Which Orion Telescope?
March 9th, 2010 | 
Author: Ok So my husband has dropped the hint for a long time that he wants a big Dobsonian Orion scope. So i finally decide to get him one for Christmas.
Quick question, regarding which one, and one for my own curiosity
Should i get the
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=goto_computerized/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=24757
Or
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=goto_computerized/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09791
Now the second one will be late for Christmas but it is 2 in bigger i think. Is this extra 2 in worth it? will he notice much of a difference at all???? Or is the first on although smaller perfectly fine.
Now for my own curiosity…How much/well will he see with it? How clear will things be? and in how much detail? any links to photographs displaying the kinda of clarity he would be able to see with either of these would be great.
Obviously i don’t want to ask him this as it is somewhat of a surprise.
Thanks in advance.
Ti
Also, the computer thing it comes with – Am i right in saying it will move the scope/base electronically to the correct position?
Thank you all so much for your answers!
But quick question to B (#5) You half sold me on the Orion SkyView Pro EoN80ED GoTo Apochromatic Refractor – BUT wouldn’t spending the money on a scope with such a dramatically smaller mirror really really down grade how much you are able to actually see?
B. Thank you so much for your time helping me out on this, and I am actually in the process of signing him up for the local astro club. We are actually located in Edmonton Canada.
If this helps you out at all, We are both in our mid 20′s and he is not hulk hogan, but he is perfectly and physically able to carry either of those big scopes about.
Now as for what we wanted to use them for, him primarily, Is I KNOW he has a fascination with saturn, and…Although you may find this hard to believe he has this odd obsession with pluto – Yes the little planet that cant be seen.
Apart from these planets i know he mainly wants to observe galaxies, nebulae etc as, he is more into deep space observation that plants sorry i don’t know the tech term
I also found this scope – It seems exactly the same as the one i showed you with "Bars" everywhere but it is in a whole tube instead! And it is half the price, which i dont understand – To me it seems you are paying so much money just to bars
"money just for truss bars" Why woudl that be? Is it simple a "Fashion" thing? How does a 12inch truss scope differ from a 12 full tube?
The scope i found which i made mention to is here. I am SURE you will know it already!
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=intelliscopedobs/~pcategory=dobsonians/~product_id=27189
I would like to thank you very much for your time helping me on this! if you wish you can email me, as i have that option!
Thanks again B – you are terrific!
Orion dobs are a good choice for first time telescopes. I don’t even need to look at your links, but I did, and I too also looked at these very closely in the new catalog that I just received in the mail. You don’t go into you and your use of the scopes, your ages, your physical limitations, your car or anything like that so I can only tell you about my personal experience and what I would do.
The computerized object locator will help you find the object you need, but no, it will not move the telescope for you. You move it using the instructions from the object locator. It does not have a tracking motor either, meaning that it will not keep the telescope on the target for you automatically as the earth rotates. That being said, it still can be helpful once you learn how to use it. Thankfully, Orion does have well written manuals and a great customer service reputation after the sale.
Things to consider are the size of the telescope. Can the user easily lift and transport the telescope to the dark sky viewing site. Does it easily fit in the vehicle that you use? You do not mention your age but if you are getting on in years, things like weight and portability are even more important now and in your future.
Yes, there is a big difference with the added 2 inches and your views, but if you can not EASILY transport the scope to your favorite viewing site, then you won’t use it as often. As a beginner, however, your untrained eyes will not notice a big difference in the views between these two scopes.
MY personal preference, if I was forced to choose between only these two scopes, I would choose the 12 over the 14 because I am getting old and I fear that I will not be able to lift the 14 for very long without hurting myself. But if it were ME and I had this money to spend, I would go with another scope completely. Turn the catalog two more pages. I would choose (First choice) the Orion Sirius EQN 120ED-G GoTo Refractor or (second choice) the Orion SkyView Pro EQN 80ED GoTo Apochromatic Refractor. Both of these have easy to use GoTo technology plus they will also follow the rotation of the Earth keeping your target in the field of view of your telescope for very long periods of time. ME, I personally prefer the extra sharp and crisp views from a nice refractor over the extra light gathering views of a reflector, but that is my choice with my eyeballs.
The very best advice that I can give to you, or anyone else, is that you should join a local Astronomical Society or astronomy club in your area. As members, you can attend their meetings and star parties and actually try out a wide variety of scopes to determine what is the very best scope for you before you invest your good money in one. The club members will also help you to get the very most out of your scope purchase once you make your decision. Most clubs have nice loaner scopes that you can borrow and use on your own until you make your purchase. The will also have nice presentations at their meetings and when you go to star parties with them, they can help to teach you where some of the best objects in the sky are located. A membership in one of these clubs is worth a thousand telescopes without the benefit of help from a club.
