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Old 14-05-2025, 09:27 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
kids+wife+scopes=happyman

mental4astro is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: sydney, australia
Posts: 4,995
Deep sky astrophotography (AP) is certainly possible with a goto dobsonian. There is a 12" goto dob for sale here & the seller has included pics they have taken with said scope:

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/...d.php?t=214716

While tricky for DSO's, imaging the Moon & planets is much easier with an altaz mount, especially if it has goto/tracking as the exposure times are very short.

The learning curve in AP is steep. The scope is the easy part, the trick is the mount & camera, the mount in particular as there is a relationship between scope size & mount for stability & tracking accuracy. There are also technical aspects with scopes that mean more bits & pieces are required to produce pinpoint star images across the field of view & which astro camera... Then comes the image processing. I'm saying this not to bamboozle you but to make you aware of expenses to come so you are not just writing a blank cheque

If you go with something like an 8" goto solid tube scope (if there are such scopes) or a solid tube dob it will be a standout instrument. I say solid tube because these can then be coupled to a suitable equatorial mount for more serious AP if your daughter wants to. It isn't doubling up as a dob is much easier to do visual with.

Alex.
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