First scope. Skyliner 10" flex tube?

[Nuno]

Hi

This is my first time here .. forgive me if this is not the right place to talk about this matter. 

I always loved astronomy and its kind of a personal dream to be in touch with this subject and I always study on my own everything about this science.

The thing is, I'm thinking of getting my first real scope. I currently have a Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binos and I just love explore the night sky and also take some pictures and a bit of imaging .

I live on an appartment and I have a clear view of the south and west side of the sky from my balcony (wich is not a small balcony) so I was think of getting an 8" dobsionon scope, and I was looking around the Skywatcher scopes. I really liked their 8" dobs. However my only problem is storing the scope itself, and when I saw the 10" skywatcher flex tube I thought that it could be better because of its collapsable tube that can be easier to store. The thing is that I am afraid that for first scope, the 10" is too much.

I have some light polution from my balcony and I dont know how much a 10" can reach the sky over an 8".

If anyone could have an idea on this matter I'll take all sugestions

By the way, I have a full time job as a web developer and I'm finishing my master degree on computer engineering at night so my time as a stargazer through the week is about 2 to 3 hours max

Cheers everyone!

[Schorhr]

Hello Nuno,

a 10" is an amazing way to start, and a magnificent upgrade to binoculars ;-)

Even collapsed it's not small though, and due to the low mount of dobsonians you will have to make sure that you can use it from a balcony.

Also depending on the amount of light pollution (nearby city glow, neighbor's Windows, street lights) it may be difficult to see deepsky objects even with the large telescope, and depending on the view it could be hard to orientate.

The difference between 8 and 10 under light polution will be marginal, perhaps a. Smaller portable telescope is a Better option?

I myself use the heritage 130p a lot as it both works from the balcony and can be carried to the next field out of town within minutes (either by hand or in a backpack). It's also a Flextube, and 5" won't show as much details on deepsky objects as a 10" of course, but it's a great addition ;-)

Planets will be amazing in smaller telescopes, and if you are able to transport 10" to a dark site once in a while, go for it!

You will read collimation is not as persistant with flex tubes, but a) they seem to keep it pretty well given the construction, and collimation is no big issue once you did it once or twice.

Good luck choosing your telescope!

[nicks90]

how dry/sheltered is your balcony?

if its well protected from most of the elements, get a BIG scope and just put a telescope cover on it and store it on the balcony

a 10" dob is not small, the flex tube version is actually heavier and has a taller dobsonian base and in my opinion its a bit of a beast. I find my 12" delightful to use, but it is not an easy thing to shift about. if you're apartment is several floors up and you dont have a lift, you will not be taking your 10" dob out very often and will only ever get used on the balcony!

[Andy_E]

One thing worth noting is that a 10" will take a fair old amount of time to cool down as well, so remember to factor in a good 50mins-1hr of cooling time to your observation sessions. As above, I'd just reiterate that a 10" dobsonian is a big beast... but having said that so is an 8". If you can live with the size, weight, and awkwardness of viewing lower down objects from you balcony, then I can only recommend it. As for light pollution, I'm afraid no telescope is really going to have much advantage over another. Some targets seem to cope well with LP (the planets, some globular clusters, open clusters, SOME planetary nebulas and, of course, the moon) whilst others - namely galaxies and other nebulas - will remain pretty much invisible if your LP is bad enough - regardless of which telescope you point at them. It all depends on the extent of your LP. Bearing this in mind, I'd recommend you go for the one you'd feel most comfy transporting. Even if you spend the majority of your time observing from home, in the future you will want the option of taking it out to a dark site every now and then. I know SW used to make an 8" flex tube at one point, so don't know if you could pick one of those up to save even more space? Which ever you go for, a warm and friendly welcome to the Dob mob!

[Nuno]

Thanks for the replies

I have been searching for a SW 8" flex tube but it seems that they don't make them anymore. The flex tube factor was important to me just because it can be easily stored in my case. With an 8" I have to deassemble the tube from the base just to store it.. but its not a big deal I think.

[Nuno]

how dry/sheltered is your balcony?

if its well protected from most of the elements, get a BIG scope and just put a telescope cover on it and store it on the balcony

a 10" dob is not small, the flex tube version is actually heavier and has a taller dobsonian base and in my opinion its a bit of a beast. I find my 12" delightful to use, but it is not an easy thing to shift about. if you're apartment is several floors up and you dont have a lift, you will not be taking your 10" dob out very often and will only ever get used on the balcony!

My balcony is not sheltered.. so when it rains I just cant be there because all becomes wet.

However I usually go camping and this camping site its a very good location for observations that I usually make. That's another factor to considerer from the scope size.

What I thought is that a flex tube would be easier to carry in the car than an 8" non flex tube scope if I go to this camping site. If I could find an 8" SW flex tube it would be perfect though xD