I wish you the very best. I will check back to see if you have any other additions to your question.
Go to this site to find a club in your area. http://www.astroleague.org/societies/list
This only has clubs that belong to the National Astronomy League, so there are many more which do not appear on this list. Continue searching google if you don’t see one in your area here.
EDIT: Additional Question Answer: Reflectors have mirrors. Refractors have lenses, not mirrors. They are different types of telescopes. My preference is refractors because they give sharp, clean, clear images. Large reflectors do have some good points and their large light gathering ability is good for very faint, far away, deep space fuzzies in the sky. It depends on what you and your husband want to use the scope for. That is part of the reason why I think you should join a good club first. Find out what you like to look at, what equipment you are willing to pack around with you, and what your own two eyeballs like to use to see the pretties in the sky. Heck, you might find out that you don’t like either of these and go for a nice Mac-Cassegrain. I have one of those too and it is nice, with clear crisp views, but it tends to not give as wide field views as what I prefer. My favorite if all the scopes that I have owned is still my big Refractor. It is completely manual and I do wish sometime that it had a tracking motor on it—especially when I am at public star party and I share my scope with a few hundred people. I learned on a manual operating scope and that forced me to learn where things are in the sky. My next scope will be that nice 120 (my first choice above) and I am not going to settle for less again. I just can’t afford it right now.
Seriously, give him a club membership first and take the time to look through a lot of different scopes first. Take your time, ask questions from each owner—main question should be what DON"T you like about this scope. No scope is completely perfect for everyone. You will be the most happy with a well informed decision.
If you can’t stand it and you just must buy a scope, all 4 that we have talked about here today are good. In fact Orion is one of the best companies out there and they stand behind their products. They will not ignore you after your purchase. Stick with Orion.
P.S. Download this free program.
http://www.stellarium.org/
This is a great freeware star chart. Tell it where you are and it will tell you what you see. Ask it where something is and it will show you. This is a very easy to use star chart and I thik you will really like it a lot.
I will keep on watching in case you have more questions…
This is a newsletter from one our neighboring clubs. This is a good example of the things that a good club will give to you each and every month. I think you will like this too.
http://www.mvastro.org/members/newsletter.php?file=200911.pdf
I would give you ours but we don’t have it available to anyone on a web page. Ours is reserved for members only.
Edit:Edit: The open tube Truss design is better because you can get the bigger scope and still lift it plus fit it in a vehicle. The large reflectors with whole enclosed tubes do not fit in a lot of vehicles. Being able to take it apart to shorten the tube like the open truss, allows it to fit in the back seat of many cars. Basically all the optics are the same—it is the weight and size that become the deciding factor. These large reflector scopes can get very heavy to move around. Also if you are on dirt or soft surface like a nice grassy open field, the heavy scopes can sink in the dirt and don’t stay level which can make it hard to find targets or to keep it on your targets. It is not just the scope either. If the scope is bigger, then the dobsonian mount needs to be bigger to accomodate it. These mounts were designed by a man named John Dobson, and with them he was able to put larger reflectors in the hands of more amateurs. Easy set up and easy to use. My husband and I are both 50 so weight is becoming more and more a factor for us every day. If you are much younger and healthy, with a large truck, then weight and size might not be so important yet, at this point in your lives. A lot of people don’t think about those things. We are in the Rocky mountains and one good place we like to go in the summer is a parking lot that is used by snowmobilers in the winter. Basically black top out in the middle of no where. Nice and level hard surface is perfect for telescopes. That site has too much snow and too many people in the winter.
Remember the best scope for you, or anyone, is the scope that gets used. You can spend 20 grand on a super nice set up, but if it is a pain in the backside to take it out, chances are it will sit in storage. You can spend a couple hundred on a nice kids scope that is easy to grab and go to take out. If you take the cheap one only because it is easier and, if the nice one sits in storage or in a closet then the 20 grand scope becomes a bad choice for you.
I still think that your present should be a membership in a club so you both can try out all the different scopes out there and together you can make your decision on what to get. Your own two eyes, and backs, should be your deciding factors.
Edit:Edit;Edit: Edmondton Canada is a great location and they have a well known, excellent club. You will never regret the decision to join their club. If you are still in your twenties, then go for the 14 truss. It will still fit in most vehicles and he should be able to lift it for a long time.
Posted in orion telescope
With telescopes, especially "light buckets" as Dobsonian are sometimes called, bigger is ALWAYS better
References :
They’re both impressive scopes. The 14" has better light grab, allowing you to see fainter objects, but of course it is more money. The 12" comes with a few accessories – the light shroud and the bags – but I would not pay too much attention to those. The light shroud is useful (it enhances contrast) but you can make one easily enough for $10-20 with a suitable piece of fabric, some velcro and/or elastic and perhaps an hour on a sewing machine – it is within even _my_ sewing skills. As for the bags – I’m sure you can come up with your own storage solution.
