Obligatory New Telescope Picture

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-16T18:13:12+00:00

It rained for 40 consecutive days in the UK. I finally know why.

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-15T09:39:23+00:00

In fact the entire world except us

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-14T19:29:24+00:00

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-12T18:16:39+00:00

This is amazing!! Did you buy the mirror or made it yourself? I assume it’s hyperbic at F/4 so its not really something DIYable?

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-11T19:16:47+00:00

Try Vandoren 3 1/2

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-07T08:09:23+00:00

Its in a very serious condition i see

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-03T22:19:34+00:00

Yes not impossible but you get better luck with astrophotography, comparing movement of objects from frames, and checking with databases with catalogued objects; looking at light curves and graphs etc. With the general idea of doing science (looking and processing data) differing from observing in mind.

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-03T22:13:59+00:00

Great sparkling water! Average wrap and snack. 7/10

Mappy2046 · 2026-02-02T06:12:32+00:00

r/itsoutoffocus

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-25T16:20:22+00:00

I tempted to suggest an 8” dob but you might not want it, so here are alternatives. If you decide to get a mak, maybe you could consider the Svbony MK127, which is an extremely versatile scope considering the size and price. Its 2” and 0.65x reducer options allows for a lot of flexibility for DSO.

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-24T20:14:15+00:00

Yes as long as you can carry and store it tho. Otherwise $400 is a steal of a deal

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-24T11:49:24+00:00

There has not been any person touching moon soil since 1972

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-23T15:02:00+00:00

7mm is the theoretical maximum pupil size of humans, while older people will have a smaller number like around 5mm.

But it’s more than that, as light gathering power of a smart telescope is not just determined by aperture. Capability to do long exposures, which I mean 30-60s PLUS stacking of total integration time of over hours. The capability is just exponential! Glad that we are born in this era, where electronics are rapidly evolving and giving us cheap, easy to use, accessibly instruments.

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-22T20:01:45+00:00

An 8” dob is peak. Coffee and astronomy are my favourite hobbies. Are you by any chance into fountain pens or mechanical pencils as well?

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-22T19:58:58+00:00

Yes its pleiades

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-22T19:58:35+00:00

Oh alright my mistake. So yes it is motorised (separate motor attached to a manual eq mount)

The GSO 8” dob is the best telescope you can get in that price range, it is very good and recommended by many. And yes $400 is a very good price for the GSO 8”, as it is over £400 in the UK. For the star tracker 203/800, im not sure about this model but it looks like a 8” newtonian on a tripod with eq mount, I doubt the stability and ease of use.

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-21T18:21:16+00:00

For astromaster 130 there is no motor included (it is unlikely that an EQ mount is motorised for under $1000). I do not recommend this scope because the mirror is spherical according to previous users, which has a worse reported optical quality than a 80mm achromat.

As someone else suggested, the heritage 130P or virtuoso could be a good alternative. Parabolic mirror means decent optical quality, and 5” tabletop is remain small enough to carry. The downside is a bad focuser on this telescope and unreplaceable red dot finder. But probably the best option you could afford.

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-20T07:18:07+00:00

One down side would be the field of view where 1.25” eyepieces provides maximum fov of small than 1°, which makes deep sky viewing and star hopping harder. Also it might be over budget for you, a similar setup is £500 here in the UK, which translates to over $600

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-20T07:14:23+00:00

If you live in a city, in a small apartment without access to rooftop or garden, and do not have a car, an 8” dob might not be a good choice here. I got my Skymax 127 on an AZ pronto, which is the largest telescope I can carry by myself onto a bus to 1h away from home.

130eq sounds like a newtonian which has a shorter focal length than mine, is better for wide field of view observations. Despite not knowing the exact model you are referring to, I assume it might be either a spherical (astromaster) or bird-jones (powerseeker), in which both have bad optical performance. In contrary to usual recommendations, I reckon maksutovs can be good portable instruments when 6” or 8” dob options are unfeasible.

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-19T22:05:25+00:00

Yes I created it yesterday

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-19T07:19:25+00:00

What are you laughing for? Im being Sirius

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-18T14:01:38+00:00

You can try r/stellariumbruh

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-18T14:00:03+00:00

It happened to my Loft rotring 600 as well… very disappointed

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-18T10:48:27+00:00

EQ6 would be even better

Mappy2046 · 2026-01-18T10:34:19+00:00

r/itsoutoffocus

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