Gonzo0

Jupiter was absolutely gorgeous through it I must say. Breathtaking and a moment I'll never forget. But what good is a scope like that if I can't take it to a dark site as much as I would be able to the 150p virtusoso? Surely I'd see a lot more with a 6 inch in a bortle 3 zone than I would with an 8 inch with a borderline bortle 6 at home?

It is a sports car, so only 2 seats. 😒 what does 78% more light actually translate into though if I were to look at the two side by side? Will the 8 inch see more things that the 6 inch simply cannot? The heritage is a collapsable tube, can be carried in one arm. It's a tabletop scope, so ultra portable. Also, has a GoTo function on the GTi version.

As much as I'd love the extra space, being young, childless and enthusiastic about cars I don't think that is an option 😂 Do you mind elaborating on why the heritage 150p isn't as good? Is it really that noticeable and in what way would it fall short of the bigger 200p?

As the title states, I am a newcomer to this amazing hobby and I went and got myself an 8" Dob, the Skywatcher 200P. Only been able to use it once thus far as I have only had one clear night since I got it. Managed to see Jupiter in all it's glory through the 25mm eyepiece and a BST 8mm which was truly amazing. Instantly hooked. However, as great as I think this scope is, I wasn't expecting it to be as big as it is, especially the base. I want to be the type of astronomer who takes his scope with him to dark sites and any chance I get. Luckily for me, I live within 15minutes of one. I own a sports car as my only car, so I knew transportation would be a bit of a challenge with this scope. However, I did not expect the base not to fit in the boot. The only way I can get it to fit is if I take off the bottom part of the base (the circular wooden parts). The tube would go in the passenger seat with the two circular boards behind the passenger seat with the rest of the base in the boot. I feel this would put me off going out to dark sites some nights. Alternatively, I could just place the entire scope on the passenger seat with the base installed with the roof down, but I fear any corner taken at any speed at all would cause it to crash against the passenger side door. So this is the only thing that is making me reconsider my options. Thankfully, FLO's return policy is so good, so I can change if I so desire. The scope that I have in mind is the Sky-Watcher Heritage 150p, either the GTi GoTo version or the manual version. Either or looks good to me as it is so compact while still being powerful enough. But, I am open to options. I know for sure that with a more compact scope I will use it in dark skies more, and thus see more? Then again, I'm trading 8 inches of aperture for 6. Hopefully you all can explain how much worse this would be. If it's a marginal decrease in performance I think I will accept the trade-off. I should mention that I want to see everything I possibly can through a scope of this kind of size. How much better really is 8 inches compared to 6 inches of aperture? Many thanks for taking the time to read this long winded post. I just really want to get things right and thought this was the best place to ask.