Which to go for is ultimately your call. You can see more with the 14" but only you can judge whether it is worth the extra money. You can see a lot with 12" and there is not _that_ much more you can see with 14", nor will the image be that much brighter. The extra two inches here are less important than they would be if we were considering 6" vs 8" since the ratio between the sizes (or more exactly, the square of the sizes) is less. However, the extra $240 seems a small premium to me for the larger mirror at this kind of size, assuming we ignore the value of the accessories with the 12". The difference between the two only really applies if you have a dark sky though – if there is any noticeable light pollution that will limit what you can see to well under what either scope is capable of.
To answer your follow up question now, no it will not move the scope to the object you want to find. It has what is called an object locator, otherwise known as a push-to scope. The scope will tell you in what direction to move it and when it is pointing in the right direction. It just lacks motors to move it to the right position itself. It still makes it a lot easier to find objects.
As for what to see with this scope, it will excel at deep space objects (DSOs) – galaxies and nebulae. These need a lot of light grab (physical size) to pick them out since they are often very faint. It isn’t really a scope ideally suited to viewing the planets – that lack of motors also means that it is unable to automatically track the sky as it moves. This becomes a lot more significant at higher magnification (which is what you use for the planets) meaning the scope will need manually repositioning perhaps every 30 seconds to keep the object in view.
References :
To answer your additional details, no, this will not slew the scope for you. It will help you to locate an object by telling you the coordinates of the object you want to find. Then it’s up to you to move the scope to those coordinates. It will tell you which way you need to move the scope. But it’s not a "go-to" scope that will find targets for you.
References :
I would ask and say (surprise)- You should not choose a telescope for a Friend.Only thy will know whats best for them.
Wally
References :
Orion dobs are a good choice for first time telescopes. I don’t even need to look at your links, but I did, and I too also looked at these very closely in the new catalog that I just received in the mail. You don’t go into you and your use of the scopes, your ages, your physical limitations, your car or anything like that so I can only tell you about my personal experience and what I would do.
The computerized object locator will help you find the object you need, but no, it will not move the telescope for you. You move it using the instructions from the object locator. It does not have a tracking motor either, meaning that it will not keep the telescope on the target for you automatically as the earth rotates. That being said, it still can be helpful once you learn how to use it. Thankfully, Orion does have well written manuals and a great customer service reputation after the sale.
Things to consider are the size of the telescope. Can the user easily lift and transport the telescope to the dark sky viewing site. Does it easily fit in the vehicle that you use? You do not mention your age but if you are getting on in years, things like weight and portability are even more important now and in your future.
Yes, there is a big difference with the added 2 inches and your views, but if you can not EASILY transport the scope to your favorite viewing site, then you won’t use it as often. As a beginner, however, your untrained eyes will not notice a big difference in the views between these two scopes.
MY personal preference, if I was forced to choose between only these two scopes, I would choose the 12 over the 14 because I am getting old and I fear that I will not be able to lift the 14 for very long without hurting myself. But if it were ME and I had this money to spend, I would go with another scope completely. Turn the catalog two more pages. I would choose (First choice) the Orion Sirius EQN 120ED-G GoTo Refractor or (second choice) the Orion SkyView Pro EQN 80ED GoTo Apochromatic Refractor. Both of these have easy to use GoTo technology plus they will also follow the rotation of the Earth keeping your target in the field of view of your telescope for very long periods of time. ME, I personally prefer the extra sharp and crisp views from a nice refractor over the extra light gathering views of a reflector, but that is my choice with my eyeballs.
The very best advice that I can give to you, or anyone else, is that you should join a local Astronomical Society or astronomy club in your area. As members, you can attend their meetings and star parties and actually try out a wide variety of scopes to determine what is the very best scope for you before you invest your good money in one. The club members will also help you to get the very most out of your scope purchase once you make your decision. Most clubs have nice loaner scopes that you can borrow and use on your own until you make your purchase. The will also have nice presentations at their meetings and when you go to star parties with them, they can help to teach you where some of the best objects in the sky are located. A membership in one of these clubs is worth a thousand telescopes without the benefit of help from a club.
I wish you the very best. I will check back to see if you have any other additions to your question.
Go to this site to find a club in your area. http://www.astroleague.org/societies/list
This only has clubs that belong to the National Astronomy League, so there are many more which do not appear on this list. Continue searching google if you don’t see one in your area here.
