Is this telescope (dobsonian) good?

Question

I am going to buy a telscope. My purpose is to just watch stars, not to take a picture or anything. I'd like to see nebula, galaxy more than planets(Mars, Jupiter, etc). I prefer 8" aperture. Here's what I like best. --> http://telescopes.com/products/celestron-starhopper-8-inch-dobsonian-25831.html#

I love that telescope. I reli wanna buy it. However, I'd like to know what eyepiece will be good for my purpose of watching? Again, I am gonna watch mainly nebula, galaxy, etc.

Answer 1

I think an 8" dob is an excellent choice. I haven't seen this particular model, but from what I've heard I think it's a good one. Orion Telescope and Binoculars (www.telescope.com) is another good source for this type of scope. The Yahoo telescopes group, and the Cloudy Nights forums are a couple of good places to go for more information and opinions.

I think these scopes usually come with a 25mm eyepiece. A 10 or 12mm eyepiece would be a good next eyepiece. Or buy a 2x Barlow lens; that will double the power of any eyepiece. Eventually, you might also want to get a wide-angle eyepiece around 30mm in 2" size. These are great for panoramic views of the Milky way, and also handy for finding things.

Here's wishing you clear skies!

Answer 2

Short answer: It's not bad but you might be able to find something better!

Long Answer:

If you bought a used dobsonian, for that price you may be able to get a larger size with a navigation system, or if you're really lucky, a goto system. Orion makes a wide variety of high quality semi-computerized dobsonians. If used telescopes sounds appealing to you then look on eBay or www.astromart.com or www.cloudynights.com

DON'T buy from a deparment store. Don't buy a Tasco, or Bushnell. They're cheap for a reason.

Meade, Celestron, and Orion all make high quality reasonably priced telescopes.

I bought a used 13.1" dobsonian for $250 but that was a rare find because there aren't many on the market. 8" is nice though.

I can't recommend specific eyepeices but most people think highly of plossl style ones. I'd recommend buying a barlow, which some telescopes actually require for optimum performance. A barlow will make any eyepeice higher powered which is useful because you can make your 25mm just about as powerful as your 9mm and maintain the wider field of view the 25mm has.

I also recommend filters, especially for nebula. Lumicon makes high quality ones.

Last, I highly recommend a binoviewer! They range in price from $200 to $1000, the $1000 one being made by TeleVue and I think Burgess makes the $200 one...or atleast they sell for that much used. Why use one eye when God gave you two?

Answer 3

I have two Celestron telescopes an 8 in and a 90 mm. My 8 in is a Smitt Cassagrain. The 8 in gives excellent images, but you absolutely need to be where there is a dark sky. You will find that you will use the 25mm eyepiece that is included the most. I use the higher power eyepieces very little. The higher the power of the eyepiece the less bright the image. They are good for resolving double stars. I also have a 40 mm eyepiece that is good because you get a wide field of view.

Answer 4

Yes, that looks like a good choice. The included 25mm eyepiece will be excellent for nebulae and Galaxies. For planets and some smaller deep sky objects, like globular clusters, you might want to get a second eyepiece with higher magnification, something in the 12mm range.

Answer 5

My opinion is no.
I have an 8" Dobsonian that I absolutely love. I use mine mostly for planet watching. Unfortunately, when I bought it 16 years ago, nothing was computer controlled. If you want to see nebulea (or is it nebulas?), you really need your eyes to adjust on a fixed point for quite a while. With the dobsonian you are looking at, you will be constantly having to bump/move the telescope in azimuth and elevation to keep focused on the object. A computer controlled (or computerized...no separate computer needed) telescope will track the object for you.

I hope this helped. Happy star gazing!

Answer 6

I have a 10" reflector. A wide angle eyepiece and a 25mm and 10mm is usually good for beginners.