I was just wondering how many people here have scopes, what you use, what you want, and what you recommend. I use an 8" Orion Dobsonian. Mixed with 25mm, 12.3mm, 9.5mm eyepieces, and a 2x Barlow and a 3x Barlow. I have been observing seriously for about a year. Anybody else here from upstate NY? I just had some clear weather 2 nights ago and managed to bag some more Messier objects. M51 is a grand sight, though I wish I had caught it from a less light polluted site than my backyard. Interesting note too- I put both Barlows on with my 9.5mm ( way too much magnification for the theoretical limit on my scope ) and scoped out the moon. It worked! The image was lacking a little in contrast but holy cow did I get some magnification! It looked like I was orbiting right above the surface of the moon, and it was hauling a** across my view. Very cool though, I recommend it at least once. I am negotiating a price on a used Orion 120mm refractor with dual axis drives, but I am really itching to throw my money on a 10" Dob. I want to see some structure in the galaxies!
If you really want some advice, here it is.... I originally was going to but a 10" LXD55... however after reading reviews and coming to the conclusion that it is 1st year production, I scraped that idea. So I had $1200 to spend. I spent $575 on my scope and a 32mm generic ep. The rest I spent on EP's, and a laser collimator... and what did I get? A 13mm Nagler and a 20mm Nagler... Both incredibly awesome Eps... the 20mm was $320 used... the laser collimator I spent $100... its got grid projection...works perfectly The naglers, panoptics and radians (all televue) will burn a hole in your pocket, but just remember this, the eye pieces are half the optical element. You can have the greatest mirror in the world and shitty ep's and still get crappy images. My suggestion is to get some high quality EP's before you move onto a bigger scope.. Btw, I have a 10" dob. Dont buy anything new... go here AstroMart Everything you need is right there.... great people too. Have fun, Clear Skies, Tristan
Help regarding telescopes I am from India and would like to buy a telescope from Orion. The model is : SpaceProbe 130 EQ Reflector. The URL is as follows: http://www.telescope.com/shopping/p...emType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=SpaceProbe 130 EQ It would be really nice if anybody can comment on this model. I want to buy the laser collimator and electronic drive along with the scope. Is Barlow a must? Would you suggest buying additional eyepieces? They are providing 10mm and 25 mm with the set. Guide me if better scopes are available for a 250$ budget. I am just a beginner and would like to make sure I go for a good model to make my interest in stargazing grow. Thanx. Sutirtha
Nope thats a l33t scope there sutirtha, I don't think you will find anything better. Also don't worry about more eyepeices now you can always buy more later.
