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Hi guys!-Another newbie..Not the first..or the last....so..10 inch or 12??

Celestine

By Celestine
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Celestine

Celestine

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Hi my name is Adrian I am 41 and in the south west of England..-What a great web site!

Although I describe myself a newbie I have had an interest in this subject ever since I had a 3 inch newtonian tasco reflector for my 30th birthday..[-a concerning number of moons ago now..]-Despite learning in hindsight from the wise of how a tasco was to be avoided like the plague that telescope gave me some unforgettable thrills..Just watching as the moon,in greater detail than ever I had ever imagined,majestically slid its way accross the view in my eyepiece..the reality of its mass,right up there,floating in space as the earths rotation turned my scope away till the moon was no longer in my field of view..Like never before..it all became real..-Then to find that I could from my own back yard actually see saturn..?-ok..the tasco could only afford me a very small white sillouhette of an image but it was clearly the ringed planet..then Jupiter..with four moons..in view..-Not on t.v.,not in a photograph but for real,with the naked eye..Right there to witness and enjoy..I was stunned.

Alas everyday life along with the limitations of my tasco took its toll,and my viewing times ground down to a halt.."One day I thought..Ill have a proper scope.." Well..that was 12 years ago..And in the face of a very brightly rekindled interest of astronomy under which I currently find myself I can say now that I have spent the last 3 months or so scouring books and the net for the most educated and suitable way to go about choosing a decent telescope at long last..and anyones thoughts or views on this prior to purchase I would appreciate..-I have decided a dobsonian is ideal for my interests and budget..The only scope I have still ever used is that old tasco..So I havent used or been near any other in the flesh..that said I have fallen for the skywatcher truss rod dobsonians for their apeture and portability..But crucially a 10 or a 12 inch..? Apeture and portability are a must..Im fit quite strong but is a 12 inch just that bit too unwieldy?? I want to choose the scope of a lifetime first time so are the views of a 12 over a 10 inch worth the extra money and hassle? either scope is still an expense to be reckoned with for me but they are transportable,and should provide a lifetime of stunning views..-If the reviews are anything to go by one of these scopes has got to be worth every penny in the fullness of time..If I go for the 10..-Will its abilities leave me hankering for the 12??

My regards to all..

Ade.

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Minotaur

Minotaur

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Hi Adrian and welcome to SGL, home of the best and friendliest astronomers on the planet.

Unfortunately, I am in no way qualified to address your aperture issue but there will be plenty of opinions and advice arriving soon.

The experts in the forum will be much better able to help you if can define more precisely what use you have in mind for the scope - planetary / DSO / observing / imaging etc...

Rick

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GazOC

GazOC

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Hi Ade, welcome the SGL. :hello2:

Theres is a fairly clear difference in views between a 10" and 12", unfortuneatly a 12" Dob is just where a lot of people find that the scope starts to get a little large and unwieldy to setup. A 10" will fit in the back seat of most family cars for transportation whereas the 12" won't (or will need a bigger car!).

If you are only planning to observe from your backgarden and are confident you will be able to setup the 12" then I'd go that way but if think you will want to transport it to a dark sits to observe or think the size of the 12" might put you off setting up then the 10" might be a better bet.

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Celestine

Celestine

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-Thankyou!-I should be clearer!

My interests are purely observational..I wish to see the best images possible of both deep sky and of planetary views with a scope that I could transport myself onto nearby dartmoor and various locales..

According to reviews the short focal point on the skywatcher skyliner series makes for great planetary viewing as well as deep sky objects..?

The more transportable -truss rod- design of the dobsonian offered by skywatcher suggests to me that i am indeed able to consider the 12" version..?-I am used to manual work and am fairly able bodied!

-How much better would the 12 over the 10 inch be..?

-From the pro dobsonians amongst us,-how really do you feel about consistently having to move the scope to keep the view?

-can a portable truss rod design be adapted for a motorised equatorual mount in years to come?

My kind and greatful regards to all..Ade.

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centroid

centroid

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Hi Adrian, and welcome to SGL.

As you are primarily ineterested in visual work, than if you can manage it, go for the 12".

For imaging, the difference between a 10" and 12" scope, is not so important, as it just a bit longer exposure for the 10".

The 'Truss Tube' variant of the 12" Dob, certainly makes it far more practical to move around, than a solid tube type.

I've seen the 12" Truss Tube, and was quite impressed.

