Dobson telescope on snow?

[algernon]

Hi

Perhaps this is a bit stupid question. I'm curious about getting an 8" Dobson telescope and I'm wondering if the flat base it's standing on will manage to stand on snow or if it will risk tilting or worse being damaged somehow. Does anyone have experience with this? and what would you recommend that I do. I will tend to move the telecope around to various observing locations, so I don't have a permanent site for it. The amount of snow on the ground is from a few decimeters up to a meter, with temperatures between zero degrees centigrades down to -20 or -30 (although I'm not likely to be stargazing for long during such cold nights).

Should I put some boards underneath its base?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Itabot]

Wouldn't risk it, I think the chipboard base will quickly absorb any melt water and blow given half a chance, expanding the base rendering it unusable, some protection would be needed.

[ollypenrice]

Wouldn't risk it, I think the chipboard base will quickly absorb any melt water and blow given half a chance, expanding the base rendering it unusable, some protection would be needed.

Yup. Get a small block laid high enough to lift the ground board above all that is soggy.

Olly

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Dob base will always find its own natural balance no matter how deep the snow is, BUT you have to remember that the base of most Dobs is made from ply wood or chip board or MDF (i cant think which) and if embedded in deep snow or even just covered in snow, it will allow moisure to be absorbed into the wood grain and that can only cause unwanted damage.

Yup. Get a small block laid high enough to lift the ground board above all that is soggy.

Olly

3 breeze blocks should be ok...................or dig down to the surface and place the scope on the ground level as normal.

It all depends on how deep the snow is.

I was wondering why you were worried about snow. Then i noticed you live in Sweden.

[algernon]

Thanks for the quick response so far! I didn't realise the base of (most) Dobs were made of chip board or wood, I totally missed that, but now when I know that, I will of course be careful if I decide to get a Dob.

Yes I'm in the north of Sweden. The snow period is usually about 5 months, right now the snow depth is about 75cm, but with quite hard ice at the bottom. As much as I like reading books and playing around with Stellarium on my pc, I don't want to live almost half my life without going outside just because it's snowy. I don't mind snow and cold, it's always possible to dress warm and bring a thermos.

The idea of putting blocks underneath sounds good! i may combine that with a rug of some kind.

Would it be worth getting a tripod instead of a Dob mount for this purpose? I can imagine a tripod has other problems, such as the legs sinking down into the snow.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thanks for the quick response so far! I didn't realise the base of (most) Dobs were made of chip board or wood, I totally missed that, but now when I know that, I will of course be careful if I decide to get a Dob.

Yes I'm in the north of Sweden. The snow period is usually about 5 months, right now the snow depth is about 75cm, but with quite hard ice at the bottom. As much as I like reading books and playing around with Stellarium on my pc, I don't want to live almost half my life without going outside just because it's snowy. I don't mind snow and cold, it's always possible to dress warm and bring a thermos.

The idea of putting blocks underneath sounds good! i may combine that with a rug of some kind.

Would it be worth getting a tripod instead of a Dob mount for this purpose? I can imagine a tripod has other problems, such as the legs sinking down into the snow.

I think certainly you would have better luck buying a Newtonian reflector on an EQ mount rather then on a Dobsonian base given the amount of snow you get up there in Sweden. An EQ mount has the added benefit of being able to take better images of the night sky then a Dob base. With an EQ mount, you could take lovely images of the Northern Lights.

[algernon]

I think certainly you would have better luck buying a Newtonian reflector on an EQ mount rather then on a Dobsonian base given the amount of snow you get up there in Sweden. An EQ mount has the added benefit of being able to take better images of the night sky then a Dob base. With an EQ mount, you could take lovely images of the Northern Lights.

Thanks! I may just get an EQ mount to start off with. But I will make sure to learn more about the various types of telescopes and mounts first.