Pixies

Have just seen that the price of the Skywatcher 200p dob has gone up a hundred quid+. So now the Bresser 8" is only £30 more expensive.

Chicken manure - I remember the smell. Use to live in Norwich and this was quite frequent west of the City. I don't blame you!

I have a few faint fuzzy targets in mind. I've no idea what is likely to be visible with my scope and my skies, but they are well placed in a direction of dark sky, just now. Thor's Helmet - NGC 2359 M46 cluster and NGC 2438 planetary nebula therein Ghost of Jupiter - NGC 3242 The Leo I Group - of galaxies M95, M96 & M105 The Leo Triplet Markarian's Chain and other bright galaxies in the Virgo cluster - eg M49, M60 and M87 I've no idea how optimistic I'm being, but I'll give them all a shot over 2 nights. If anyone has any good suggestions, drop me a note?

2 nights running and a new moon! I guess the snow cover will increase light pollution, though.

@Stardaze - where have you been? Double stars are where it's at in 2021!

It's got 3 little feet and is MDF with a laminate surface and will suffer if damp, I imagine. Won't to use it tomorrow night if there's still 3-4" of snow around without putting down a thin sheet of marine-ply as a base. That's flexible enough in my garden to be stable enough for the dob to stand on.

That picture is of the 10". However, the description does say '2.5" HEX focuser' - which is the decent Bresser one.

Oh - and when it arrives. Pop that dust cap off, stick your head in, and breath deep of that new scope smell!

Hi @OptymsticAlpaca I've had one since May last year. It was my first scope, but I had several years' experience with binoculars. As everyone has said, it comes with an end cap. One piece of advice for when it arrives: there is an extension tube for the focuser that is placed in the centre of the polystyrene packing for the base. Don't throw it out by mistake! You'll need it for visual observing, otherwise you won't be able to reach focus. It is removed when you are attaching a DSLR. It's a great scope. The optics are of similar quality to the Skywatcher dobs, but the hardware is a significant level above, especially the focuser. Since getting it, I've had a few chances to use a Skywatcher dob, and it's a case of chalk and cheese with the focuser. The one weak point is the little plastic finder. It's not great and if you want to use a better Synta/Vixen type, you'll need the Baader universal finder shoe, as John mentioned above. There's not rush to get that done, though. Sometimes you can't appreciate one without suffering with the other. You never know, you might like it! I, like many others here will recommend, went for a Telrad/RACI combo. This was the single biggest improvement I've invested in since getting it. I don't have the 8mm BST, but I do have the 12mm. These 2 are the best BST EPs in the range. I find the 12mm gives a useful x100 magnification plus the 2mm exit pupil it provides really gives a nice contrast between object and dark sky. Really good for globular clusters and bright nebulae. The 26mm EP that comes with the scope is of good quality and I still regularly use it. I have a few spares that I can offer to you if you eventually need them. I got a bulk-load of thumbscrews to replace the 3 secondary mirror adjuster screws. If you ever decide to go for thumbscrews (like Bob's Knobs), drop me a line and I'll send you 3. Likewise, I have a load of black bolts/nuts for attaching the Baader universal finder shoe. It's nice to have another 8" Bresser dob owner on here. There are quite a few 10"ers, though. Don't feel shy about getting in touch if you have any questions.

My head touch on its lowest red setting is enough to read/sketch with, but doesn't adversely effect my night vision for most things. However, if I was on a faint galaxy hunt, I think any red light might be too much.

Earlier in the year, when all this was new to me, I couldn't find the triplet. Star hopping was new to me, too - but I was pretty certain I was in the right place. The target was due south at the time, which was an area of some local light pollution, though. Last month, during one of the rare clear nights without a moon I tried again. This time I landed on them straight away and could get all 3 in one view. M65 and M66 were clear in direct vision, but NGC 3628 needed averted vision to see it. They were SE, though, and in darker skies. This is Bortle 6, by the way.

I'm sure, like for bikes, the n+1 rules applies?

It's only a matter of time......... Zoom

I find a quick recce with the binoculars is useful, especially if it's a complicated hop, or the sky is bright. I also prefer a RACI finder, as it means you don't end up on your hands and knees, plus I prefer the corrected image (like the binoculars) for finding. That dim range of the Telrad reticle is useful in a dark sky. A home-made dew shield is easy to make, though.

I used to place my EP case on a little camping table and keep it near me when observing. But recently, I stick mainly with my widefield plus a zoom at the scope and if I decide to use a prime EP or get a filter, I wander off to the back door and grab them from there.

What a stonking shot!

I can agree with all if the above (from both sides) When I was trying to sketch Mars last year, a driven EQ mount would have made life so much easier, but otherwise - manual adjustment is OK. Horses for courses and all that.

Your honour.

Would you mind sharing your list here, when you finish?

Yep. The silver bolt is sprung loaded and acts as a pivot. You adjust the 2 screws to align the finder in the 2 perpendicular axes.

A quick pic and we'll be able to tell. I also find the eyepieces of RACI finders are easy to breathe on, if you're not careful. That soon steams them up.

I appear to have a small opportunity (on a school night):

Hi, There is a thread where members have been purchasing these scopes in order just to get hold of the Starsense adapters and (more importantly) the software key. The scope and mount may be a bit ropey, but the software is proper plate-solving tech and very much of value.

Hi again. having a look via another site: Which is a little brighter than me (5-6), but a Bortle 6 site isn't a disaster. I'd reckon you would be able to find a good majority of the Messier objects, although they won't appear at their best. I have accepted that from my location - but I can get to a Bortle 3 site in 30 minutes by car. The fainter galaxies and nebulae will be hidden by the light pollution, but globular clusters, open clusters, brighter planetary nebulae and galaxies will be seen - albeit not like the pictures in the books. Planets will be fine, and a larger instrument will be able to handle more magnification. Double stars are a good target too. have a look at the observing sections in this forum. Also have a read of this: For context in the above link, under the section for galaxies and nebulae, the faint fuzzies appear better in my scope at my home location than in the sketches. Whether a 10" would be better, I can't say. If I had the cash at the time, I would have probably gone from the 10" version of my Bresser dobsonian, but I am more than happy with the 8". I've seen much more than I expected and even with a bright moon in the sky (which has a more dramatic effect than the actual urban light pollution), there are countless objects to observe, including the moon itself. Yes - but you can ask their members for advice an what they find the best scopes for the local environment.

And nothing beats local knowledge. Do you have an astronomical club nearby?