moonlit_night

Thanks for the tips! Probably making the purchase soon, and this has been very helpful.

I've been in email communication with someone who is selling a Celestron Nexstar 8SE. The price is right... trouble is, they're in Montana and I'm in Indiana, so inspecting the scope beforehand isn't really an option. They did send a variety of pictures though. What are the recommended ways to conduct this transaction safely so that we can both have assurance that we're not trying to scam one another? I've never made this large of a purchase where shipping is involved. Thanks! Zach

I'm considering buying either an Orion or Skywatcher 10" dob with goto. Leaning toward Orion, because I can only find Goto on SW's flextube design, and I don't think I want a flextube. Been doing some reading on here about these, and found some very positive feedback; however, most of the stuff I've found is at least 5-6 years old. I'm curious if anyone still has one of these (solid or flex, *with* goto), or has purchased one recently. If so, I'm curious about your thoughts on: Overall quality Durability (how it's held up over time) Enjoyability Ease of setup/alignment Did you experience the difficulty some users have reported with manual mode? Thanks in advance!

Ah, that makes sense! I thought you were referring to the 80mm, which had me questioning what little I thought I knew 😄

Wow, thanks for all the great advice! Prior to the C9.25, I had my heart set on a ES 80mm APO, but I think I started to get aperture fever...... before even buying a scope! Well... I've had scopes before, but this is the first time I've ever had a sizeable budget. I'll probably regroup and consider what @knobby said about going with an 80mm with a dob on the side. Are you saying the faster 80mm scopes excel at planetary imaging? Would a barlow be needed/advisable? Thanks for the book recommendation @Cosmic Geoff ! I'll see if I can find it.

Thanks Louis! Sadly, they are in Portland and won't ship. A cross-country trip just isn't in the cards for me right now I will definitely keep my eye on those classifieds though.

I'd ultimately like to do both AP and visual, and was thinking this might be a decent "best of both worlds" choice. I'm also considering investing in a hyperstar at some point to reduce it to f/2. I'm curious though... is a 2350mm f/10 really ill-suited for DSOs? I understand that larger (apparent) objects like the Andromeda galaxy and Orion nebula would extend beyond the FoV, but would I be at a disadvantage for the smaller (apparent) galaxies and nebulae as well?

Hi all! I've decided I'd like to buy a Celestron 9.25" EdgeHD, and have a few questions: What's a reputable place to buy these? Online, retailer, etc... I live in Indiana and am willing to drive a couple hundred miles to pick up if necessary. Anyone seeing anyplace where these are *not* on backorder? Am I just going to have to be patient? Any recommended mounts? I was considering the Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro, but am slightly concerned that the 21lbs of the OTA almost hits the halfway mark of the 44lb capacity. Any answers/suggestions are greatly appreciated!