Posts Made By: John Harris

S & T loved this scope in September 03 issue. Does anyone out there own one? How do you like it? Seems like a good value. Anyone done a comparison between this and the 80 ED from Orion?

Thanks for any input

Cheers
John

Sarah, A 6" Hardin will show you alot. Remember that the pictures you see in books and magazines are not going to be what you see in your telescope. Those pictures were taken with super sensitive cameras. If you like Galaxies and nebulas, you will need as much aperature as possible to resolve them. In scopes less than 10" most objects appear as fuzzy blobs. It will take awhile to learn how to observe and see the details in these faint fuzzys. I would suggest buying a telescope with the biggest mirror you can afford. If you can get the Hardin 10" dob you will be set for a long time. A GOTO scope can be great. But it also requires that you know Almach from Vega. You have to tell the computer where "it is". If you have not learned the constellations and Major stars even a GOTO will frustrate and become a "NOTO" scope. You are better off learning the sky and struggling abit as you learn to observe. It takes patience. All the best to you in your purchase.

John