Greetings,

I am writing to respond to your query regarding magnification limits for a 16 inch scope. The rule of thumb about usable mag. per inch of aperture is only a very rough guide. About 300X is the usual maximum that the turbulence in the atmosphere will allow, whether you have a 6 inch Newtonian or a 200 inch in a dome. Only very rarely will you find a night so clear and still that you can push the mag. upwards of 400-500X or more. Many times even going above 200X will result in image degradation.

A 16 inch Dobsonian reflector with a fast F ratio such as f4 or f5 is an excellent scope for finding the "faint fuzzies" out there. It would have ample power to provide very nice views of the planets and stray comet, but if super-sharp planetary views is what you want then a refractor is worth considering.

Enjoy!

Dave

• Planetary viewing, imagine brightness & aperture - louieia - June 15, 2003 - 16:19 UTC
  • Brightness: Big Dob v. Little Refractors - filipowski - June 15, 2003 - 19:04 UTC
    • The 6" Refractor it is!!! - louieia - June 16, 2003 - 23:56 UTC
      • 6" Meade Refractor - hecbom - November 27, 2003 - 06:01 UTC
    • Dobs vs Refractors - danieldgj - June 19, 2003 - 00:35 UTC
      • Re: Dob v. Refractor - filipowski - June 20, 2003 - 14:54 UTC
        • Well, yes and no - danieldgj - June 20, 2003 - 23:35 UTC
          • Well, yes, no, and money! - filipowski - June 21, 2003 - 15:25 UTC
        • Refractors, Dobs, etc. - louieia - June 21, 2003 - 15:28 UTC
        • Star Diagonals, Arizona mountains, etc. - louieia - June 21, 2003 - 15:41 UTC
          • Re: Star Diagonals & Leviathans - filipowski - June 21, 2003 - 19:16 UTC
            • Agreement--at least on diagonals. - danieldgj - June 22, 2003 - 14:13 UTC
      • How about a planetary dob? - astrowizz - April 28, 2008 - 04:40 UTC