Also Orion has new Dobs on tracking/goto mounts that are easy to use, have great views and are way cheaper than refractors of the same aperture size. On Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 1:07 PM, daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote:
Ann:
This list and SLAS in general tends to be "refractor-centric". If you are looking for low weight alternatives to the CPC 11, have Craig at least look at some newtonians. A 130mm refractor is just a 5 inch telescope and the images will not come close to what you see in the 11 inch. An 8 inch newtonian tube assembly from ORION weighs 16 pounds and costs less than $500. The younger members of SLAS with families to support and less room in their smallish cars are using 8 and 10 inch dobs. The views through these scopes are much better than through a 5 inch refractor, they weigh less and definitely cost much much less. I have been looking at low weight alternatives and I like the 10 inch dob because the tube only weighs 27 pounds.
Newtonians and dobs are the way to go for many amateurs. That is unless you really just have to spend a lot of money.
DT
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