10-Inch Or 8-Inch Dobsonian

[JackW07]

 

I have been looking around for telescopes for a while. Specifically, a telescope that can take nice bright photos of deep-sky objects. I have settled on the 8-inch StarSense Dobsonian from Celestron, as it is only 800 dollars and I'm on a tight budget. (<$800) I'm wondering if there really is THAT big of a difference between the 8 and 10-inch versions when it comes to viewing and if so, should I push my budget to get the telescope?

[Cosmic Geoff]

Dobsonians are not well suited to taking photos of deep sky objects.  For that you need a driven (GoTo) mount. The size of the telescope is not material.  A fast focal ratio is desirable but the size of the telescope merely affects the image scale.  Hence a small telescope, even a 2" aperture one, on a GoTo mount, can take impressive deep-space images of larger objects. 

If, on the other hand, you actually want to use the telescope visually, Dobsonians are popular in this role. 

[lunator]

Jack, I have to agree with Cosmic Geoff. I have an 8" dob it is a great scope for visual but it would be almost impossible to take images of deep sky objects with it. 

[dweller25]

Hello @JackW07 and welcome to SGL.

Buying a scope for visual deep sky - the bigger the better BUT you may need to adjust your expectations as even in a 12” Dobsonian deep sky objects are a bit dim and nothing like the photos you see.

For photography you need a good tracking mount and a small refractor - it can get expensive !

I would suggest you join a local astro club to get a better idea of what people use.

Edited November 14, 2023 by dweller25

[JackW07]

Hey all

Thanks for responding to my post quickly and with good recommendations! I noticed that I did make a mistake in the original post as I meant to say I wanted to view deep sky objects not take pictures. Would an 8-inch Dob work for this? Also would a dob like this work for planetary viewing too?

One more thing, is the StarSense App worth the buy? to anyone who has experience with this program, does it work well? As I am an amateur Skygazer I'm not great at locating things. I've recently bought a book or two and I am getting better, but I do think it would be a nice perk to be able to use this app.

Thanks again

Jack

Edited November 14, 2023 by JackW07
Missed a few things

[dweller25]

Hello Jack,

An 8” or 10” Dob will allow you to see many deep sky objects but some will appear as grey smudges. These scopes will give very good lunar and planetary views.

A Dobsonian telescope gives the best bang for Buck of all the telescope types.

Weight - the 8” is manageable for most people, the 10” starts to get a bit heavy - try to check this out before you buy.

Also check out the Skywatcher Dobsonians, these are made by Synta who own Celestron, so the mirrors are the same but the Skywatchers may be cheaper.

The Starsense is well worth the buy as it will greatly help you find your way around the night sky.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by dweller25

[bosun21]

I would start with the 8” dobsonian as you really need to jump to 12” to see any noticeable difference at the eyepiece. The 8” is a great visual scope and further down the line you can add an EQ platform which will allow you to do a bit of EEA (electronic enhanced astronomy). The Starsense unit works very well and makes finding targets relatively simple. Good luck with your journey.

[AndyM001]

I was also looking at getting a 8-inch StarSense Dobsonian from Celestron. A StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ recently came up on eBay really cheap, so purchased that, and with an adaptor I'm now looking at getting a StellaLyra 8" Dobsonian and mounting the StarSense unit on that, just have to wait for them to come back in to stock. I believe the StellaLyra is a better scope (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), and it will end up working out a little cheaper.

[Second Time Around]

I'd recommend the Bresser Dobsonian.   I did head to head comparisons and found that because of the large bearings it has a  better mounting than the Stella Lyra (made by GSO). 

You can change any other component relatively cheaply but not the mount.

I also found that with this style of mount I could carry one size bigger scope than the GSO and most other competitors.

The Bresser also has a very good focuser, that can be upgraded  at low cost to a dual speed.

Normally, the Bresser's 6x30 straight through finder would be a disadvantage, but I'd prefer it to a RACI finder when used in conjunction with a Starsense Explorer unit.  The latter of course is the main finder anyway.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Second Time Around

[Spile]

The StellaLyra is better equipped than the Skywatcher. The latter can be upgraded piecemeal which is what I have done but of course at additional ££.