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Hi Phoenix 21, As Rod771 said ,both would be a great entry into astronomy; indeed the huge majority of people only a few years
ago could only have dreamt of ever owning such a scope. Having
said that, let's have a look at them.
They are very different scopes; each has pros and cons.
The Celestron is a great all round scope, is reasonably portable,
is very good, but not superb, for astro imaging; has enough aperture
to satisfy you as you learn about astronomy in general, and scopes
in particular. Against it is definitely the price; much dearer than the
10" Dob. Secondly, I have found the viewing experience through my
10" S.W. collapsible Dob to be a definite step up from my C-8 SCT,
and other 8" SCT's I have used.
The S.W. 10" collapsible GO TO is great value for money.
It is portable for most people, the tube being around 14kg.
It is easy to set up and use. Great viewing experience,especially
if you step up to a couple of 2" eyepieces.
It has limited astro imaging capability, due to the altazimuth
mounting. In the final analysis it depends on your priorities.
If you are mainly interested in deep sky observing[galaxies, nebulae
etc:] then no contest, go for the 10" Dob. If you think that you might
want to do some astrophotography, then maybe the Celestron might be the way to go. A final word about maintenance. The Celestron will
need less attention. The primary mirror will stay pristine for many
years, being enclosed, and if the tube is handled carefully, the
mirror collimation need only be checked occassionally.
The mirror in the 10" Dob will very slowly deteriorate, being open to the elements, but you might not own it long enough for that to worry
you. You will need to check, and probably adjust, the collimation
more frequently. Collimation is treated as some mystical science
by many newbies, but it is not difficult. Whatever you decide you'll
end up with a great scope, so go for it.
raymo
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