[AndyTee (Andy)]

I am new hereabouts, though I have been lurking and reading furiously for a few days. I have pretty much zilch astronomical experience beyond a hazy ongoing fascination (I walk a couple of clicks every evening after dark). Anyway I have thought about 'maybe getting a telescope' for years and am about ready to take the plunge.

Reading the various 'beginner' posts has pretty much convinced me that a 6" Newtonian on a Dob mount is the way to go. I think a Saxon might be best - to my uneducated eye it seems to come with pretty good EPs etc included. I could spend the extra for an 8" but if I read the forum right I am likely to get clearer,sharper looking more often with the smaller scope. Is that right/wrong????

If I go the 6" route, what other stuff should I get on the first order to get off to a good start? The scope/supplier at the top of the list is http://www.ozscopes.com.au/dobsonian...xon-6inch.html

A bit more info about my 'normal' viewing site - back yard - might be helpful. I am cursed astronomically by having a back-yard jammed between a two-storey house to the south and a stand of VERY tall eucalypts in an arc from SE right around to directly west. We NEVER see the sun from autumn to late spring, it never gets over the trees, so neither will the planets. My interest therefore is going to be the moon and DSO pretty much straight up. Yes I know 'straight up' is a problem, but I have nothing below about 60 degrees except SW

Another 'local' issue is dampness. I am also cursed by a nearby river, winter evenings are damp. So damp that about an hour of use delaminated the edges of a plasticised-cardboardy sort of sky chart I bought. I know that dampness is going to make the 'seeing' worse, but how will the scope itself react to regular exposure to very high cold humidity? Would a sealed tube be better? I had almost talked myself into parting with $1k on http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron...telescope.html before I started reading this forum...

On the upside I have fairly easy access to what might be the world's best dark sky, tree-free hilltop (at a guess 270 degrees clear down to the horizon with only very slight rising ground to the North). Getting there though involves about 50k on dirt roads. How well does a telescope travel over fairly rattly corrugations punctuated by the occasional bone-jarring thud????

Sorry about the very long first post, I promise extreme brevity in the future...

Andy