Holiday Observation

[bcfc151]

Hi Everyone,

You've all been so helpful in the past, that SGL is now my first port of call.

I am now wondering if you could help with my current dilemma.

I like to travel and have been to many places where I wished I had my scope with me but due to it's size (200p Dob) this is not possibly. I am now looking into the possibility of getting a travel scope but wondered whether I would be better off getting a good par of Binoculars.

I would also like to ask, what sort of price range should I be looking at in order to have decent views? They can't be to heavy either as I plan to take them on trips abroad.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Moonshane]

I find observing through most scopes below 6" aperture unsatisfying and could not find a ready solution so made my own

that said, a short frac and mini giro on tripod might be a good thing to take abroad albeit weighing more or the same as mine.

[NGC 1502]

I had the same problem last month when me and the missus went away for two weeks staying at two different caravans, Peak District then Kelling star party. My 10" Dob stayed at home, just couldn't shoehorn it into our Fiesta with all our stuff, so took my 6" F4 and alt-az mount instead, just 3 eyepieces, UHC filter, my S & T pocket sky atlas and a red torch.

I was pleasantly surprised at what a modest scope will do under a decent sky, Veil and North America nebulas well seen, loads of other stuff too, M74 that had always eluded me till then.

I actually enjoyed my observing far more than I thought, part of this was the light and no hassle scope, setting up and dismantling was a breeze. Convenience adds to the enjoyment.

Now it's tough giving advice as to what would suit someone else. Maybe a short focus refractor would fit the bill ? Many of the cheaper achromats are brill at low power wide field, more versatile than bins as you can change eyepieces etc, and a diagonal means you can view high up without the neck twisting. But of course it's very hard to beat binos for ultimate portability.

Hope you find a solution, Ed.

[jabberwocky]

I took my 15X70 binos out to Cyprus earlier in the year and had one of the best observing nights I've ever had, really racked up the DSO count. Took my horizon tripod as well but to be honest I had more success hand held leaning on a wall.