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My 6 inch Dobsonian vs my friend's 10 inch - the light gathering difference is insane

I took my 6 inch Dobsonian out to a dark sky site last Saturday and my buddy brought his 10 inch. We both looked at M31 and I could see the core and a hint of dust lanes, but his view? Full spiral structure, like a photo in the eyepiece. The difference in light gathering (2.8x more area, right?) was way more dramatic than I expected. Do you think aperture really makes that much of a jump, or am I just bad at observing? I'm considering saving up for an upgrade now, but I don't want to haul around something huge if the gain isn't worth it. Has anyone else compared side by side and felt like their scope was suddenly useless?

3 comments

3 Comments

leor861d ago

Oh yeah, going from a 6 to a 10 is like switching from a flashlight to a lighthouse.

david7031d ago

Yeah, that's a rough one. I remember when I upgraded my old Garmin Edge 500 to a 530 a few years back, it felt similar but on a smaller scale. You don't realize how much you're missing until you actually see the difference. That first ride with the new one, you keep looking down at the screen just to make sure it's real. It kinda makes you wonder why you put up with the older one for so long. I get the flashlight to lighthouse analogy completely, it's a whole new world of clarity and feedback. Good for you man, hope you enjoy the upgrade.

fiona_kim9719h ago

Truth. That first ride makes you feel like an idiot for waiting so long.