Compact scope advice

[DAT]

Hello all and thanks for letting be part of this group, fairly new to stargazing and work means getting to my local societies is not easy so being part of this group is much appreciated.

I am hoping to buy an 8” dob to replace my current scope mainly for use at home. I plan on purchasing a second scope to gift to my Dad that I could also fit in the boot of a small car, so it needs to be fairly compact. Main interest is clusters, Nebulae and galaxies so I was thinking 150mm (6”) would be nice. I have considered a few options as reasonable including: Skywatcher heritage 150p, Bresser 6” table top and even the Stellalyra 6” f5 (although I cannot find reviews on the latter).
 

The last one would probably be the most expensive as I see I would need to buy a good mount and possibly an adapter for 1.5” eyepieces which I already have. The Bresser seems to have a slight edge on the Skywatcher for a few reasons but your thoughts and further recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

[M40]

Hello DAT and welcome to the site.

Best place to start is have a look around the site and see what people are achieving and what they are using. There is also a useful tool that is found at the top of the page under resources which is a field of view tool. You can input various telescopes, eyepieces, cameras etc and then select targets to give an idea of what could be achieved with what. Please treat it as a guide though. 

As you say, a 150p or pds and a selection of eyepieces/camera would give you a good range of targets but you must also consider the mount as very much at the top of your list. If you could think on a rough budget we could then provide a few options for you. Likewise also think of storage of your telescope, a 200p dob is big, did I mention it was big? So think about moving it too. 

All the best

[bomberbaz]

Hello DAT, seems you have researched well and put logical thoughts into the process. The heritage is certainly the most compact of the 3 "dad" options, I do agree that the Bresser is better option (IMHO) if boot space is sufficient. You will need to look into this further methinks by gathering boot dimensions and comparing to the two mini dobs dimensions.

Why are you considering the StellaLyra though? I mean it is a quality bit of kit (comes with a 2/1.25 adaptor) but will, at nearly 6kg need a sturdy mount and tripod to support it. You may quickly have a runaway budget!

You haven't mentioned astrophotography, is that a "dad" consideration?

Anyway out of interest, which 8" dob are you considering, you didn't say?

Cheers

Steve

Edited November 13, 2023 by bomberbaz

[Louis D]

I like the 2" option on the Bresser.  I wonder if the focuser has a dual speed upgrade path?

I have the GSO branded version of the Stellalyra that I picked up used.  Of course, I already had a nice alt-az mount and tripod for my refractors, so this was not a consideration for me.  Figure on another $300 or more for a nice mount for the scope.  Even though it lists 13 pounds for the weight, it really doesn't feel all that heavy to me when mounting it.  That, and my mount (a DSV-2B) has zero issues controlling it.  I would say any mount that can handle a 4" refractor would probably work well with the 6" f/5.  If you go this route, it makes moving to an APO refractor later that much easier.

The only issue I have with the GSO is with the linear bearing focuser.  Tension has to be adjusted just right or the focuser tube just drops all the way down.  The problem is that it has no preloading tensioner separate from the focus drag tensioner.

 

[Elp]

Something which hasnt been mentioned as of yet:

1. What is your current scope?

2. What is the light pollution or bortle classification where you're going to be using it?

[DAT]

Thanks all for the replies.

I currently have a skywatcher star quest 130p which has served me well but I underestimated the importance of the mount so yes, I am aware that a good mount may double the costs…

the Stella Lyra dob was what I originally wanted to get so I plan on using that knowing that it can be moved, but not that easily. Rather that upgrade to a better mount I do not want to make the same mistake twice so I am just investing in the Stellalyra which I should have done all along.

The idea of the second scope is a present that can double up as a travel scope. Astrophotography looks great but given that it took me an hour to find andromeda the first time, I will leave that for later 🙂.

The second scope should be affordable ( <£400), small enough to fit in the boot of a polo, but big enough to see dso’s.