Dave

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Periscope

Periscope

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Hi Dave, welcome to SGL. Personally, reading your posts, If I were you, I would definately go for the 12" Flexitube version. Sometimes I wish I had gone down this road, instead of buying my Skywatcher 200P GoTo synscan set up. I't unlikely that I will be transporting my scope, that's why I went for the set up I have. But for the same price, I could have gone with the Dobsonian and gained 4" on my aperture, which for Deep Sky Observing, you need the biggest you can handle and afford. This is where I bought my scope from

http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?name=Skywatcher%20Skyliner%20300P%20FlexTube%20Dobsonian%20Telescope&prod_code=PON08D000013

and browsing around the net, you won't find it much cheaper. I ordered it about dinner time and it arrived the following afternoon by courier.

Hows that for quick service.

Here's the same scope from First Light Optics and being a member of SGL, I think they do a discount.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SWskyliner300pFlexTube

Geoff

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scotastro

scotastro

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Ade

Welcome to SGL

All else being equal the 12" scope will give slightly better views than a 10" particularly for the fainter DSOs, everything else will look stunning in either scope. Even owning the 12" it is likely that you would occasionally wonder what the view was like in a 16".

I have used the Skywatcher 10" f5 Skyliner - it is a great scope for looking at everything and not too cumbersome to move about and set up. There is no reason why the 10" or 12" Felxitube version would not be just as good optically. But the 12" is also f5 making it much longer at 1500mm and obviously much heavier all round. Could not find any weights for the scopes on the OVL website.

The Meade Lightbridge 12 inch is another great scope I have used. The fact that it is sections might be seen a slight advantage over the Skywatcher Flex-tube, but will take more time to set up and collimate.

Whether you bought a 10" or 12", Skyliner, Flex-tube or Lightbridge, you will have a scope you will really enjoy using.

The only easy way to decide is to see them up close or in use.

Mike

GAC

Galloway Astronomy Centre

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barkis

barkis

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A warm welcome to the SGL Forums Ade. What a nice dilemma you have to wrestle with.

How much light grasp you think you should have, is a difficult decision to make.

Having said that, the designs of Dobs these days mean that they are not as unweildy as they once were, and if you are content to observe from a home site, then go as big as you can reasonably contend with. You don't want a fight everytime the stars appear, you want to be up and running as quickly as you can without giving yourself a hernia.

Whatever you buy, enjoy, and don't forget to keep your reports coming in to us. We like to share large objectives too. :hello2:

By the way, a 12" mirror has an area of just over 113 square inches. A 10" has just over 78 square inches. Quite a difference in area between the two.

Best Wishes.

Ron. :clouds1:

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Doc

Doc

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Hi and welcome.

About 6 months ago I had the chance to borrow and later keep a 10" hardin dob. This is a great size and will fit in any car and is highly portable, easy to break down and holds collimation pretty well.

I used it for a couple of months but aperture bug kicked in and you always hanker for bigger views. In essence aperture rules.

I then got a 16" Lightbridge, have only used it a few times as weathers been lousy but believe when I say WOW you won't be dissapointed. But 16" is way to big to transport and really should be kept together.

A 12" would still give a lot more light gathering over the 10" and if you have a large car this is the one I would go for.

How about the flex tube. Google it.

As for pushing or nudging the dob to keep targets in view, you get used to it. If your dob is balanced correctly in both axis it's very simple to do.

All dobs can be motorised with either "pushed to" or full "Go-To and track". or build yourself a dob platform with two axis this is what I might do.

Hope this helps.

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narrowbandpaul

narrowbandpaul

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hi and welcome to sgl

the 12" will gather 44% more light, which if my maths is right corresponds to 0.4 magnitudes fainter, meaning slightly fainter objects will be visible.

The focal ratio of the scopes also plays a part...the image will be dimmer with a long focal ratio, ie f/8. Conversely it will be brighter with a fast scope say f/5 or less. Both scopes probably have the same focal ratio. The collapsable tube is certainly more portable than a fixed tube, but I think there is a drawback. That is one of collimation. To enable the crispest, most contrasty views, the secondary and primary mirror have to be aligned with respect to each other. Whilst this is easier than it seems, it may be unimportant just now if you are just starting out, and so not a factor.

In terms of transportation I can fit my 12" lightbridge in the back of my clio with no bother...and I may be willing to sell.

if you can afford the 12" i would go for that

Best Wishes

paul

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Woodsey65

Woodsey65

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I have bought a s/h Revelation 10" for my group... 12's are better but can be heavy. You may end up using a ten as it is lighter, cools quicker, and with 2" eyepieces looks stunning. It's also cheaper to buy and you could spend the extra on a baby Apo refractor or a decent set of 70mm bins... £50 even.

BTW, the FlexTube is fabby, just forget the name. I'd by a 10" and very probably will.

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