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Big Bang for Less Bucks: Dobsonian Telescopes - Aug 9, 2007

Dobsonian telescopes have long been recognized as the most cost effective large aperture telescopes available. A Dob telescope is basically a Newtonian Reflector on a fully manual tabletop (or floor depending on size) mount. Dobsonians are great for portability, as many of them can be broken down into separate parts for lighter lifting and smaller packing. For example: The Meade Lightbridge Dobsonian Telescope is broken down to three main parts. You carry the front cell with the secondary mirror, the rear cell with the primary mirror, and the base all separately. This is excellent considering the 16” Lightbridge weighs in at 128lbs when fully assembled. Some of the smaller Dobs Telescopes are even small enough that they come with a shoulder strap and you “wear” them when you look through them. The Celestron Explorascope 100 is a perfect example of this. Dobsonian telescopes are mounted on a floor or tabletop mount that is fully manual. Since they do not use a large, heavy tripod and equatorial mount like most Newtonian Reflector telescopes, the Dobs are much lower in cost. Many of the German Equatorial mounts alone cost $700 or more. Whether you’re looking for lots of aperture for low cost or a large telescope that is easily transported, the Dobsonian Telescope is a great purchase for any amateur astronomer.

posted by Ryan W @ 3:32 PM

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