[209herschel (Herschel)]

Hi everyone,

I've read quite a few posts on people's advice on buying an 8" or 10" dob. I'm in the same boat. I just had a few questions I haven't been able to answer. Thanks in advance for your time.

1. I can't afford great eyepieces. So I'll be relying on the GSO 30mm super for quite a while and the standard plossls that come with the GSO dobs from Andrews. Will the 8" be far more forgiving than the 10" with these eyepieces? And is this the case with eyepieces generally? I'm also looking to buy a Baader hyperion 5mm because I'm keen to get great views of the moon and planets (will hopefully dazzle my son!). But I'm reading that it will again be better on the 8" than 10". Is aberration significantly different on the f5 10" versus the f6 8"?

2. Is the extra aperture so significant that I'd take on board the more sensitive collimation requirements and the more sensitive aberrations in eyepieces in the 10"? Sorry if I'm getting some of the terms wrong - quite new to this.

3. I'm aiming to make it out to dark sites occasionally but most of my viewing will be in my backyard, inner west suburb of Sydney. I can see the little star in the southern cross pretty easily without any adjustment time for my eyes so I'm hoping light pollution isn't too bad. Any advice on whether you'd go for the 10" over the 8" given these concerns would be greatly appreciated. The 8" from Andrews is $449 (seems an amazing deal) and the 10" is $649. I wish is was $600! Both come with the 30mm super, 9mm, 15mm and 24mm plossls.

Thanks again.