i may be expecting too much?

[Hootsitabernacle]

Evening all..again...i have had very good advice on what my first scope should be from your good selfs..but i suddenly had a thought that i may..in my own mind..be thinking im going to be seeing a lot more than is possible with an 8" Dob. I should have thought about my and the telescopes limitations. Im not going to see a star with planets whirrling around it so if im honest then i only need a good scope to see the planets, moon and a few messier (if im lucky).

So on that thought (bearing in mind i have a budget of £300-£400) would i need an 8 or 10" dob?, could i get away with a decent refractor (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-120-az3.html)

or (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-120-eq3-2.html)

or would a cassiegain be better (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/slt-series/celestron-nexstar-127-slt.html)?

i have read that you get false colour and a sort of halo with refractors..do any sort that out?

or do i just go for a 6inch newtonian (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html)

too much choice

[Steep]

Dobs give the best bang for your buck in terms of optics, with the budget you have an 8" sounds about right but I think if you want to wait a bit and save for a 10" you would not be disappointed, as long as you have the space to keep it.

[Hootsitabernacle]

well thata another issue..dunno what the wife would think when a telescope arrives that is taller than our oldest daughter....i can hear her now.."and where do you expect to keep THAT may i ask?"

[KenG]

Depends on how seriously you're going to take your hobby. At the end of the day, any scope of reasonable quality is going to give you decent views across a range of objects.

[Hootsitabernacle]

well as serious as my family and job allows..my daughters have an interest and i have had an interest for most of my life. I finally decided to do something about it a la next months birthday.

fleabay aroused me a wee bit but then you are chancing your luck sometimes

[John]

For the budget you have and for visual observing, I feel an 8" F/6 dobsonian is a great option and will show you a range of astronomical objects as well as they can be seen for your budget. There will be some accessories that you will want to add in due course which is a good reason for not blowing your whole budget on the scope at the outset. I also tend to feel that the F/6 focal ratio of the 8" dobsonian is much more user friendly than the F/4.7 of the 10" version.

[TonyD]

well thata another issue..dunno what the wife would think when a telescope arrives that is taller than our oldest daughter....i can hear her now.."and where do you expect to keep THAT may i ask?"

There really needs to be a whole forum section devoted to dealing with these matters and discussing practical and/or inventive and creative tactics that might just work once and a while.

Have you tried linking up with the Central Scotland Observers Group? They can't be that far from you in Hamilton. I've got to know some of the members of that group and they come across as really warm and welcoming. I'd suggest you see ifyou can hook up with one of them and see what scopes they've got and the kind of views you can expect.

[Hootsitabernacle]

There really needs to be a whole forum section devoted to dealing with these matters and discussing practical and/or inventive and creative tactics that might just work once and a while.

Have you tried linking up with the Central Scotland Observers Group? They can't be that far from you in Hamilton. I've got to know some of the members of that group and they come across as really warm and welcoming. I'd suggest you see ifyou can hook up with one of them and see what scopes they've got and the kind of views you can expect.

i never knew they existed..but i do now! thanks for that, i will try contacting them and see what happens

[John]

well thata another issue..dunno what the wife would think when a telescope arrives that is taller than our oldest daughter....i can hear her now.."and where do you expect to keep THAT may i ask?"

One tactic is to show interest in something much larger and more expensive. Leave a few pics of it lying around, leave it on the PC screen, that sort of thing. Then, when the admonishment comes, you can gallantly "climb down" to your original object of desire

Not that I've ever stooped to such tactics, of course

[TonyD]

One tactic is to show interest in something much larger and more expensive. Leave a few pics of it lying around, leave it on the PC screen, that sort of thing. Then, when the admonishment comes, you can gallantly "climb down" to your original object of desire

Not that I've ever stooped to such tactics, of course

Oh yes! What a plan!

With luck I can have my TAL 250K in no time!

[Bart]

Oh yes! What a plan!

With luck I can have my TAL 250K in no time!

Tony, leaving this around might mean you do not survive the initial assault!

[Naemeth]

Oh yes! What a plan!

With luck I can have my TAL 250K in no time!

The OH just said "want a room with your telescope?" .

As for the original question, the 8" is very compact, and has a small footprint as it can just be stood in a corner. It's not like these EQ Mounts that are both wide and high when fully set up.

[TonyD]

The OH just said "want a room with your telescope?" .

Couldn't that be interpreted "it's either me or the telescope....???"

[Steep]

...i can hear her now.."and where do you expect to keep THAT may i ask?"

She's likely to say "it can stay on your side of the bed, because you won't be in it!"

[ollypenrice]

An 8 or 10 inch Dob is not really very difficult to store. It can stand upright in a corner with a footprint of little more than a square foot. Make a neat wooden cupboard to sit in the corner and you'll soon be forgiven. Anything with tripods and counterweights takes more storing.

Olly

[Hootsitabernacle]

I take it scopes dont like heat..i.e radiators and boilers

[Naemeth]

Couldn't that be interpreted "it's either me or the telescope....???"

She says no, "I'd never say that".

[Jannis]

.i can hear her now.."and where do you expect to keep THAT may i ask?"

Been there, many times... xD

I gave up storing my HEQ5 + explorer 200PDS it in the living room though, it was suecidal... >_<

Now i keep it in the basement. Colder there also, so takes less time to cool down before use. n_n

She's likely to say "it can stay on your side of the bed, because you won't be in it!"

Never heard that one directly, however, she have locked me out of the bedroom twice, just yelling " JUST STAY THE **** OUT THERE WITH YOUR GOD DAMN TELESCOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!! " when i kindly knock at the bedroom door at 5am trying to get in and go into bed with her. Wifes are so difficult to understand sometimes...

But, as for on topic - yes, most of us, i'd say liek 95%++ expect too much. We all see pictures, and think "oh yeah, i'm so gonna watch this and that when i get my scope!!", just to see a trace of a small and very faint blob in the sky.

But as you train your eye you'll be able to see more and more details though - especially if you have a dark location.

[TonyD]

Great post, Jannis!

in the living room though, it was suecidal... >_<

I just popped my TAL 2M up into the living room to take it out this evening (yeah! clear night!) and I got the frosty stare and "how long is that going to stay there" <gulp!>

Oh, and was it perhaps just a little naîve/idiotic to start balancing the scope instead of sorting out things for my daughter's birthday cake?

[Hootsitabernacle]

tch...pff....women eh?

[TonyD]

I have opened up a thread specifically to chat about the hobby versus family relationships (and financial issues)... Hobby Versus Family - Tips and Tricks

It has all the hallmarks of ending up as a long running thread (maybe therapy centre ) for those of us caught in the tug-of-war of wanting/needing to satiate our desire for more scopes, eyepieces, astrophotography stuff, mounts, literature and magazine subscriptions, ...

Cheers

Tony

[Jannis]

(maybe therapy centre )

Lol, i sure wouldn't mind one... xD

[Lakewitch]

Am I lucky or what? my wife is really interested, and we have no issues about the 8" dob lying in its box in the spare bedroom...also her approach is methodical and so I benefit and learn far more because of her.

Before anyone asks, NO she is not for hire, I am keeping her.

Frank

[TonyD]

Great post Frank - that's so nice to hear.

My OH is fine about me getting the stuff (otherwise I wouldn't have it and still be married ), but the tendency is probably for me to be so intense and focussed on it that I unwittingly put her off. I really ought to try and train myself to do a more "gently, gently" approach. But I get so excited I can't contain myself!

Get the idea ...