It kind of gives the impression of "Hey look what I have that you can't have. Nanny nanny boo boo" lol

[@AVAstronomy]

This particular telescope wasn’t available for sale otherwise I’d have it listed. The others are ones I recommend based on my own research. And I’m in the same boat as you, lol. A lot of this gear is out of reach, but hey, one can dream right.

[@bkpickell]

@@AVAstronomy At least you actually post links. A certain backyard tuber never posts links to anything and is constantly reviewing gear that's unavailable. Even recommending gear that's impossible to get. And out of a 20 minute video shows one photo for 5 seconds at the end. I quit watching him for that reason.

[@robertmiskey5502]

Intes MN 61 The Russian masterpiece. Nothing else to say.

[@AVAstronomy]

awesome scope!