The solution is to mount the scope in an observatory. The only thing I would change is I would upgrade to a 6 or 7 inch apochromatic refractor, assuming I still live in a city. Refractors do need less up-keep.
The Grim seems like an ideal scope also, you do have to be realistic about what could be afforded. It does seem those with big scopes seem to eventually stop getting them out. See, now, Dave is going along with the spirit of the question.
I tend to agree with him, although I may go for a 12.5" Newt if kept lightweight. You can get unobstructed off-axis views of reasonable aperture and longer f/ratio if you mask it; really such a scope would be two scopes in one.
On Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 10:16 AM, Dunn, David <David.Dunn@supervalu.com>wrote:
I would go with my 10" Orion Dob. It is big enough to see galaxies and other deep space stuff. It does well at high power on planets and the Moon. It is light enough that I can handle it now and when I am older. It will fit in cars. I can sit while observing and I don't need a ladder.
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