Aperture vs Tracking

[Tlawrence84]

Which would you prefer, more aperture or tracking on a dobsonian?

My budget allows for up to the 8" Skywatcher GOTO dobsonian. But are the tracking capabilities more preferred than the extra aperture of a 10" Dob that is £200 cheaper?

My concerns are mainly over the small movements required to keep objects in view when at high mags (mainly for planetary work). Is the extra detail provided in a 10" worth the extra frustration, or is it not a frustration?

The dobs are SO popular that I can't imagine there would be a real issue. I'm just after opinions on the above, please don't suggest I try one as I don't have access to one!

Thanks guys

[todd8137]

The point for me would be bigger glass , unless you did want to image which am not sure on planets maybe?,if it was me I would not bother with tracking ,there's more fun looking for things esp,with a,dob it's easy get a telrad or rdf and a good book /software if I had the choice I would sell my kit and get a big 14/16" dob non tracking

Pat

[ollypenrice]

I don't use our Dob for planetary observing. This is partly because I would far rather have a tracking mount at high powers. So I guess that's my answer; for planetary observing I would, purely personally, opt for the tracking. It might be worth adding that the lack of tracking can be made less frustrating by using an eyepiece with a huge, sharp FOV. A Nagler, for instance. This reduces the amount of nudging by a large margin.

For non planetary Dobbing, I agree with Pat. Do as the great JD intended and keep it big and simple!

Olly

[Cjg]

I had a manual Orion USA Dob. At high mags, the planets would whizz thu the eyepiece quickly, however the views were great of the deep space objects. Depends how often you would be a high mag vs not. Either is a big jump from a 130.

Have you thought about talking / visiting North Essex Astro? They may have members with both scopes?

http://fedastro.org.uk/cgi-bin2/cms-society2.php?societyid=26498

Good luck.

Chris

[swamp thing]

Hi Lawrence

I see you have a 130mm (5" in real money) scope. I'd double up to 10" if I were you.

Neither of my Dobs track. Using a Dob is like falling off a log buddy.

There is only one reason I'd want my dobs to track. Outreach events when others wish to view through it.

TBH I reckon if I had tracking I'd switch it off when on my own. I wanna drive the scope myself. I like nudging the scope along.

[Moonshane]

consider this. if you have a 60 degree eyepiece and observe at 200x then an object will remain in the field for over 1 min between nudges. planets are not always available and when not, more aperture = better views on faint objects. in good seeing a larger scope gives more detail on planets. goto is good for finding objects too.

personally, I'd not worry about tracking on a f5/f6 dob as there will not be many issues with settling after each nudge.

[rory]

I agree with moonshine and steve, doddle to use . unless you plan on doing ALOT of planetary with high powers and not so much dso work ,then maybe just maybe youll want tracking .

 or a equatorial mount with manual control.

[Mr Spock]

For me, tracking is important on planets. To sit back and wait for those fleeting moments of clarity is the difference between seeing fine detail and packing the scope up because you can see nothing. Having more resolution is pointless if you cannot take advantage of it.

For deep sky you want aperture - the bigger the better. Tracking is of less importance at low magnifications and not really needed at all.

[John]

Ideally you would want both but I'm happy to track manually and have wide field eyepieces so I go for aperture. I also prefer the "no tech" setup with no cables, power supplies,  polar alignment etc to bother with - just put the scope down, point it and look though it is the way I like to do things.

[Tlawrence84]

Sounds like everyone has confirmed what I have been thinking, planetary for me is a secondary objective of the scope. DSO's is my main focus.

Thanks guys

[itmo]

I use my goto dob without goto all the time to watch jupiter. I just point the RDF to jupiter and keep nudging. Although wide angle eyepieces do help, I can quite easily track at over 300x. When I really want to observe and dont want to nudge I will setup goto. I wish there was some "light" tracking mode for when I dont need goto. sort of like two knobs to set speed on alt and az to track. 

[scarp15]

Just to concur with everyone else really, based on your intended account (planetary mixed with D.S.O observing), if you invest in a 10" manual dob, you may never look back  .  

