8-Inch Dobsonian - Jack of All Trades

The all-time most recommended telescope for beginners and intermediate is the 8-inch Dobsonian. Every brand has amazing optics and give excellent views of the night sky, but accessories vary and some have improvements like larger side bearings or software to help find objects in space. In no particular order:

• Sky-Watcher 8" $655.00
• Apertura AD8 $700.00
• Zhummell Z8 $700.00
• Celestron Starsense Explorer 8  $800.00
• Orion SkyQuest XT8  $650.00

The Skywatcher is an old design, identical to the discontinued Celestron Starhoppers. They have small side bearings and are more difficult to balance. They don't like to stay put when you move the telescope. The tube is held on by hand screws that have to be unscrewed from both sides which can be tedious.

The Apetura AD8 is one of the most popular Dobsonians because it includes a dual speed focuser which makes focusing easier, and an 8x50 finder scope to help find distant or faint objects. But most experienced astronomers use telerads instead of finder scopes. 

The Zhummel Z8 has adjustable side bearings, an 8x50 finder scope, and a dual speed focuser. It is the same as the AD8.

The Celestron has large side bearings for smooth movement and can be quickly removed from the base for easy transport. Instead of a finder scope, Celestron has Starsense that uses your mobile phone to find objects in the sky. Rather than using a motor to move your telescope or searching while looking through a finder, it tells you which way to push the telescope to line up with the planet or whatever. Cool stuff.

Orion has several very similar telescopes with different names and accessories. They all have large side bearings which make it easy to balance and give it very smooth operation. It stays where you move it. The tube is held in place by springs that can be disengaged in seconds making it easy to move and transport. 

If the 8" seems too big, there are 6-inch versions of the above telescopes. The smaller version will give almost as good views, weigh less, but typically have a cheaper focuser. The price difference varies and can be a small amount or a couple hundred dollars. There are even 4.5-inch full size Dobs but they aren't that much cheaper or lighter. 

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