A bad case of Aperture Fever

Alas I appear to have come down with a bad case of apeture fever (damn
those (in an 8") undetectable 13th magnitude planetary nebulae)

I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?

I have the following criteria:

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. a Ford Fiesta with
the Back Seats folded down)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK (of course).
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Best,
Dave
Author of the Supernovae and Supernova Remnants FAQ
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/supernova/
Visions of Light, Visions of Darkness - B&W Photography of Wessex
http://www.valinor.freeserve.co.uk/visions.html

What about the Teleport from Bray Imaging in Leighton Buzzard?

http://www.brayimaging.co.uk/Astro/Teleport.html

Dr P Hobson

Richard Darn wrote:

Can't think any solid tube 12" Dob will go into a Fiesta. My old F6 12"
struggled to get into a Mazda 323 Hatchback.
The only UK truss dobs I can thing of are David Lukehurst of Nottingham -
but not sure whether they are designed with DSCs in mind. Obviously, all
this is where big SCTs come in handy. My 14" nestles in the car boot very
happily.

Richard

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. a Ford Fiesta with
the Back Seats folded down)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK (of course).
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Best,
Dave
Author of the Supernovae and Supernova Remnants FAQ
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/supernova/
Visions of Light, Visions of Darkness - B&W Photography of Wessex
http://www.valinor.freeserve.co.uk/visions.html

Morgoth wrote:
Alas I appear to have come down with a bad case of apeture fever (damn
those (in an 8") undetectable 13th magnitude planetary nebulae)

I currently have a 8" LX-90 (the infamous "Lucy") but am thinking
about a getting a 12" (or so) Dob. Any recommendations?

I have the following criteria:

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. a Ford Fiesta with
the Back Seats folded down)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK (of course).
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.


Go straight to a 14-inch or preferably a 16-inch.

True, you can see some Abell clusters in 12-inch but they are extremely
challenging in UK skies. Likewise for the Pals. They are much much easier in
a 14-inch+.

A 16-inch truss tube dob would still fit your Fiesta, (as probably would a
20-inch). A 12-inch tubed reflector is unlikely to, well it won't if you
value the trim panels.

A truss tube 12-inch isn't worth the extra expense and hassle.

The fact that you'll be needing good or excellent optics goes almost without
saying. You are not batting in the light bucket ballpark here.

Chef!

Teleport is way out of the specified budget of £1000
Richard

"Peter Hobson" wrote in message
...
What about the Teleport from Bray Imaging in Leighton Buzzard?

http://www.brayimaging.co.uk/Astro/Teleport.html

Dr P Hobson

Richard Darn wrote:

Can't think any solid tube 12" Dob will go into a Fiesta. My old F6 12"
struggled to get into a Mazda 323 Hatchback.
The only UK truss dobs I can thing of are David Lukehurst of
Nottingham -
but not sure whether they are designed with DSCs in mind. Obviously,
all
this is where big SCTs come in handy. My 14" nestles in the car boot
very
happily.

Richard

1) Must be transportable (I'm a 28-year old average male) and must fit
(in whatever state) into a small hatchback (i.e. a Ford Fiesta with
the Back Seats folded down)
2) Must be retrofittable (at some point in the future) with
DSC/Goto/Tracking Platform. Don't mind lack of Goto for the
time-being.
3) I live in the UK (of course).
4) Mainly (i.e. 90%) used for observing faint fuzzies. Must be large
enough aperture to reach Abell clusters/Palomar globs.
4) Price: I have a budget of about £1000 ($1500) - much more if I sell
the LX-90.

Best,
Dave
Author of the Supernovae and Supernova Remnants FAQ
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/supernova/
Visions of Light, Visions of Darkness - B&W Photography of Wessex
http://www.valinor.freeserve.co.uk/visions.html