Do I upgrade to 12 inch or stay at 8 inch

[kirkster501]

Wise.   The 8" scope is a lovely sweet spot.  Easy enough to carry out and cool down, or put in the back seat of the car to go to dark skies, yet enough aperture to show a lot of great stuff.  You do not always have to go bigger and bigger.  You are no less an astronomer to use a 200mm compared to someone using a 300mm.  Unless you have dark skies the aperture makes little extra difference.  It is much better to have a 8" scope and actually use it rather than a 12" and you CBA to use it because its dimensions and keep lugging it out puts you off, or you can't get it in your car.    Trust me, I tell you this from hard learned and expensive experience and others will tell you the same.

All that said, a 12" is a great scope, don't let me put you off.  But is it the right scope for *you*?   That's what I always ask people considering aperture upgrades.