jade_hunt48•3d agoMost Upvoted

That $600 telescope I almost returned turned out to be a beast after I gave it a real chance

Last year I bought one of those big dobsonians after seeing photos on here, but my first three nights out I couldn't find anything but blurry blobs. I was about to box it up and blame the hype when a buddy dragged me to a dark sky site 45 minutes out of town. First look at Andromeda through that thing was like seeing a photo come to life, and Saturn's rings actually had a gap I could make out. Turns out I was just too lazy to collimate the mirrors properly and my backyard had way too much light pollution. Has anyone else been ready to give up on a scope only to have one clear night change everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

vera_sanchez3d agoMost Upvoted

The whole light pollution thing gets overlooked way too much. I bought a cheap 4.5 inch reflector and couldn't see squat in my neighborhood, thought it was junk. Then I took it to a friend's farm an hour away and suddenly the Orion Nebula looked like a blue cloud with actual structure. Also had a neighbor who left their security light on all night, once I got them to turn it off it made a huge difference. Sometimes the scope isn't the problem, it's just where you're looking from.

ryan_flores3d ago

Oh man, that's such a good point about the neighbor's light. I'd just add though that collimation (lining up the mirrors) matters way more than most beginners realize, especially on dobsonians. Most people skip it and then wonder why their views are mushy.