Hi Jas, that's a really nice thing you're doing for your dad
.
Aside from my 10" dob, I also have a 4" tabletop dob. And I love it to pieces and use it a lot. I too, looked at the Orion Skyscanner but at half the price combined with Mozzie on here too who's got one, decided to go for the Kson. Comes in very handy for quick sessions or for travelling with. Jupiter, Saturn, globular clusters- so much is available on the menu plate through these.
As for being "tabletop" I have to say (am I the only one here?) that I don't find it very comfortable to use this way. As the scope aims higher in the sky, the eyepiece gets higher and I'm constantly adjusting my seating. Now I know I do this with my 10" dob but it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem
. Maybe because the tables are an awkward height I wonder. But I'm just being ultra critical here. One can just stand
Only because I find it much more comfy to sit on the mat on the ground and observe with it on ground level. Or perhaps if he's older, a shorter table to put it on.
This is what I have:
http://www.opticscentral.com.au/kson...l#.UgZYw6zLLKc
Review here:
http://www.astronomyforum.net/dobson...own-under.html
The tube is solid (metal), the mirror is glass, but the focusser and attached screws and red dot finder are plastic. But hey I don't think that matters much. It performs surprisingly well! The eyepieces are plastic & so's the barlow lens
. Well... they do the job. But if you can replace them with plossls much better! You should be able to buy plossls quite cheaply in the classifieds here or people might actually give them to you. I find a 15mm eyepiece is the highest I can go with stars. With brighter objects like the planets and the moon I can go down to a 10mm eyepiece. But the 15mm is the one that hits the sweet spot the best on everything and that's the one that gets 98% of use. The 15mm size didn't come with the scope, so if you're going to get at least one plossl, get that one. A wide view, say 65 degrees would be even better.
And if he wants, he can go one step further with it like I have and adapt to do solar viewing too. Very quick and easy scope to observe the sun with
. I've (okay not me persee I'm useless- hubby) cut a hole in the dust cover and made a filter using some tubing and solar film. So that stays permanently on my scope as it's part of the dust cover. To observe at night, you take the cover off.. as you do...
I was in the Australian Geographic shop the other day and I spotted
this. A 5" collapsible dobsonian for $269. Everything was solid (I couldn't see any plastic bits anyway). But! I think if you're going to spend that sort of money, one is better off with a 6" dobsonian for around $300-ish they usually go for. I had a 6"- it'll see a lot and is considered the entry telescope for deep sky observing. Second hand you can pick them up for around $200 these days. And ooops I just realised you said you got a 6" so you know where I'm coming from.
Perhaps give him a binocular observing book such as Robert Bee's book, "Heaven's Above" to go with the tabletop scope. Ooops can't seem to find it available online anymore
Anyway, here's another which is well respected and often recommended (tho I haven't read it myself):
http://www.philharrington.net/tubrevu.htm
And don't forget our fellow forum member, Les Dalrymple does a monthly binocular target article in each issue of Australian Sky & Telescope Magazine.
Binocular objects are perfect for this size of telescope.
Good on you Jas!
P.S.
If you want some great targets for your 6" scope, take a look here at an article I did. Some of the galaxies on the list though will do better viewed from a dark site.
Highlights of the Winter Sky
P.S.S. (again lol)
I just found the Heavens Above book- seems it's temporarily sold out. It's a very popular book- I've read it, it's a great book. Fishpond online do sell it but of course it's unavailable there at the moment too.
http://www.macastro.org.au/home/inde...:categorymerch