Orion/SkyQuest XT10/Classic Dobsonian Reflector/ D10" x F1,200 / f/4.7

[Lyle]

Hello Everyone,

I have spent countless hours on the Internet researching telescopes, types and specs. Does anyone have any 'pros and cons' on the above Orion 10" Dob scope? I want too see the plantets in clarity and also view M-31+, etc!!!

Any input would be appriciated! 

Thanks,

Lyle

Link - http://www.optcorp.com/orion-skyquest-xt10-classic-dobsonian-telescope.html

[ronin]

Should show the planets well, although it is said that a reflector does not have the contrast/sharpness of a refractor. That secondary is the cause of this. However at 10" I suspect you will get excellent views, the resolution of a 10" scope should be high.

M31 is oddly not going to happen (why did you pick M31 ??), reason is that M31 is just too big, it will not fit in the view that the scope+eyepiece will deliver.

You need a 3 degree view for M31, that means a magnification of around 20x, that in turn means an eyepiece of 60mm on a 1200mm scope.

I will say that seeing the central core is what most people get and that is "underwhelming".

Hower just about every other nebula, galaxy and fuzzy whatsit should come out good, M33 should be good from a dark(ish) location.

Sorry M31 is just one of those things.

You can happily scan across M31 with that scope and that will show good aspects.

For better viewing I guess you will need a coma corrector, at 10" and f/8 the objects at the outer section will be distorted.

One slightly negative aspect could be if you sell the scope, Orion are notorious for not supporting the non-original purchaser.

Also and just in case:: If you have thoughts of attaching a DSLR and getting images then the dobsonian is the wrong scope.

[Lyle]

Should show the planets well, although it is said that a reflector does not have the contrast/sharpness of a refractor. That secondary is the cause of this. However at 10" I suspect you will get excellent views, the resolution of a 10" scope should be high.

M31 is oddly not going to happen (why did you pick M31 ??), reason is that M31 is just too big, it will not fit in the view that the scope+eyepiece will deliver.

You need a 3 degree view for M31, that means a magnification of around 20x, that in turn means an eyepiece of 60mm on a 1200mm scope.

I will say that seeing the central core is what most people get and that is "underwhelming".

Hower just about every other nebula, galaxy and fuzzy whatsit should come out good, M33 should be good from a dark(ish) location.

Sorry M31 is just one of those things.

You can happily scan across M31 with that scope and that will show good aspects.

For better viewing I guess you will need a coma corrector, at 10" and f/8 the objects at the outer section will be distorted.

One slightly negative aspect could be if you sell the scope, Orion are notorious for not supporting the non-original purchaser.

Also and just in case:: If you have thoughts of attaching a DSLR and getting images then the dobsonian is the wrong scope.

Ronin - thanks for your input! Every little bit of info helps, I am just learning about scope specs, what /w which will give you this!      Further study ,Q&A, ect is needed on my part. I'm in no great hurry to purchace. I want to buy one that I will enjoy. I thought 10" Dob would capture M-31 ( as advertised ). I just want to show the family our neighbor galaxy. I will have to do some further study on deg's in FOV & Magnification per your advice!   Thanks again!

Lyle

[DeepSkyBagger]

This looks to be an excellent scope. Ronin's points are well-made, but for the money, you won't be able to get a refractor with anything like the light-gathering power of this telescope. I'm not a dedicated planetary observer (I observe deep-sky objects), so maybe my comments here are a little irrelevant, but I do look at the planets and find my telescope (a 12" reflector) to be more than adequate for the purpose. Unless you find a real problem, there should be no need for a coma corrector. My own 'scope shows a very small amount of distortion at the very edges of the field, but it's easily ignored. Unless your mirror is quite poor, it shouldn't be an issue to a visual observer.

Ronin's comments are also correct about M31. You will see it, but not anything like the photographs you've seen. But, as he says, why worry about M31? There are probably a couple of thousand galaxies within the reach of a 10" under dark skies.

If you wish to go down the visual deep-sky route, I think the 10" scope is going to do you proud. Go for it.

