Portability of Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Hi,I am planning to get a "Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian".But the greatest concern I have is: will this telescope fit in my Honda Civic LX 2008 in one piece?Also if it somehow fits in the back seat, will it be safe from collimation point of view?thanks,Shobhit Portability of Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Hi,I am planning to get a "Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian".But the greatest concern I have is: will this telescope... » Read More Portability of Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Hi,I am planning to get a "Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian".But the greatest concern I have is: will this telescope fit in my Honda Civic LX 2008 in one piece?Also if it somehow fits in the back seat, will it be safe from collimation point of view?thanks,Shobhit « Show Less
1712227
It won't fit "in one piece," but that's not a big problem. The tube is separate from the base, held down only by gravity and a spring on each side. You'll have to unhook the springs from the base, put the tube in your back seat, and lay the base down in your trunk. That way it should fit fine (though I don't have a car like yours to measure). The tube is 45-1/2" long and the base is about 18" in diameter. Ordinary transport won't disturb the collimation.
1712228
I put the tube of a 10"f5 in the trunk of a Toyota Corolla, and the mount in the back seat. The XT8 is smaller, but not by much. By the way, I had a look at Virgo galaxies through a club member's XT8. The optics were amazing for a scope of this price. Contrast was excellent. An 8"f6 really hits the "sweet spot" for aperture, portability, performance and price.
1712229
This is my problem as well, I can't take my husband and my two kids and my telescope out at the same time.
606360
A laser collimator. It'll help to make sure your mirrors are aligned. It's pretty easy to do. Look on Youtube for "Collimating your Newtonian" to see how it's done. You'll usually want to check it before each viewing as they can get out of alignment with bumps. If your mirrors are out of alignment, things will get blurry. The Orion Shorty Barlow is a good accessory too if you don't want to buy extra eyepieces. It'll effectively double your eyepieces (turns your 9mm into a 4.5mm and your 25mm into a 12.5mm). Better eyepieces will make it a better scope as well. Superplossls are much better than what's included.
1195834
It actually fits on the eyepiece, not the scope itself, but yes - I use it with my Orion XT8 on a regular basis.
989236
Not at all. This is a very straightforward little scope, very easy to use, and Orion is not exagerating when they say you can be up and watching the skies 5 minutes after unpacking. I´d recomend you do some light reading on Astronomy as a hobby before you get started, even a little will make the experience of owning a good telescope more rewarding. Oh, and if you can time it for a clear night with a half or waning moon, even better, it´ll offer you great first targets.
2039860
Yes. You can type "SkyQuest xt6" into Youtube and get a sense of the view you'll get. Keep in mind that the best views are available under particular conditions with specific eyepieces, but you can certainly see planets--Jupiter and Saturn, for example--with the xt6 as is.
1195832
My XT8 came with the 1.25" eyepiece so all 1.25" accessories I know of will fit. This is a good item to view the moon because the moon is too bright especially as it's waxing to view it comfortably. Just be sure to take it off when you are looking at anything else, you won't see anything. I forget this sometimes and can't figure out why I can't see any stars or planets. :)
53207
I am very impressed with the focusing mechanism. It feels very quality and easy to fine tune to get a beautifully focused image to the most magnification the scope or sky conditions allow on any given night. It simply has not let me down in the least. Now can it be replaced or changed out? I am not sure 100% but doubt it. It is a knob the comes out the back of the telescope and isn't connected directly to the eyepiece like a crayford focuser in which you could just change it out. It seems to me to be a special focuser mechanism for this particular telescope. For me it hasn't at all been a thought in wanting to change it. You'd benefit more from buying a nicer diagonal or eyepieces. I doubt you will be disappointed with the focuser. I am going to try and attach a picture of the back of the telescope so you can see what I am trying to describe.
401883
I'm using it on my Orion telescope without problem, but I can't speak for other brands. To me it didn't look like quality construction when I got it, but it has worked fine, and much better than the Orion one that came with my scope.
