Did I make a mistake

[Dave scutt]

I had a skywatcher 12" dob , the views were amazing , but I wanted a grab and go scope.

Would love to be able to have more scopes but with the weather here they would just collect dust .

The problem is I had the scope out for the first time today as clear skies and the moon was high , using a TV 17mm plossl I aligned the finder scope with the moon , switching to a 10.5 TV plossl I noticed floaters big long looking worm in the middle of my eye when I used a 2 x Barlow it was more noticeable then the moon.

If I went for a bigger dob I could use lower power to avoid the floaters but still get the magnification keeping the exit pupil higher.

Is that right or have I got it totally wrong.

Dave

[Ags]

That is correct - the only sure cure for floaters is aperture. But I do think that at the same exit pupil, floaters are less apparent in a refractor than in an obstructed scope. I find with my small scopes, floaters are more troubling on some nights than others.

[dweller25]

@Dave scutt, sadly you are correct, however I do find  Binoviewers help with my floaters in smaller apertures.

Edited August 24 by dweller25

[Mr Spock]

I have retinopathy so permanent 'floaters' are a nuisance - a string going across the centre of my observing eye. Very noticeable in the 4" but not the 12".

[Dave scutt]

2 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I have retinopathy so permanent 'floaters' are a nuisance - a string going across the centre of my observing eye. Very noticeable in the 4" but not the 12".

Is it more noticeable during the day then at night, I haven't used it at night yet hopefully tonight if stays clear 

[bosun21]

For me they are only really noticeable on the brighter targets and with scopes less than 8" aperture. For any given magnification your 12" will produce an exit pupil three times that of your 4" scope. I have also found binoviewers make the floaters less noticeable.

[Saganite]

Hi Dave,

I can echo what  Bosun has said about binoviewing, and my floaters are legion. 

[Dave scutt]

Which binos would work best with this scope there's a lot of different makes and do you have trouble focusing 

[dweller25]

Baader Maxbright II BV’s are definitely worth considering.

You may struggle to get enough in focus depending on how your scope was made, but that can be overcome - I use glass path correctors in my BV’s but they add more length to the setup than the shorter Maxbrights.

Edited August 24 by dweller25

[Jim Franklin]

I read floaters and was taken back to my school days - when we used to throw a Mars or Marathon into the Pool  during swimming lessons and wait for the cry of "Floater" from someone who found it - Oh the heady days of childhood mispent!

Ona  serious note, I really do not have an issue with floaters in my eyes - I have astigmatism from an accident so my left eye is slightly long sighted and my right is slightly short sighted - really annoying - the only time I have an issue is with my Revelation 20x100 binoculars when I only seem to be able to get a double image rather than a single image - I do not have the issue with other binoculars I own and others that have used them do not have the problem - thus I very rarely use them, annoyingly.