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G'day Patrick,
Getting an 8"er, way to go dude!!
That is a magnificent instrument!
Will it let you see the planets? Put it this way, you can see all the planets, except for Pluto (now, now!) with just using a pair of 50mm binoculars. Only as pin points in the binos, so imagine the 8"!
You will see transits of the shadows of Jupiters moons across its disc- no worries. The great red spot plus a miriade of other cloud formations. Jupiter is the brightest 'star' in the evening sky right now- easy pickings for the new 8".
Saturn- Cassini division in the rings, no problem either.
Polar caps on Mars.
An emrald green Uranus & a saphire blue Neptune, both near to Jupiter right know, though you will need a map to track them down- PM me if you need a hand.
Oh, and don't forget the Moon! Just don't look at it during full moon- way too bright and no shadows to see the details.
Stars, where do we begin? Galaxies, nebulae, cluster open & globular to boot!
This time of the year presents some of the best Southern skies deep sky objects.
Even in a light polluted city there are treasures to keep you busy for years.
Only thing to get right from the start is a good alignment of the finder scope, easy to do, and a little getting used to the movement of the scope, and you will never look back.
All the best, mate. Enjoy your new purchase.
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