If I had the Cash... (What size dobsonian?)

[glennbech]

Hi,

I'm starting to think my next scope will be a Dob. I want to see things with my own eyes, and really take pleasure in hunting things down. On dark dry night(s) I can see the milky way, so my location isn't half bad. On average my sky is probably around 5.0-5.5ish maybe a tad better (naked eye)

Some say that aperture is king but my experience is that the sky is king and aperture comes second. I used to live down town in a "population half-a-million" city. I couldn't see a single star near the horizon looking south. Not a place to hunt galaxies :-)

I'm thinking of something like the SkyWatcher Skyliner 300P Flextube. I'm also willing to think larger (Up to 16"), but I'm worried that the difference just isn't there with the sky being the limit. What do you think? Do you need real good skies to experience huge difference between the 300P and a 16"? What 16" models comes recommended these days?

[Jamie]

Glennbech

If you have the money and are fit enough to handle a 16" dob of any kind i would say go for it mate.....

[glennbech]

If you have the money and are fit enough to handle a 16" dob of any kind i would say go for it mate.....

I'm rich and in my early 30ies... :-) Seriously... The 16" scopes look pretty large. It would be huge disadvantage to have assemble something of that size every observation night.. Moving it around in one piece also seems like a challenge... How are these scopes kept, handled and used?

[/td][td]

[MikeP]

I'm rich and in my early 30ies

If I were a single lady with an interest in astronomy ...

Mike

PS I only fit one of the three criteria and I already have a dob