Do u think this is a good Telescope for my purpose?

Question

I would like to buy this telescope, can some one with good astronomical background give me some comments on this telescope?

I would like to see Planets, Stars, Galaxies, Nebulae and etc.

The Telescope I want to buy is "SkyWatcher Dobsonian - SW680 " The website is as bellow.

(http://www.telescope.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=536&ProductID=2047&cid=2691)

Please provide with some comments on this telescope and the advantage and disadvantages of this telescope,

How can this telescope be mount onto a equatorial tripod?

Will this Telescope provide clear image of Galaxies, Nebula and Planets?

Thank You for your Reply.

Answer 1

Yes, this telescope will be an excellent choice for what you want to observe. I've tested an earlier version of this scope personally, and have many friends who own them. Its optics are very good and its mount solid and easy to use. The adjustable altitude tension is very handy. It will show a wealth of detail on the Moon and planets, and will show you hundreds of deep sky objects. This is precisely the scope which I generally recommend to beginners.

You can easily move the optical tube to an equatorial mount with the addition of a pair of mounting rings, but I would not recommend doing so, as the Dob mount is far easier to use and much lighter in weight to transport. To get the most out of this (or any) telescope you should use it under dark skies, which for most of us means transporting it to a dark sky site. Be sure the tube will fit in your vehicle.

Answer 2

I think that is a good first telescope.

Any telescope tube can be removed from the mount it came with and put on another mount. Be aware though that an equatorial mount big enough to hold that telescope will cost more than you paid for the telescope.

If you have never seen a galaxy or nebula in a telescope, you should be aware that no telescope can show them like the pictures you see all the time. Those pictures are the result of long exposure photography that makes them look FAR brighter than they really are. Most beginners are extremely disappointed how galaxies look in a telescope. They are dim, colorless, and almost featureless blobs. Some nebulae are less disappointing, and many star clusters can look almost like the photographs. But you will be impressed with the Moon and Saturn. Everybody is. Jupiter is good too. Most people are disappointed in Mars. It is small and pale but very bright; kind of washed out looking.

Answer 3

Let's try to address these one by one...

An 8" is a perfect choice for a first telescope. It's capable of seeing everything you want, does a great job with planets and also has the aperature necessary for most of the Messier Objects.

Orion is a great manufacturer (I have an Orion 10" Dob myself).

You seem to have realized one of the limitations and that is the Alt Azimuth mount. Deep sky photography is not possible without sophisticated CCD imaging equipment. There are a couple of places that sell equatorial adapter kits for Dob mounts, but I don't have any experience with them.

As far as mounting this scope on another mount, the tube assembly is designed to be used with the base that comes with the scope. You might have to do some significant surgery to mount it on another mount. You'll also have to worry about weight, stability, etc.

Final comment - If you are going to look at "galaxies", make sure that you get at least one very large field of view lense. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is fairly impressive on a clear night away from city lights in an 8" reflector.

Good luck and I hope this feedback helps.

Answer 4

A 'Dob' is a good choice for a beginner as most of the cost goes into the optics.
As has been mentioned Nebulae don't show colours to the eye. The vivid colours are very, very faint and the only way to see them is to take time exposures with a film camera. The CCDs that would allow that are very expensive.
The camera can be as old an cheap as you want because in astronomy you will probably only used the 'bulb' shutter setting.

Answer 5

I agree with the other posts saying you can put the scope on an equatorial mount. You don't have to go for a heavyweight such as a German eq though - a lot of people build equatorial platforms for their dobs. They don't usually track accurately enough for long exposure astrophotography, but they're great for visual observing or webcam work.

Answer 6

This scope is an excellent choice for general astronomical observation.
Only one caveat about this scope. If you are already interested in astrophotography, this scope would not be a good choice. If you become interested in astrophotography in the future, don't worry, this is a scope that would be relatively easy to sell and it would also still be a very useful scope as a second scope. Good luck.

Answer 7

I wouldn't get that one, no sir. It ain't even got an eye hole.