wanted 8", got 10" ...

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

hi everyone,
well my story starts when 8" GSOs were cheap ($350) a few months ago. at that time, I couldn't afford it (yeah I know its cheap as chips, I'm spewing I couldn't buy one then). so checking Andrews daily, I notice the price going up in the last month, so the 8" became $499 ... and I look at the price of the 10", and it is $549.

seemed strange, so I email to confirm the price, it was legit, so I forked out the extra 50 bucks (who wouldn't) for 2 inches more. I'm glad I did.
I checked the website today and now the 10" is pushing the $649 barrier.

A week later it arrived (yesterday) and so far I am very happy with my purchase. I finally saw Centaurus A, which had eluded me and my 4.5" reflector recently, but more astonishing was the resolution in Omega Centauri. I knew that would happen, but wow! even my nephews/nieces were blown away at that big ball of stars, and they usually pester me to look at Saturn or the moon.

all I can say I'm happy and I hope the optics aren't out too much ... which I have posted in another thread ..

thanks for reading. and for us SE Qlders, I've brought good weather! *touch wood*

matt

[shenanigans000 (Greg)]

Great stuff Matt. I too was amazed by my first proper view of Omega Centauri. No longer a faint unresolved fuzzy blob but a fully resolved ball of stars! It must be one of loveliest objects up there.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Great story Matt , yea the exchange rate really hurts at the moment .
Ain't Omega Centarui awesome in 10 inches ? and Centarui A the hamburger galaxy a sight ? to remember at , 20 odd million light years away ,,, whew .
But on that I can see it as a smudge in my 8x56 Bino's from the yellow zone , just out of town here if I look carefully so your old 114mm should have shown it Ok .

Enjoy your new scope , its the old saying here ,, 'You snooze , you lose '
Enjoy the views mate.
Brian.

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

Thanks Greg and Brian!

Omega Centauri certainly looks a thousand times better then the smudge it was in the 4.5.

On the note of Centaurus A, I think I struggled with the poor eq1 mount and the slipping when I locked it into position. I queried in another thread about it and mental4astro gave me some tips, but since then the weather was a bit off and was just going to wait till I got the dob.

Navigating the sky seems so much easier with the dob, and I'm sure I will experience a lot of sleepless nights exploring and hunting down things I couldn't find previously. I still like the 4.5, it was a good scope but the mount is something to be desired. Its kinda like chalk and cheese now.

I still plan on purchasing another mounted reflector, maybe a black diamond 130/900 but spending a little bit more for a decent mount.

happy days can't wait for the weekend and to get some more time behind the lens.

thanks again guys
matt

[Draco (Draco)]

woohoo excited for you. I also have a 4.5 inch and cant wait when I upgrade to at least an 8"

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

Originally Posted by Draco

woohoo excited for you. I also have a 4.5 inch and cant wait when I upgrade to at least an 8"

you defiently won't regret it Niv, and thanks man!

[omegacrux (David)]

You must chuffed
Great scopes , wait till Orion comes round impressive in a big Dob
They are such good value can't go wrong
You can now see why everyone advises newbies to get a Dob !

Enjoy

David

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

I agree Brian, if I had the chance to do it all over again a dob wouldve been my first choice, even a little tabletop 6incher or something.
Theyre just so easy to use (specially my eq1 mount was such a pain!) I could find things but lose them entirely while tightening the locking nuts.

I think dobs would encourage alot more people into looking up (more often).

matt

[Jon (Jonathan)]

Nice, Matt. I'll never forget my first look at Centaurus A through 10". Magnificent.