GSO Dobsonian 6 inch

[tamhaneaniket (Aniket)]

Hi,

I am looking to buy the GSO Dobsonian 6 inch telescope. My purpose is casual viewing. Can anybody help me in deciding if this ismthe right choise or not.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Aniket
Welcome to IIS

The small GSO scopes represent excellent value. Having said that, I personally would urge the 8" over the 6" in most cases, not that much more money but a lot more light gathering!!

Remember these are visual only scopes, not designed for imaging. They are easy to setup and easy to use so for casual use, they are the way to go.

Malcolm

[tamhaneaniket (Aniket)]

Malcolm

Thanks for the quick response. I have seen that the 8 inch come with a cooling fan. Can that be a problem, like running out of batteries quickly??

Does the fan need to be running always?

Also between the GSO and Orion telescopes, which ones are better?

Aniket

[doug mc]

I second the eight inch. Not much more in weight, just as easy to transport. The scope cools quickly, so fans should not be that nessisary. Just leave it outside somewhere to cool for half an hour before using.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Yes, the fan is not a big issue. If it has been in a warm house and you take it outside at night it will help cool the mirror down a little quicker. It is not needed when observing, it's only purpose is to assist cooling the mirror. A cool mirror reduce tube currents that can disrupt the view a bit.

The Orion dobs are rebadged Synta ones, so would be comparable to the Skywatchers as far as optics are concerned.

Malcolm

[tamhaneaniket (Aniket)]

Thanks for the help!!!

Right now i own a 70 mm refractor. Is the upgrade to a 6 or 8 inch dobsonian a good one?

Aniket

[raymo]

Absolutely.
raymo

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Yes!!
No issue with it being the way to go. Where abouts are you?

Malcolm

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by tamhaneaniket

Hi,

I am looking to buy the GSO Dobsonian 6 inch telescope. My purpose is casual viewing. Can anybody help me in deciding if this ismthe right choise or not.

Hi Aniket, where are you from?

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

The 6" is fine for casual viewing. At one stage, I owned both, but normally used the 6". From an urban location, I found that there were few objects that looked appreciably better with the 8". The F8 focal ratio is more forgiving and has less of the optical problem called coma. It gives a better and a wider, undistorted field than the 8"s F6. Thus IMHO the 6" provided cleaner views of extended objects like open star clusters and even the Moon. Nevertheless, both telescopes are excellent for the casual observer and are really great value for money.