Hi Dan, Welcome back to the list. My rule of thumb for telescopes is "The easier it is to use the more you'll use it." Apparently I'm not alone in that considering how popular the Dobsonians are. While it's true big scopes can show you more, if it's so big that it's hard to set up you'll probably use it less (the exception being if you can leave it set up in a home observatory). So how big to go? That's going to be something you'll need to decide for yourself. The choice might be made more easily by trying out a few different sized scopes. If you belong to OAS or SLAS both clubs have programs where you can borrow a variety of scopes and take them home and try them out for a few weeks. You'll find a list of what SLAS is loaning out at http://slas.us/membership_benefits.asp . Attending star parties is another way to go but those have pretty much ended for the season (except for the ones the U of U holds on Wednesday nights on the roof of the Physics building). Clear skies! patrick p.s. Now that I know you are a "real person" (not someone trying to spam the list) I've been trying to remove the moderation from your account so your posts can go straight to the list. Alas, the administrator part of the system appears to be down at the moment but once I can get in I'll turn off the moderation. On 11 Nov 2008, at 12:46, Dan Hanks wrote:

Hi folks,

By way of introduction, I just joined the list. I've been a subscriber before but life just got too busy and I had to drop off for a while. Life has calmed down somewhat, so I'm back.

I've been into astronomy for as long as I can remember, probably started with backyard sleepouts in my hometown of Parowan, UT, and looking up at the stars on warm summer nights.

Though I've enjoyed astronomy for many years, I've never had a real good-quality scope. I currently have a lower-quality Bushnell 4" reflector with an EQ mount, and am looking to upgrade to a much better instrument. I imagine some better eyepieces might make a world of difference. Altogether, though, my current scope provides more headaches than celestial enjoyment, so I'm looking to move to something of better quality, easier to use, and more likely to get me out more often. I have my eye on the Skyquest XT12, but that would probably stretch our budget a bit. As an intermediate step I've considered going with the XT8, as a smaller investment to see if I'll actually get out and use the thing. If that turned out ok, I could probably graduate to the XT12 (or perhaps the XX12 if prices came down on that after some time).

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Dan

Hi Dan, Welcome back to the list. My rule of thumb for telescopes is "The easier it is to use the more you'll use it." Apparently I'm not alone in that considering how popular the Dobsonians are. While it's true big scopes can show you more, if it's so big that it's hard to set up you'll probably use it less (the exception being if you can leave it set up in a home observatory). So how big to go? That's going to be something you'll need to decide for yourself. The choice might be made more easily by trying out a few different sized scopes. If you belong to OAS or SLAS both clubs have programs where you can borrow a variety of scopes and take them home and try them out for a few weeks. You'll find a list of what SLAS is loaning out at http://slas.us/membership_benefits.asp . Attending star parties is another way to go but those have pretty much ended for the season (except for the ones the U of U holds on Wednesday nights on the roof of the Physics building). Clear skies! patrick On 11 Nov 2008, at 12:46, Dan Hanks wrote:

Hi folks,

By way of introduction, I just joined the list. I've been a subscriber before but life just got too busy and I had to drop off for a while. Life has calmed down somewhat, so I'm back.

I've been into astronomy for as long as I can remember, probably started with backyard sleepouts in my hometown of Parowan, UT, and looking up at the stars on warm summer nights.

Though I've enjoyed astronomy for many years, I've never had a real good-quality scope. I currently have a lower-quality Bushnell 4" reflector with an EQ mount, and am looking to upgrade to a much better instrument. I imagine some better eyepieces might make a world of difference. Altogether, though, my current scope provides more headaches than celestial enjoyment, so I'm looking to move to something of better quality, easier to use, and more likely to get me out more often. I have my eye on the Skyquest XT12, but that would probably stretch our budget a bit. As an intermediate step I've considered going with the XT8, as a smaller investment to see if I'll actually get out and use the thing. If that turned out ok, I could probably graduate to the XT12 (or perhaps the XX12 if prices came down on that after some time).

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Dan