8" Collapsible DOB good for galaxies, nebulae and stars?

[kaotic]

Hi there,

I am looking at buying my first telescope (dont know much at all about telescopes at the moment) and I was just wondering is an 8" Collapsible DOB good for galaxies, nebulae and stars?

I am wanting to view more deep space objects rather than planets and moon.

Thanks in advance!

[FlashDrive (Poppy)]

8'' Scope is a good starting point.

You will see plenty with that size

Make sure you have some " decent quality " eyepieces though.

Good Scope + poor eyepieces = DISAPPOINTMENT.

Flash

[kaotic]

Whats the eyepieces like on the Skywatcher 8" Collapsible? Could you recommend some good eyepieces?

Also how hard is it to locate and find objects in the sky?

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Kaotic,

Welcome to IIS,

Check out my post, recommending a beginner's package with all you need to get started (except some quality eyepieces, which you can check out some of Suzy's posts for some great choices, or even ask her, she has done a lot of homework on these).

Here is the post I mean.

Cheers

Chris

[Robh (Rob)]

Originally Posted by kaotic

Also how hard is it to locate and find objects in the sky?

Depends.
How bright is your skyglow? If you are in the middle of a city, DSOs are going to be a lot harder to find and see for that matter.
Brighter objects are easier to find, especially if they are visible in an 8x50 finderscope.
Fainter objects are easier to find if they are near bright stars. A red dot finder or a Telrad can put you in the general location.
Objects are easier to find if you are familiar with the constellations and can then use a map to star hop to its position.

If you are unfamiliar with the constellations at night, you will need a planisphere to locate them. You could also download Stellarium for free if you have a laptop to use outside. Watch out for dew though. Concentrate on locating the brighter stars in a constellation. Use more obvious constellations like Scorpius to locate less obvious ones nearby e.g. Libra. You can use a detailed set of maps like Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas to star hop to an object.

Start off with brighter DSOs like omega Centauri, Jewel Box, Orion Nebula and eta Carinae nebula just to get the ball rolling. Check the visual magnitude of the object. Normally, DSOs with visual magnitudes brighter than 9 should be reasonably easy to track down and there are plenty of these. For a galaxy, you could try Centaurus A.

Regards, Rob

[Brian W (Brian)]

Pretty much what everybody else has said but to emphasize one or two points.

(1) dark skies make all the difference
(2) Stellarium is excellent
(3) this hobby / passion has a serious learning curve which means it will take you a while to know how to use and maintain your equipment and how to -see- what you are looking at.

Take your time and enjoy the wonder.
Brian

[ZeroID (Brent)]

An 8" or a 10" Dob is an excellent start point for any newbie to this amazing hobby/obsession. Even if it isn't what you finally prefer, if you buy second hand ( check the for sale stuff on here ) it is easily sold on as you climb the inevitable upgrade path we all aspire to.

Good advice from previous posters, check the thread as suggested above and get Stellarium, it's invaluable and free !!

OH ! and hey !! ... Good to have you. Ask anything and expect everything.

[overlord (Charles)]

Originally Posted by kaotic

Hi there,

I am looking at buying my first telescope (dont know much at all about telescopes at the moment) and I was just wondering is an 8" Collapsible DOB good for galaxies, nebulae and stars?

I am wanting to view more deep space objects rather than planets and moon.

Thanks in advance!

That's what I thought when I got my DOB. Then I actually went looking for deep space objects from the driveway and Magnitude 5-6 is almost invisible even with the scope!

It took me a while to Find 47-Tucana the other night and when I did it was quite faint most unspectacular with the 8"

Thus I became a planetary observer and obsessed with drawing them!

IF you're in the country you can become a comet hunter or scan all the galaxies every night looking for a bright spot and find a supernova!

[asimov (John)]

If I knew you were going to stick with the hobby until at least the year 2020 I'd say just save your cash & pull the trigger on a 16"

However.....The 8" would be a start I guess. My first 8" experience went thus: First night out I said "is that it? Ok well, I'll be building a bigger one!" Which I did...A 12.5".

Aperture fever is nasty

[overlord (Charles)]

Originally Posted by asimov

If I knew you were going to stick with the hobby until at least the year 2020 I'd say just save your cash & pull the trigger on a 16"

However.....The 8" would be a start I guess. My first 8" experience went thus: First night out I said "is that it? Ok well, I'll be building a bigger one!" Which I did...A 12.5".

Aperture fever is nasty

Yeah hehehehe.

But ti's not how big your tool is. It's what you do with it. You have to work with what nature provided. I have learned to do this. At the end of the day the size of the scope is irrelevant. It's what's in the heart that counts.

8" Is enough for me Good beginner size.

[asimov (John)]

Then by all means, you stick to your 8" & I'll stick with the 14" I have now...Yep, I got the fever again after building that 12.5"