For general planetary observing, particularly if using low / medium power wide field eyepieces this set up will be great. For dedicated planetary observing, it may be adequate, but tracking might be preferred.

[luminova11]

If you get the 10" you can always put it on an equatorial platform in the future if you find the need for tracking. You won't be able to add 2" extra aperture to the 8" goto though.

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

[ronin]

consider this. if you have a 60 degree eyepiece and observe at 200x then an object will remain in the field for over 1 min between nudges. planets are not always available and when not, more aperture = better views on faint objects. in good seeing a larger scope gives more detail on planets. goto is good for finding objects too.

personally, I'd not worry about tracking on a f5/f6 dob as there will not be many issues with settling after each nudge.

Yes the object at 200x will remain in the field of view for 1.2 minutes, but that is edge to edge.

I doubt that many stick Jupiter, or anything, at the extreme edge to start viewing it, also it means leaving Jupiter, or whatever , to get to the other extreme edge before adjusting the scope.

So I guess most would in reality use about half the field of view, perhaps a bit more.

In effect you do not use the full 0.3 degree view at 200x and if it were say 0.2 degrees view used you are down to 48 seconds.

[bish]

Aperture for me. I do miss my old EQ5 tracking planets - but it doesn't actually make that much difference for me.

[TractionMan]

I'd go for aperture as well. The nudging part isn't that difficult really, unless you go crazy with magnification perhaps. But there are dob users that handle very high magnification as well. As someone else mentioned, you can always add an EQ platform later if you really need tracking.

[RikM]

Yes the object at 200x will remain in the field of view for 1.2 minutes, but that is edge to edge.

I doubt that many stick Jupiter, or anything, at the extreme edge to start viewing it, also it means leaving Jupiter, or whatever , to get to the other extreme edge before adjusting the scope.

So I guess most would in reality use about half the field of view, perhaps a bit more.

In effect you do not use the full 0.3 degree view at 200x and if it were say 0.2 degrees view used you are down to 48 seconds.

If the seeing is a bit on-an-off, I let the planet drift edge to edge in the dob with 7 or 5 mm 70° XW eyepieces.

[Luke]

I'd pick the 10 inch. I use a 10 inch manual dob as my main observing scope. I find it fine for planets, I do have to nudge it a bit, but it doesn't bother me.

[Tiny Small]

To make the nudging easier and more accurate, you can install a lazy suzan and a little grip/handle/knob thingemy at the open end of the OTA. These two things cost a combined total of about £15, take about 20 minutes to install and make life way easier and more enjoyable. I liked driving the scope myself but it was inaccurate and the resistance sometimes caused my nudges to turn into pushes. Since doing these two things, life is better. Couple that with some nice wide EPs, a dual speed focus upgrade and some home made setting circles and you would have everything you could ever need. The setting circles are great. When I want, I star hop but if I'm really struggling or feeling lazy, I use the setting circles and they are accurate to get me close enough that it then doesn't take much to find what I'm looking for.

[DoctorD]

... if you invest in a 10" manual dob, you may never look back .

When you think about it you'll be looking back forever - deeper into the history of the cosmos

Sorry, I could not help my self.

Paul

[Moonshane]

Yes the object at 200x will remain in the field of view for 1.2 minutes, but that is edge to edge.

I doubt that many stick Jupiter, or anything, at the extreme edge to start viewing it, also it means leaving Jupiter, or whatever , to get to the other extreme edge before adjusting the scope.

So I guess most would in reality use about half the field of view, perhaps a bit more.

In effect you do not use the full 0.3 degree view at 200x and if it were say 0.2 degrees view used you are down to 48 seconds.

if they don't then they should in my opinion. it increases the length of time between nudges susbstantially.  with a £50 TV plossl then this means very little if any disruption to image quality either.

[swamp thing]

+1. Same as Shane. Always stick objects right on the field stop and let em drift.

[Stardust]

I have use of a 12" dob and it doesn't detract having to nudge it along, though tracking in the obsy is very relaxing