Space Time Live - S2E23 - Sky Tour Through a 12” Dobsonian Telescope
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- Telescope: Big Al (Hardin Optical Deep Space Hunter 12")
Close-Up Camera: Puck (ZWO ASI 120MC-S $129) bit.ly/3JYeP1L
Wide-Angle Camera: Fritz (ZWO ASI 294 Uncooled $699) bit.ly/3oGaYMT
Live Stream Camera: Iphone8
Field Computer: Surface Pro 4
Light Pollution: Bortle 5
Recorded: September 7th, 2021
Orion Telescopes: www.pjatr.com/t/S0BMQ0pFQEVHS...
I had been offered a telescope for $80 from a retired local astronomer. It was a bit dirty and had no mount. He got it from a garage sale for $100.
I cleaned it a bit and built a prototype mount out of cardboard, glue, tape and some poplar sticks. To make it swivel, I used a $15 lazy-Susan bearing plate.
This episode was made in thought of all those telescopes sitting around collecting dust. All they need is a little love and after decades of abuse they can still show you wonders!!
I ended up giving this telescope to my Dad, who named it Big Al.
Clear skies!!
00:00 Saturn
03:55 Jupiter
11:00 Jupiter’s Moons
13:08 Vega
14:18 The Ring Nebula
17:17 Andromeda Galaxy
21:25 Hercules Globular Cluster
26:15 Saturn
27:20 Saturn’s Moons
29:47 Perseus Double Cluster
32:43 More Andromeda
36:56 More Jupiter
46:05 The Setup 
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This gives me a bit of an insight into how my own 12" will preform, thanks for this video! seems like it will definitely be worth buying a 12"
Hello Jona! 12” dobsonians are awesome and I owned one briefly but it was too much telescope for me! So I ended up giving this one to my dad lol. It wouldn’t fit in my car as easily as the 10” and it needed a step stool for anyone under ~5’5” when aiming high. I also thought the 10” provided steadier views of planets but it could all have just been in my head. Here is a fun CN article talking about seeing vs aperture: www.cloudynights.com/topic/763271-magnification-vs-aperture-vs-seeing-conditions/
But yes, as long as you’re tall enough, have the storage space and the means of transporting the beast, a 12” is certainly worth it!
But wait, are we just talking EAA and Livestacking or visual use as well? Because if you’re leaning more towards EAA, check out our latest Live video! We use an 80mm Achromatic refractor on a GoTo and get lots of DSOs to show up. Without tracking I’m not sure if a dob can do livestacking and would only able to do EAA as seen here. Which is still cool!
I hope this helps with your decision and I love helping people find their flagship telescope so feel free to ask as many questions as you like if you have any! Clear skies!
- Robert
@@spacetimewithrobert4438 Thanks Robert! I’ll check the video out and read the article.
I indeed think it’s gonna be hard transporting the 12” but I would mainly use it for visual at home and a little bit of Astrophotography on planets, and not go out that much with it.
After watching this video I certainly think the pros outweigh the cons. Considering the aperture is probably the most important thing for me. Thanks for your help I appreciate it!
Just one last question: Speaking of visual observation, is there a big difference between the 10” and 12” in terms of detail and contrast or do you barely notice the difference?
(Sorry if the grammar is not perfect, English is not my first language 🙃)
-Jona
@@jona5003 Hello Jona, Sorry for the late reply! A 12" certainly showed more details on Jupiter when I looked through ours compared to the 10". I could see more details in the bands and a bit more color. Possibly more moons as well, but I wasn't sure. Saturn was also better, as were all the planets. They were also very, very bright. In my 10" I can stand looking at Jupiter during Opposition without a filter, but with the 12" a filter might be necessary because of how bright it was.
The brightness paid off when it came to deep sky objects, however! We looked at M42 and saw more nebulosity and details than the 10" but not much color. M57 is another story, the Ring Nebula barely shows color in the 10" but I felt like it was more obvious in the 12".
