I have been considering buying an Orion SkyQuest XT6, and I was wondering if anyone here had one and what you think of it. Are you able to see Jupiter's moons clearly? How about Titan? Can you see Uranus and Neptune? Are there any accessories that you would suggest buying? I also thought about spending a little more and getting the 8". Would there be a significant difference between the two?

My first scope was the Orion XT8 and only sold it because I've upgraded to the XT10. IMO, the extra few bucks to upgrade to the 8" is worth it, you get something like 70% more light gathering with an 8" mirror vs. a 6". A 6" will have no trouble with Jupiters moons, those can be seen with most binoculars actually. Uranus and Neptune will be visible, but faint. Titan will be visible as well. The 8" will really be a noticable upgrade when viewing deep sky objects. I'd even go so far as to say if due to your budget it's between a 6" Intelliscope vs. a non-intelliscope 8", I'd still pick the 8", though I prefer to find objects myself anyways. Either the 6" or the 8" XT dobs will make a fine scope.

As far as accessories, I'd get a very low power eyepeice as well as replace the 10mm that comes with the scope as it isn't very good IMO. IMO, plossl type eyepieces aren't any good below about 20mm as the eye relief is too short (you have to practically press your eyeball against the eyepiece) and the peephole you look through is tiny as well at shorter focal lengths. I'd recommend the 35mm Orion ultrascopic eyepiece for a very low power eyepeice (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/pr...ProductID=242). I had one with my 8" and it performed very well. You could also try a 2" eyepeice with a wider field of view since I believe the 8" is shipping with a 2" focuser, may as well take advantage of it. I have the 30mm Orion Stratus wide field eyepeice and use it a lot. (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/pr...roductID=73598) I'd also recommend the 9.5" ED-2 eyepiece (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/pr...iProductID=212) as an upgrade over the 10mm plossl that ships with the scope. It's got a nice long eye relief and a nice big hole to look through. You might also consider the Status line as a replacement for the 10mm plossl. You should also consider a decent barlow lens, the Orion Deepmap, and a Telrad. A Telrad is a 1X bullseye type finder. It projects a red bullseye when you look through it as opposed to a finderscope. I've been using a Telrad for years, and didn't even mount the finderscope when I got my 10".

Caelus,

The jump from a 6" f/8 to an 8" f/6 Newtonian is perhaps the most cost effective one in amateur astronomy. The 8" OTA will be the same length and the weight won't be all that much more. I would strongly consider getting the 8" if I were you.

You shouldn't let your expectations about telescope performance get too inflated. Even through a very large telescope Uranus and Neptune are not very impressive.

Dave Mitsky

__________________
Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

After considering your responses, I think that if I do buy one, I'll go with the 8". Do you have any experience with a moon filter? I'd be looking at the moon a lot and I was wondering if a moon filter would be useful.

I believe the XT8 dob comes with a moon filter. If not, you'll probably want one, the moon is really bright at low magnification.

Edit: Looks like the XT8 currently ships with a 'bonus accessory pack' so you get the deepmap, a right angle finder, and a laser collimator free. No moon filter though. On the accessories tab, the moon filter listed there for 15.95 should be fine.

That is true. I have seen Uranus through a 12 inch scope and it was a faint blue fuzzy ball. I have never seen Neptune though. I would go with the 8 inch scope aswell. I've got a 6 inch dob but Im thinking about upgrading to a 10 inch (there is a new scope on the market that breaks down into small parts that fit into almost any car boot - its called the Meade Truss or something)

Meade Lightbridge.

__________________
Any day you wake up on "the right side of the dirt" is a good day.

T. Anderson

I don't know about that...

Just make sure whatever size you buy fits in your car

__________________
PW -- Plant Whisperer

Oh, really? Why did you misquote me? What I actually said was: The 8" OTA will be the same length and the weight won't be all that much more. Note: the weight won't be ALL that much more.

Let's compare the 6" f/8 Orion SkyQuest XT6 Classic with the 8" f/6 Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic. The XT6 is 45.5 inches long and weighs 34 pounds and 6 ounces. The XT8 is actually physically a bit shorter (but has the same focal length), unless there's a typo, at 44.5 inches and weighs 41 pounds. The XT8 weighs less than 7 pounds more.

Please be more accurate in the future.

Dave Mitsky

__________________
Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Now I know. They are the same length

__________________
PW -- Plant Whisperer

Yes, and the 8" won't weigh all that much more (than the 6") as I stated correctly.

Dave Mitsky

__________________
Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

I notice that you have only mentioned solar system objects so far, listed only some planets and the moon that you wanted to view.

If that was true, that you were only going to view solar system objects, I'd suggest looking into a refractor.

However, my guess is that as you get a little experience, you are going to want to look at some deep sky objects and for those the 8 inch Dob is a good performer.

__________________
"I'm as accurate as any psychic. And I'm a cartoon!" -- Squidward

"Arrrgh, the laws of physics be a harsh mistress!" -- Bender