[Starcluster]

Hi Lyle, greetings from Liverpool. I too have a dob telescope, a 12 inch skywatcher colapsable . Point is the Orion xt 10 was right up their on my short list of scopes and for good reason. As you have probably read , they come with plenty of good reviews and are not complicated to set up. The reason I spent twice as much on the skywatcher 12 inch colapsable dob,was because I was told that you could just start to make out the spiral arms of distant galaxy's that little bit better. I have not had a chance to prove this yet. One things for sure though, Ed tring ( telescope tester) really likes his Orion dob) and that is 8 inch Orion.Read his review. I found that you need to replace your stock eyepieces with a couple of good wide-field ones , say from explore scientific( their 82 degrade series are really a big improvement, especially when viewing star clusters ).Yep I think that you can't go wrong with the xt 10. Just get some good advice on collimating the main mirror. Cheers,,,,.Mark

[Lyle]

Ronin - thanks for your input! Every little bit of info helps, I am just learning about scope specs, what /w which will give you this!      Further study ,Q&A, ect is needed on my part. I'm in no great hurry to purchace. I want to buy one that I will enjoy. I thought 10" Dob would capture M-31 ( as advertised ). I just want to show the family our neighbor galaxy. I will have to do some further study on deg's in FOV & Magnification per your advice!   Thanks again!

Lyle

PS - Did the reference of 1200mm scope in regards to Diameter of lens, or the focal lenght?

[DeepSkyBagger]

OK, back to M31. It's huge. A deep photo will show it to be about 4 degrees long - that's 8 full moons. The best views are from dark sky sites with a good pair of binoculars. Don't hunt for a telescope simply to see one object.

Through a 10", you will see the central part of the galaxy very brightly. You may get hints of dust lanes in outer areas if you're in a good dark site. No telescope is going to show it to you like a deep photograph. It's isn't that it won't be visible, it will - very brightly. It's just that when compared to photographs, the view is disappointing. Really - don't get hung up on this one object.

After your first rather dull view of M31, look instead at M13, M42, M22. WOW! Really. Then move on to the other Messier objects. There's a whole universe out there.

[Lyle]

This looks to be an excellent scope. Ronin's points are well-made, but for the money, you won't be able to get a refractor with anything like the light-gathering power of this telescope. I'm not a dedicated planetary observer (I observe deep-sky objects), so maybe my comments here are a little irrelevant, but I do look at the planets and find my telescope (a 12" reflector) to be more than adequate for the purpose. Unless you find a real problem, there should be no need for a coma corrector. My own 'scope shows a very small amount of distortion at the very edges of the field, but it's easily ignored. Unless your mirror is quite poor, it shouldn't be an issue to a visual observer.

Ronin's comments are also correct about M31. You will see it, but not anything like the photographs you've seen. But, as he says, why worry about M31? There are probably a couple of thousand galaxies within the reach of a 10" under dark skies.

If you wish to go down the visual deep-sky route, I think the 10" scope is going to do you proud. Go for it.

Thank you! I will be taking all info into acount. I have picked about 14 different scopes, did a few calculations with regard to specs vrs $$ and the 10" Dob came out on top. Yet, as I told Ronin I have a lot of research left to due! 

Thanks

Lyle

[Lyle]

Hi Lyle, greetings from Liverpool. I too have a dob telescope, a 12 inch skywatcher colapsable . Point is the Orion xt 10 was right up their on my short list of scopes and for good reason. As you have probably read , they come with plenty of good reviews and are not complicated to set up. The reason I spent twice as much on the skywatcher 12 inch colapsable dob,was because I was told that you could just start to make out the spiral arms of distant galaxy's that little bit better. I have not had a chance to prove this yet. One things for sure though, Ed tring ( telescope tester) really likes his Orion dob) and that is 8 inch Orion.Read his review. I found that you need to replace your stock eyepieces with a couple of good wide-field ones , say from explore scientific( their 82 degrade series are really a big improvement, especially when viewing star clusters ).Yep I think that you can't go wrong with the xt 10. Just get some good advice on collimating the main mirror. Cheers,,,,.Mark

Thank you Mark! I will read Ed's review!

Lyle

[ronin]

The 1200 referred to the focal length.

With that and using a 60 degree eyepiece, simply a good example size these days, you can work backwards.

Field of View = EP Field/Magnification.

So if you want a 3 degrees you need a Mag of 20 in a 60 degree EP.

A Mag of 20 with a 1200mm focal length scope means a 60mm focal length eyepiece.

Not going to go into the exit pupil size but it will be bigger then your pupil so light will be lost.

The point about contrast/sharpness was simply that searching out the Cassini division in Saturns rings is often done, and if there is any loss then the division gets difficult. For the actual planets themselves that will not come into it. For Nebula etc the mirror size is the overriding factor.

M31 is the classic problem, it is big, in some way too big.

For detail like dust lanes etc you will need the 10", to see all of it in one go 8x42 binoculars are the thing. :grin:

M33 is not far from M31, it is face on and should come out well.

Search for "list of Messier objects" the wiki entry has a good table of them all, you can sort them into Type and then select a suitable galaxy.

