aperture importance?

[x935418]

Last option depending on your mount, is to go for 200pds on your mount which will be good for imaging, but only marginally better for observing.

for open cluster it seem to be right  but for globulars ,you say  just a marginally better ?

small scopes can not resolve globulars and they are just a grey circle shape, but larger can solve it to plenty of stars

of course i had't have a chance to see globulars in my new 8 inch scope yet , please dont disapoint me !

[greglloyd]

yes

i sold my light weight 4"  achro (9Kg) and buy a heavy 8" on eq5 (40Kg) just for Globulars !

i am waitng for end of winter for M13

Why wait? ;-)

I had a really nice view of M13 at 06:30 on Xmas Day morning (sky stays dark enough here in the mornings for observing). It's a nice target for those crisp transparent mornings 

[x935418]

Why wait? ;-)

I had a really nice view of M13 at 06:30 on Xmas Day morning (sky stays dark enough here in the mornings for observing). It's a nice target for those crisp transparent mornings 

you are lucky

i live in a very big city

normally under 30 degree nothing is visible !

also big bulding arounf my home , prevent to observe objects that are far from zenit

some nights every thing under 60-70 degree is invisible becouse of heavy light

pollution and only a circle about 30-40 degree is observeable 

i have to wait for it until it get high in sky

[greglloyd]

I understand :-) One thing I don't get is a good view to the far south (due to houses). So Scorpius and Sagittarius are almost invisible from my garden all summer. In the summer, the lowest I can view down to is around the Swan / Omega Nebula (which clears the roofs enough for a good view). There is a tiny gap between two houses where I can view down to the lagoon nebula as it sets near the end of summer - but it's a very small gap!! The scope is almost horizontal when I look through that gap!!

[John]

I understand :-) One thing I don't get is a good view to the far south (due to houses). So Scorpius and Sagittarius are almost invisible from my garden all summer. In the summer, the lowest I can view down to is around the Swan / Omega Nebula (which clears the roofs enough for a good view). There is a tiny gap between two houses where I can view down to the lagoon nebula as it sets near the end of summer - but it's a very small gap!! The scope is almost horizontal when I look through that gap!!

Sounds like the view from my garden

Thats why my scopes have to be moveable - I need to dodge obstructions such as trees and houses quite often !

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I moved from a 6" Newt to an 8" SCT and on M13 the difference was HUGE. Having said that, we have a 16" RC on top of our building, and M51 was less impressive from the light polluted campus than with my 8" SCT from a dark site. M51 with a 20" dob from a dark site is mind-blowing, however. You really need both: aperture AND dark skies for the best possible experience.

[tarotrocola]

I've compared views between an 8" F/6 and a 12" F/5 from a sky where the Via Lactea was barely visible, and in some objects like nebulae or galaxies there was small diference. Of course, with the same eyepiece the image was bigger and slightly brighter with the 12", but there was no WOW factor.

[tarotrocola]

But with globular clusters the difference is big even in light polluted skies, with the 12" I've managed to see some clusters from the city itself and with moon.