Thanks for all the input so far, really helps

[DAT]

Sorry, forgot to add I live in a bortle 9 but have nevertheless located several nebulae which is encouraging 

[Elp]

Mmm, due to the LP I don't think you'll see the gain with the aperture as you'll also light gather the LP air glow, this can be sometimes mitigated with filters. I'm bortle 7, visually from a 60mm up to 6 inch there's little difference, a smudge is still a smudge for me, for me I see the perceived difference because of the magnification the larger aperture scope provides and the visual of the object is only very very marginally more, I usually have to use aversion to see DSO even closed clusters. The 100mm refractor I think was better but only because they're sharper than the six inch SCT I also have to compare to, so there was a perceived improvement in that regard. I really need to test them at a dark site which will show more of a difference between scopes.

The polo has an unnaturally small boot too so you'd have to measure up length, but I never put scopes in the boot, better on the back seats belted in.

[Louis D]

Well, polos are not sold in the US except as clothing, so I have no concept of it's hauling capacity.  For comparison, when I go camping, I take my 2003 Chevy Astro van.  It swallows up my 8" Dob like it's nothing.  Of course, I get 12mpg city and 17mpg highway with it, but with gas prices around $2.50/gal, it doesn't bother me much for the rare times I take it anywhere.

For you, finding faint smudges in Bortle 9 skies is going to be the real challenge.  If you can find a large globular cluster in the murk, the 8" should be able to resolve its component stars at 200x or higher power despite the sky glow.  Planets should reveal more details and the fainter moons of Saturn should be more apparent.  You should also be able to split tighter double stars with the 8".

The 6" Newtonian is right at the cusp of being able to resolve large globular clusters by way of comparison.  You definitely get the outer parts, but the central area tends to still be fuzzy.

 

[bomberbaz]

2 hours ago, Louis D said:

I like the 2" option on the Bresser.  I wonder if the focuser has a dual speed upgrade path?

I think this will probably work Bresser Messier 1:8 Gear-set for Hex-Focuser | First Light Optics

steep price for what it is but a good add on. 

2 hours ago, Elp said:

The polo has an unnaturally small boot too so you'd have to measure up length, but I never put scopes in the boot, better on the back seats belted in.

Agreed, use the boot for your clothes, the base and bits of other gear, the ota assembly back seat strapped in.

2 hours ago, Louis D said:

The only issue I have with the GSO is with the linear bearing focuser.  Tension has to be adjusted just right or the focuser tube just drops all the way down.  The problem is that it has no preloading tensioner separate from the focus drag tensioner.

I must admit that the bresser rocker alt action looks far superior to the stellalyra one Bresser Messier 8" Dobsonian Telescope | First Light Optics  To be honest, both have strengths and weaknesses but ironing out the alt one on the stellalyra looks the most challenging when compared to adding the 1:8 focuser upgrade and a better finder to the bresser scope. 

[DAT]

Noted about putting equipment in the boot!

I am aware also that more aperture=more lp. However, I still think it’s a good investment as there are darker skies just over an hour away which do not require overnight stays, I also see it as a future investment but these are all things to consider and I will have a good think, my main objective is to see more details (so darker skies are necessary) and a more stable mount ( whether dob or other)

[DAT]

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

Well, polos are not sold in the US except as clothing, so I have no concept of it's hauling capacity.  For comparison, when I go camping, I take my 2003 Chevy Astro van.  It swallows up my 8" Dob like it's nothing.  Of course, I get 12mpg city and 17mpg highway with it, but with gas prices around $2.50/gal, it doesn't bother me much for the rare times I take it anywhere.

For you, finding faint smudges in Bortle 9 skies is going to be the real challenge.  If you can find a large globular cluster in the murk, the 8" should be able to resolve its component stars at 200x or higher power despite the sky glow.  Planets should reveal more details and the fainter moons of Saturn should be more apparent.  You should also be able to split tighter double stars with the 8".

The 6" Newtonian is right at the cusp of being able to resolve large globular clusters by way of comparison.  You definitely get the outer parts, but the central area tends to still be fuzzy.

 

Nice to know! Was having trouble splitting some with the 130p I have, glad to know it’s not all my fault! I also note that having good eye adaptation is a must to even catch a glimpse of the smudges , best time tends to be around 4 am when less people have light on