How good is the real image of an 6" dob?

[lulaz]

I'm considering on buy a telescope, but I got no idea about what I acctually can see when looking down the eyepiece.

I'm tired of just seeing those 5345643756437" telescope apperture, with a US$100000000 camera with good and bright and not beeing able to see what is the real thing.

So, I found this video that actually shows the eyepiece POV.

Is this how good(or bad) we can see through a telescope?

thank you all in advance!

[John]

What you can actually see is affected by so many variables:

- Seeing conditions at the time

- Experience of observer

- Quality of optical equipment

- Local light pollution levels

- Degree to which the object in question is well presented

- Amount of moonlight

And many more ........

With the exception of the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter it's really so difficult to express what any one person can actually "see" and to what extent they would be impressed by it.

Photos, as you have found, are very misleading. Sketches are a better guide but evne then are an amalgam of the best moments of seeing in a given session so might not be easily replicated.

Sorry that's probably not the answer you were looking for but I'm so hesitant about predicting what you would and would not be able to see, for the reasons given above.

Perhaps you will have to make do with the assurance that many people own a 6" scope and really enjoy the views that such scopes give

[pvaz]

Images can't show what you see and that video is very poor.

Planets will be very small and you will see some surface detail in color.

The moon and it's craters will be large at over 100x.

Galaxies are gray clouds of light without structure.

Nebula are gray and you can see structure on some of them.

Star cluster look close to the pictures.

Example using the orion nebula:

This is what you see: Messier 42 and Messier 43 (The Orion Nebula) - Belt of Venus

This is what an image of it looks like: M42

[DarkerSky]

Take a look at the sketching section on this forum to get a taste of what you can actually see through a telescope's EP. There are sketches there that accurately represent the view through many different aperture sizes.

[Merlin66]

Put it this way.... the first "real" telescope I had in the late '60's and early '70's was a 6" f8. This allowed me to better understand the sky and sketch (couldn't afford a camera!) all the major planets as well as Comets and all the usual Messier objects.

The early astro photographic books well covered the capablities of the 6" and some very nice Jupiter shots were achieved.

Nowadays with a good webcam, you can achieve much more lunar/ planetary detail than back then with Tri-x film.

I used one of almost ten years....practise, practise, practise makes all the difference.

[xyz]

It's often said and for me it seems to be true, the more you observe, the more you see. Your eye/brain seems to undergo a learning process plus you do acquire the patience and skills to use averted vision, appreciate the fleeting clear views through a sometimes turbulent atmosphere and by staring long enough see detail emerge from the faint images. Dark adapted eyes help a lot (thus avoid like the plague any glimpses of bright lights).

Prepare to be initially "underwhelmed" but to appreciate more and more as you invest more time in it.