[damnut]

Hi Lyle,

Both scopes would be an awesome start! And you would not be disappointed with either, Ronin is right, but M31 is one object and visually it is not brilliant. To do some comparisons use :-- http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm

plug scope & eyepiece data in and away you go. Remember to click on  the switch to visual button.

[ottoerago]

Hi. I've just got an 8". Used it twice. Thought to myself first night that I was glad it wasn't any bigger. Second night had a bit more of a struggle getting it down the stairs and put together etc.

But I'll probably get good at it or find somewhere better to store it and then I'll want a 10'...

[CedrikG]

I bought this exact same scope 1 month ago and so far i was happy with it. You get decent view of the planets, amazing view of the moon and great for deep sky observation.

[Lyle]

The 1200 referred to the focal length.

With that and using a 60 degree eyepiece, simply a good example size these days, you can work backwards.

Field of View = EP Field/Magnification.

So if you want a 3 degrees you need a Mag of 20 in a 60 degree EP.

A Mag of 20 with a 1200mm focal length scope means a 60mm focal length eyepiece.

Not going to go into the exit pupil size but it will be bigger then your pupil so light will be lost.

The point about contrast/sharpness was simply that searching out the Cassini division in Saturns rings is often done, and if there is any loss then the division gets difficult. For the actual planets themselves that will not come into it. For Nebula etc the mirror size is the overriding factor.

M31 is the classic problem, it is big, in some way too big.

For detail like dust lanes etc you will need the 10", to see all of it in one go 8x42 binoculars are the thing. :grin:

M33 is not far from M31, it is face on and should come out well.

Search for "list of Messier objects" the wiki entry has a good table of them all, you can sort them into Type and then select a suitable galaxy.

Ronin, That's some good info! I realy like this site. I want a scope geared for DSO, but also capable for clean planetary obsv. I recently purchased a new HP laptop computer and printer, 

therefore, (being married) I have to allow some time between computer and a New Telescope, less I wake up with a shaved head or worse!       Know what I mean? 

Thanks again,

Lyle

PS - I am very interest in other DSO - like M-42 in Orian.The children and I played around with a little Tasco 60x700 about 20 years ago. I want to revisit them with a real scope and get my 10 year old grandson involved. He was not impressed with the Tasco last time I got it out.     

[Lyle]

Hi. I've just got an 8". Used it twice. Thought to myself first night that I was glad it wasn't any bigger. Second night had a bit more of a struggle getting it down the stairs and put together etc.

But I'll probably get good at it or find somewhere better to store it and then I'll want a 10'...

If I buy the 10" Dob, I'm thinkin of building a small roll around platform with a leveling device on it and fabricate a light weight structural cover with a low watt bulb in it to keep it dry, and store it outside in the shed. Just pull the cover off and roll out into the the yard/garden, or to the vehicle. Good luck with your set up and enjoy your scope. I can't wait to get mine!!!    

[Lyle]

Thanks to all of SGL Staff & Members,

All of your inputs to my 'Basic' questions have been appreciated. I noticed that the majority of SLG members are located in the UK. I didn't know how you Blokes would react to a Yankee!   I quess I can safely assume the are no borders in the areas of Astronomy / Cosmosology. I am thankful for this! Besides, I am no stranger to the UK. I had a wonderful experience during the years I was over there. I flew across the big pond more than once. I landed for the 1st time in London Heathrow on Jan 6, 1984 (my 21st birthday). I lived in the southeast district of Suffolk, in a city called Ipswich for about 6 months and then moved to the small community of Shotley Gate, across the River Orwell from Felixstowe. We visited Dover, London, Nottingham, and a dozen old castles, to include a half a dozen trips to Europe. I always remember the people being very gracious and polite. I almost feel like I am revisiting in some way.

Lyle

 BTW - I made the rank of 'Nebula' today! 

[Cjg]

Kyle, I owned a version of this scope.

The views were superb, with practice, it's easy to set up and use. The tube would sit across the back seat of the car, and the base in the boot. It's not a heavy scope.

For planetary viewing at high magnification, you will find that the objects will move through the eyepiece at speed, so you will need to get adept at 'nudging' the scope to keep the objects in view.

I only sold mine as i couldn't fit scope, family and luggage in the car!

Good luck.

Chris

[Astro Imp]

Hi Lyle,

You are spot on, there are no boundaries to this wonderful hobby. All are welcome on SGL, it is always a pleasure to read posts from around the world. 

BTW congratulations on your elevation to Nebula.

Good luck and continue to enjoy this wonderful community.