Quote:
Originally Posted by Donman90
I'm wanting to get a telescope that my partner and I can use to do some amateur astronomy. I've had a look around and done some research but I'm feeling quite overwhelmed with the different choices so I'm hoping I can get a few suggestions from some more experienced astronomers!
I've been looking currently at something like a Skywatcher dobsonian 8 or 10 inch.
I have a budget of about $500 to $1000. I'm not after anything to do astrophotography, but just something that will allow me to see the moon and potentially some other planets. It would also be a benefit if I could get a look at some galaxies. I'm not particularly concerned with how long it takes to set up, or if it has a GOTO telescope mount.
I live in Suburban Brisbane, so I feel I probably won't have much luck from my backyard but if it could be possible I'd like to be able to set it up there from time to time. Otherwise there are a few good spots close by I can easily go to.
Apologies for the rather novice post! Any advice would be great.
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Hi Jeremy,
For someone only interested in VISUAL ASTRONOMY an 8" or 10" dob is a perfect choice. The 8" is a bit cheaper, a bit lighter with a slightly smaller footprint. A 10" will show you infinitely more than an 8" and is still easily transportable by one able bodied person. If you bought the 8" you would want to upgrade to the 10" within a fairly short span of time, so if you can make it work go straight to the 10" which will give you a few years of observing pleasure before you want to upgrade or upsize. Under dark skies there are a lifetime of objects to observe with a 10" telescope. There are many objects which really "pop" in a 10" telescope and are very aesthetically pleasing but they don't have the same "wow" factor in an 8" scope. A 10" telescope is where it all starts to happen. Most of the brighter globular clusters appear bright and fully resolved into stars in a 10" telescope, whereas in an 8" telescope those same globulars are not fully resolved and much dimmer. There are countless galaxies visible in a 10" telescope under dark skies, which show good detail including spiral arms etc, but in an 8" telescope those some galaxies appear as faint grey smudges with very little detail visible.
You can join an astronomy club and learn a lot, but you certainly don't need to do that before you buy your telescope.
I would recommend the 10" if you are able bodied and can afford the extra cost.
Cheers
John B