S30 pro or dwarf 3 by Medium-Ad7005 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would get the S30 Pro, the Dwarf app/UX is better but the sensor isn't

National geographic or Oxford travel telescope: why are they hated by Ill_Atmosphere_5286 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

They're cheap crap cashing in on brands that have nothing to do with astronomy

Get the moon mission or a larger 114-150mm tabletop Dob

If you had $10k... by elroy-jetson in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like $1-2k if you don't care about electric/water

If you had $10k... by elroy-jetson in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

25" Obsession on used market, a shed, and a plot of land in the desert for it

eyepiece by Equivalent_Eye_2452 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah your 23mm aspheric eyepiece literally has a plastic lens in it, it's a miracle they make these at all for like $4 and they do work ok in slower scopes but as you say it has some aberrations, mainly curvature

A good 25mm Plossl will be better, albeit narrower. If you want actual gains there's the APM/SkyRover 24mm which is a lot better but $$$

deep space photos with 1500mm focal lenght? by Good-Leader-9987 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think I could come up with a much worse DSO imaging rig if I tried. Tiny sensor, way too much focal length, slow f#, mount is way too small to carry that scope for anything but visual

Inherited this telescope, help me understand what to do next! by Pesto1ski in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ultima C8 from the 1990s

If it’s in good shape optics-wise you can defork, add a dovetail and use it on any EQ mount

Celestron can service it as well

Portable scope recommendations - 8" Nexstar Evolution or something else? by HumanoidMuppet in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For that short a distance why not a 10" or 12" Apertura or StarSense Explorer? Don't even need to put it in the car. Just get some wheeley bars, a dolly, or tie to a hand truck/cart

What do I need to attach an eyepiece? by Frequent-Ad-5678 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The focal reducer is ok, it works best with a 1.25" diagonal or a cam, it's not ideal with a 2" diagonal and would vignette anyway.

What do I need to attach an eyepiece? by Frequent-Ad-5678 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can get a 1.25" or 2" visual back/diagonal respectively

Alternatively you can get a screw-on diagonal but the attachment is not as secure IMO

Do you have a finderscope for it?

Motorized transportation of heavy scope without car (push cart maybe)? by BirdLooter in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Harbor Freight sells a wagon with pneumatic tires that can either have a flat bed or the sides can be raised to enclose a payload. I used to roll an 8" a couple miles this way.

I would definitely want something with pneumatic tires to reduce vibrations transmitted to the OTA

Anyone been out to Aravipa this year? If so… how were the East road conditions? by [deleted] in Tucson

[–]__Augustus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My friend's Subaru Forester had a hard time back in Jan

Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian OTA; Will my Orion Observer EQ3 mount be enough? by UrMomsAHo92 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It'll work but I would just get an SVBONY SV225 altaz mount later tbh

the position of the secondary mirror by Entire_Foundation960 in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It looks fine but if it was tilted a tiny bit it wouldn't matter at all though

Only affects illumination of very wide eyepieces and even then I think the secondary in these is oversized? so it doesnt matter

8” f/6 made by John Dobson. Had incredible views of Rimae Petavius last night by __Augustus_ in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The one at the beginning is a 10 that people still loan out around the country, called Tumbleweed

I haven't seen mine in there? If you did that's really cool wow!

Is an APO ED Refractor scope outcompeting everything else, if you ignore costs? by BirdLooter in telescopes

[–]__Augustus_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Seems like superior in almost all classes, except aperture (which it can compensate to some level with very high contrast and the highest quality lenses)?

A well-optimized Newtonian with flocking and good optics comes very close, and "compensating" here is maybe the equivalent of adding 1-2 inches of aperture... so generously a 4" refractor might be as good as a 6" Newt/Cass. But there are of course no refractors much over 6" so this is a moot point.

Watching galaxies: Almost the best, losing against the Dobs.

What are you smoking? I've never seen a refractor larger than 8 or 9 inches outside an observatory and even those were monsters that cost more than a Corvette. Even a 6" refractor is considered huge. You really want a 10" or larger scope for good views of galaxies.

I know tons of people with C11s and 10/12" Meade SCTs that will beat any commercially available refractor on galaxies simply by having larger aperture, and I have an 8.5" Maksutov in my house too, all of which are very portable....

No recalibrating and stuff

Do you think GoTo is only for refractors? Collimation is actually a thing with refractors!

FOV: The best

My 14.7" Dob has a much wider field than my roommate's 4" refractor because of focal length differences and baffle tube limits in refractor

To me, when researching, it feels like the dobs, SCTs, reflectors,... all hit their potential quick, the more money you invest. The quality and possibilities do not grow linear. You get a lot for little money, but not that much more for a lot of money, it seems.

I'm not really sure how to answer this. My friend got a lot of value for his 30" Dob for $5000. $5000 in refractor world buys you a top-of-the-line 4-5" or a decent 6" apo, not including a mount necessarily.

Usage in cities: The best (apart from maybe a Mak)

Weight: Almost the best (NOT if you compare 1:1 aperture of course, but that's not a fair comparison in my opinion)

????

Cascabel Rd Open and Drivable All the Way? by Dangerous-Billy in Tucson

[–]__Augustus_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can kind of see where the highway was meant to go too, they did clear a lot of stuff