8in dobsonian reflecting telescope manual#

The 6-inch gathers a fair amount of light, and so you’d benefit from getting a moon filter.Īlso, an extra eyepiece and a Barlow lens should cover you for all magnifications just make sure your magnifications work out to be within the maximum magnification limits of the telescope. Orion SkyQuest XT6 Classic Dobsonian Teles…Īre you looking for your first Dobsonian? The SkyQuest XT6 is a classic entry-level re…

8in dobsonian reflecting telescope manual#

This is because the alt-azimuth mount requires manual adjustment with the two axes requiring different rates of rotation. A big difference if you are into astrophotography is the mount on the Dob does not allow you to follow the celestial object in the sky as the Earth rotates. If you are into astrophotography, the Dobsonian mount is a disadvantage. It is a rocker box alt-azimuth style (left), which compares to the equatorial mount of Newtonians. The Dobsonian mount is very basic and generally made of wood.

Can be used for both deep-sky and planetary viewing, depending on the aperture size and accessoriesīoth of these are reflector telescopes.

Can be more complex to set up and use, but provides more precise viewing once properly aligned.

Generally more expensive than Dobsonian telescopes with similar apertures.

Often mounted on an equatorial mount, which allows for easier tracking of celestial objects.

A type of reflector telescope that uses a parabolic primary mirror and a flat secondary mirror.Check out our tips on using sky maps/star charts for beginners. But locating those not-so-obvious objects will require maps and some learning of the night sky. Finding the moon is not so much an issue, or the planets usually. You might take two trips from your vehicle to set it up in place and will need to consider where you intend to store it.īecause a typical Dobsonian is not computerized (a GoTo), you will need to figure out where to point it to see the object you’re interested in seeing in the sky. It may seem daunting, but once you get the hang of it, collimating your telescope is not that difficult.ĭobsonians aren’t lightweight (but are transportable). You can get collimating tools such as a laser collimator or a collimating eyepiece.

Dobsonian consįrom time to time, Dobsonians require collimation, which is the process of aligning the mirrors so that they work together to deliver well-focused light to your eyepiece. You can use it without concern of breaking cogs or other finer parts. Stable solid mount: The rocker style alt-az mount is a solid stable construction as well as a simple design. No polar alignment needed: There’s no messing around setting the latitude of the mount so the azimuth axis points to the celestial pole. Simple fabrication means it not only more affordable but is also quick to set up and use. This is what is meant by Dobsonians giving you “the best bang for the buck”. You can buy a good-sized aperture in a Dobsonian for less than you would any other telescope type. The bigger the aperture, the more it gathers light, right? The more light-gathering ability the more you will be able to observe the fainter details.

To further understand this…they use mirrors, which cost less than lenses, the optics used in refractors and Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, and so the Dobsonians can be made more cost-effectively than other types of telescopes. But don’t confuse this with cheap!ĭobsonians have a simple design of a tube, a set of optics, and a basic mount and it’s this design that makes them more economical than other types of telescopes offering the same aperture size and power. The big advantage and the main reason most beginners opt for a Dobsonian is the price.