The Moon was also spectacular through the 12" and the contrast was similar to the 10". Just higher magnified views and a brighter, more detailed-rich image!
I'm sure by now you've already taken the plunge and bought one, but I hope this report helps with any buyer's remorse! I just bought an 80mm APO and it's been a fun adventure learning new glass. Let me know if you have any more questions and I will try to get back to them MUCH sooner this time!!
- Robert
@@spacetimewithrobert4438 Thanks for the response! this all makes it so much easier for me and don't you worry, take all the time you need to respond! This information helps me out a ton and really makes me wanna buy it already (the 12").
I just have one last question.
Does the fact that the 12" is much more prone to moving/wobbling when being touched or hit by wind get annoying or not? People almost always call that out but i dont really know what to expect from it.
-Jona
@@jona5003 Hey Jona,
I'm glad the information helped! The 12" we used here was on a mount made out of cardboard boxes!! Which is why our views were so wobbly in this video. Your 12" would be a lot more stable since using a solid mount made of wood or other materials will certainly provide much steadier views. Then, you also have the ability to put magnetic counterweights wherever you deem necessary along your telescope to keep the view as steady as possible. We did that here as well.
With the right counterweights and a solid mount on level ground, you should be okay as far as touching it goes. Once calibrated for balance it should be extremely steady. At high magnifications you will notice more vibrations and turbulence but that comes with every scope and from my experience a 12" wasn't any worse than my 10" when it came to ME causing vibrations.
Here is a cloudy nights discussion on counterweights for dobs, talking about products and placement: www.cloudynights.com/topic/793370-dobsonian-counterweight/
Breezes and wind gusts are another story. I find it all comes down to center of gravity and setup location. Long telescopes on a tall tripod are wind-sails, but Dobs sit much closer to the ground with a lot of weight towards the bottom. So it has a great center of gravity. This helps immensely with reducing vibrations caused by random breezes. My 10" is often the most stable manual telescope at star parties. So keeping your scope balanced will also help a lot here. Since the majority of it's weight is near the ground, you should be okay for slight breezes and random gusts.
Strong, steady winds are best dealt with by working on your setup location. If we encounter a constant breeze, our solution is to set up by a wind-blocking leeway like a building or tall bushes. When we go out to parks we walk around looking for the best wind-blockers and set up there on purpose. People will walk around the park with their hair flying in their faces but when they come up to our telescopes the air is suddenly calm. It's no coincidence!
Here is an article about wind on cloudy nights I found that helped me learn all of this: www.cloudynights.com/topic/859141-how-much-wind-is-too-much-wind-rules-of-thumb/
So that's my advice. I think the 12" is only slightly more sensitive to improper balance and excessive wind than a 10", but as long as you plan out your location and balance the tube you won't have any problems, I wager. The most annoying thing about a 12" for me was how high the eyepiece got when I aim up. I don't have an elevating chair like I should and I often had to stand up and hunch over to look into the eyepiece when aiming high. If you don't own a chair with adjustable height, that might be worth looking into. Here is what they look like: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/540751-REG/Starbound_329_1010_BLACK_Observer_s_Chair_Black.html/
I hope that helps and yes, keep the questions coming! The more you know the more you'll likely enjoy the scope! Or possibly discover that a different scope is right for you? This is still a possibility even at this point and don't be surprised if you get the 12", end up loving it but still decide to get another scope later on, like a small 80mm. It just happens!! I am 6 years into this hobby now and I am still loving 10" dobs but somehow now I also own seven telescopes, three cameras and two motorized tripods. It's a very addicting hobby!!
- Robert
I hope your dad has a lot of fun with that! 🔭
He loves it! We got him a Telrad and some 2” eyepieces as well 🍻 next I gotta get him up the mountain!
We’re you recording it with your phone?
I recorded my laptop with my phone, while my laptop had a separate camera attached to the telescope! I hope that helps!
@@spacetimewithrobert4438 ohhhh ok