179363
If you don't exceed the magnification appropriate to the sky conditions, yes.Barlow and any good eyepiece from 32 down to 6 mm should be usable IF sky clear and steady. A Barlow plus 6 mm will result in magnification of 400 times in the XT8. That is the most power I could use and only on really bright objects. The Barlow is more useful to me with double- digit eyepieces, boosting the power of a 10,for instance, while keeping the bigger easier to see glass.A barlowed 10 gives 240x in a 1200mm long scope like the XT8.I sold my XT8 to buy a bigger scope but the XT8 is an excellent one. If you don't exceed the magnification appropriate to the sky conditions, yes.Barlow and any good eyepiece from 32 down to 6 mm should be usable IF sky clear and steady. A Barlow plus 6 mm will result in magnification of 400 times in the XT8. That is the most power I could use and only on really bright objects. The Barlow is more useful to me with double- digit eyepieces, boosting the power of a 10,for instance, while keeping the bigger easier to see glass.A barlowed 10 gives 240x in a 1200mm long scope like the XT8.I sold my XT8 to buy a bigger scope but the... » Read More If you don't exceed the magnification appropriate to the sky conditions, yes.Barlow and any good eyepiece from 32 down to 6 mm should be usable IF sky clear and steady. A Barlow plus 6 mm will result in magnification of 400 times in the XT8. That is the most power I could use and only on really bright objects. The Barlow is more useful to me with double- digit eyepieces, boosting the power of a 10,for instance, while keeping the bigger easier to see glass.A barlowed 10 gives 240x in a 1200mm long scope like the XT8.I sold my XT8 to buy a bigger scope but the XT8 is an excellent one. « Show Less
1087804
I find my Celestron X-C LX Series useful when used on my C6. It has an adjustment range from 8mm to 24mm. I use it in place of 25mm and 9 mm lenses when working on a mount that is not clock driven. It allows me to switch from low magnification to high magnification without changing eyepieces. It should work satisfactorily for viewing nebule if your skies are reasonably dark. I was able to observe a number of nebula with a 3.5 inch reflector. My skies were relatively dark.
282766
Sorry, I don't know. I only have the basic Orion telescope, and that is the limit of my knowledge.JBK
595152
This lens actually fits on the telescope's eyepiece not the telescope itself. Most decent telescopes of any brand use either a 1.25" or a 2" focuser assembly. Any 1.25" eyepiece that is threaded to accept filters should be able to use this particular Orion moon filter. For example, I use it on a Meade 1.25" eyepiece with an Orion telescope that has a 1.25" focuser. Users that have a telescope with a 2" focuser typically also use standard 1.25" eyepieces with an adapter ring. This lens can then be used on those eyepieces as well. For smaller telescopes, that gather less light, Orion makes a 25% transmission version so the moon will not appear too dark to the observer. If you have less than 4 to 6 inches of aperture, then consider going with the 25% version.
1592311
When I got mine I did not have to collimate it. You do have to use the proper lenses and focus each one as you switch between them. I'd call Orion - they will help you out.
555284
http://www.astronomyforum.net/dobsonian-telescopes-forum/143081-dslr-prime-focus-xt6.html
1356166
I am not sure what your telescope looks like, I couldnt find it. But if you go to telescope.com and look up orion astroview 120st equatorial refractor telescope,that is what I have and it fits even with the tripod. Mine is a very big telescope, and very heavy,over 50lbs. It does have padding and it is sturdy material, it has a divider for the tripod. But I wish I had gone with a metal case with fitted incerts. I also had to take the telescope all apart to put it in there. I paid over $600.00 for my telescope, I wish I had invested a little more in the case. Hope this helps.
1260389
Martin. I have never responded to a question before. My son and I really like this telescope. The fine adjustments are very easy. It us not as portable as we would like but what can you do. Let me know if you have a specific question as my son can help me answer.
681688
No, you can get the same telescope on a tripod, but this set up would mean buying a lot of other pieces and disassembling this mount system. Look at this one instead Orion 9827 AstroView 6 Equatorial Reflector Telescope. Honestly, I would go with an 8".