Planning to buy a first telescope?

turbo

That limit is getting stretched by some manufacturers. Orion is manufacturing a line of truss-Dobs that break down into several packages. Rocker box, mirror box, secondary mirror/focusser assembly, truss rods, and shroud. This puts very large 'scopes within the handling abilities of almost any fit person.

Who Am I

Isn't someone doing something like that with 16 inch mirrors? I'd absolutely love to have one of those.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...wAg#ps-sellers

I'd buy that eventually and use it frequently. I'd probably make a dolly for it before purchasing it though.

If I made some really good money I'd maybe get one of these suckers and make a custom trailer for it:

http://www.google.com/products/catal...wAQ#ps-sellers

I don't know exactly how I'd go about doing that, but I'd definitely do it if I knew how and had the money. Then I'd take that up to northern Arizona. I almost can't believe that that thing exists for anyone to purchase.

erok81

Would one notice a huge difference between a 6" dobsonian and a 10"? I've used a 6" and liked it and have about 500 for a new 'scope. The 10" from Orion is about that much. But of course if there isn't a massive difference, I could get a smaller one with an optics kit. Or in the range of 500 is there something better than a dobsonian? I am fine without the tracking systems. I'd honestly almost rather a manual one. Which would be better - a 10" and the lens it comes with or a 6" with an optics kit?

DaveC426913

Well, the 10" gathers almost three times more light, so you can see significantly dimmer objects.

Who Am I

If you're in light polluted areas, you want to get as big of a light bucket as you can get.

My next upgrade is probably going to be one of those easy to disassemble 16 inch dobsonians with a really nice eyepiece.

But if you ever get a chance, go to some place like Flagstaff when the weather is clear and there's no moon. I had that opportunity and it was one of the best experiences I had. Even without the scope I could spot some pretty awesome things and the milky way... Holy ****... My eyes water every time I think about what the sky looked like that night.

MartinJH

Sorry to barge in on a thread, and im sorry if this is the wrong place, but is this a recommended scope http://firstlightoptics.com/proddeta...prod=dobsky150 for a amatuer and what could you expect to see with almost/ none light poplution.

Who Am I

I'd go for a slightly larger mirror for beginners so that they don't feel the need to upgrade after they start looking for the dimmer Messier objects in the suburbs of a bright city.

Messier only had a 4 inch scope, but he had no light pollution whatsoever. If you got light pollution, a bigger mirror is a good investment.

MartinJH

K that's cool no problem. Yes basically where I live, South Wales,uk, I'm cushioned in every direction by mountains. If you take a short car drive to the top you virtually have no man made light at all. It's an incredible view even with just using your eyes.
Thanks for the info as well :).

Who Am I

My first real telescope was an 8-inch Dobsonian mounted scope like the one in the picture. Nothing real fancy on it, just a large tube with a couple of decent eyepieces with that simple mount. I actually recommend that mount for starting out.

MartinJH

I plan on getting the above scope (http://firstlightoptics.com/proddeta...prod=dobsky150) within the next week/month
I was wondering if anyone here has any nice shots taken with the above telescope or a similar specced
Have you any recommendations of another telescope close to the original chosen scopes price +/- ££.

turbo

It is highly unlikely that you will get any decent images through a Dobsonian 'scope as small as that. You can try, but you'll be disappointed, I fear. To get decent images that are not smeared/rotated, you should look for a telescope with a German equatorial drive, or equivalent. An undriven alt-az 'scope isn't going to make you happy, unless you just want to have nice visuals. A 6" Newt can get you a lot of satisfaction, visually, though.

MartinJH

Thank you turbo-1. I wanted to quickly ask before I went ahead and purchased.
To save myself embarrassment i'm going to ask rather than say what id like to see, so what is a amatuer like myself expecting to see with the telescopes you have mentioned.
Further more I don't plan on attaching cameras to the telescope if this helps with price, what is the technology like these days can you purchase a reasonable scope that can be connected to your pc etc via a lead; that world be fantastic and a bonus although i'm not getting carried away.

turbo

Don't worry about getting digital images to a PC. Learn how to observe and "see" (translate what light comes to your eye and manage that). After that, you should spend a lot of time at star-parties to see if you really want a larger 'scope. That would have been my first recommendation to you as a newbie, but it seems like you are jumping in anyway.

MartinJH

It was an idea, perhaps I was being a little optimistic or just thinking that getting the images to PC was the norm. Either way i'll have a scope around (pun intended) and see what I can find :).
thanks for your help :).

Drakkith

I purchased the Meade Deep Sky Imager II Pro with my telescope. It's relatively easy to use, but the software is extremely buggy on my laptop. I believe it has something to do with Windows 7. I've never used anything else for astro imaging, so I can't comment on how it compares to other devices.

DaveC426913

Can you launch the s/w in "compatibility" mode? (Right click icon)

Drakkith

I'm not sure if I did or not. I'll try next time.