EDIT: Additional Question Answer: Reflectors have mirrors. Refractors have lenses, not mirrors. They are different types of telescopes. My preference is refractors because they give sharp, clean, clear images. Large reflectors do have some good points and their large light gathering ability is good for very faint, far away, deep space fuzzies in the sky. It depends on what you and your husband want to use the scope for. That is part of the reason why I think you should join a good club first. Find out what you like to look at, what equipment you are willing to pack around with you, and what your own two eyeballs like to use to see the pretties in the sky. Heck, you might find out that you don’t like either of these and go for a nice Mac-Cassegrain. I have one of those too and it is nice, with clear crisp views, but it tends to not give as wide field views as what I prefer. My favorite if all the scopes that I have owned is still my big Refractor. It is completely manual and I do wish sometime that it had a tracking motor on it—especially when I am at public star party and I share my scope with a few hundred people. I learned on a manual operating scope and that forced me to learn where things are in the sky. My next scope will be that nice 120 (my first choice above) and I am not going to settle for less again. I just can’t afford it right now.
Seriously, give him a club membership first and take the time to look through a lot of different scopes first. Take your time, ask questions from each owner—main question should be what DON"T you like about this scope. No scope is completely perfect for everyone. You will be the most happy with a well informed decision.
If you can’t stand it and you just must buy a scope, all 4 that we have talked about here today are good. In fact Orion is one of the best companies out there and they stand behind their products. They will not ignore you after your purchase. Stick with Orion.
P.S. Download this free program.
http://www.stellarium.org/
This is a great freeware star chart. Tell it where you are and it will tell you what you see. Ask it where something is and it will show you. This is a very easy to use star chart and I thik you will really like it a lot.
I will keep on watching in case you have more questions…
This is a newsletter from one our neighboring clubs. This is a good example of the things that a good club will give to you each and every month. I think you will like this too.
http://www.mvastro.org/members/newsletter.php?file=200911.pdf
I would give you ours but we don’t have it available to anyone on a web page. Ours is reserved for members only.
Edit:Edit: The open tube Truss design is better because you can get the bigger scope and still lift it plus fit it in a vehicle. The large reflectors with whole enclosed tubes do not fit in a lot of vehicles. Being able to take it apart to shorten the tube like the open truss, allows it to fit in the back seat of many cars. Basically all the optics are the same—it is the weight and size that become the deciding factor. These large reflector scopes can get very heavy to move around. Also if you are on dirt or soft surface like a nice grassy open field, the heavy scopes can sink in the dirt and don’t stay level which can make it hard to find targets or to keep it on your targets. It is not just the scope either. If the scope is bigger, then the dobsonian mount needs to be bigger to accomodate it. These mounts were designed by a man named John Dobson, and with them he was able to put larger reflectors in the hands of more amateurs. Easy set up and easy to use. My husband and I are both 50 so weight is becoming more and more a factor for us every day. If you are much younger and healthy, with a large truck, then weight and size might not be so important yet, at this point in your lives. A lot of people don’t think about those things. We are in the Rocky mountains and one good place we like to go in the summer is a parking lot that is used by snowmobilers in the winter. Basically black top out in the middle of no where. Nice and level hard surface is perfect for telescopes. That site has too much snow and too many people in the winter.
Remember the best scope for you, or anyone, is the scope that gets used. You can spend 20 grand on a super nice set up, but if it is a pain in the backside to take it out, chances are it will sit in storage. You can spend a couple hundred on a nice kids scope that is easy to grab and go to take out. If you take the cheap one only because it is easier and, if the nice one sits in storage or in a closet then the 20 grand scope becomes a bad choice for you.
I still think that your present should be a membership in a club so you both can try out all the different scopes out there and together you can make your decision on what to get. Your own two eyes, and backs, should be your deciding factors.
Edit:Edit;Edit: Edmondton Canada is a great location and they have a well known, excellent club. You will never regret the decision to join their club. If you are still in your twenties, then go for the 14 truss. It will still fit in most vehicles and he should be able to lift it for a long time.
References :
In general, it’s not a good idea to buy a telescope for someone else, but in this case your husband seems to have given you a clear hint. Either telescope will be excellent, though the 14-inch is very large and heavy. No, the IntelliScope locator will direct you where to find the object, but lacks motors to move it there. This is actually a good thing because it draws very little battery power, and is completely silent in operation. It actually is faster than motorized scopes. I have the 6-inch IntelliScope Dob, and it works very well.
References :
Both are good choices. Truss dobs can be fiddly, but once you figure out how to put them together, they work fine. The view through either will keep a backyard astronomer busy for a lifetime. I’ve used solid tube 12" dobs, and they are about the limit – any bigger pretty well has to be a truss.
Digital setting circles are the best thing to come along in a long time. You move the scope. They guide you where to move it, like having your own personal tour guide. They’re great!
Is he going to need star charts? I like Pocket Sky Atlas for most observing.
References :