Ah, now we get to talk my talk! Taking a picture like M31 does not require a big telescope, in fact that can end up hurting you. The one that I linked was from an 8" SCT and a modified Cannon Camera with the IR filter removed. What makes these images so amazing is time. The mount the guy used in that one picture cost more than the scope and camera combined. You get kick ass detail in a photo not with aperture like you need to do visual stuff, but by holding the scope on the target with minimal drift over 20-30 minutes per frame. I have an 80mm and a mount that I can start to learn with, but I am saving for a better camera so I can get some detail.

The moon and planets are so bright compared to the other targets out there that you can use 10-30 millisecond exposures and get detail like the above. For M31, you need minutes per exposure and with a poor mount you end up with star trails instead of pretty.

big fuckin' dob

The goal is to treat myself with something very neat for my 50th. I have the savings set aside and almost am ready to start talking options and lead times. I can get a 25" Obsession with the motors and computer for about what I dropped on the car, and get this, IT WILL FIT IN THE SUBARU! That or I need to drop $1500 for a van, but at that point 1500 is an accessory anyway. The other option i have is a Teeter 20" which have better glass and for what I have been able to look through they look better at the eyepiece and allow more eyepiece options than the big Obsessions.

That 25" Obsession? It takes two hours to set it up from pull up to the field until you are ready to go hunting for what you want to look at. And yea, care and feeding of a scope like that can get pricey in time and money, but then again so do all our hobbies.

I'll say this - M31 is the shit through a 21" dob at 10,000 feet in dark sky New Mexico. But the care and feeding of a critter like that is no joke.

I got one better: Globular Clusters. If you get the chance to look at M13, M15, M10, M12, M4 etc through something in the 20" range you will fall in love with the things. I've seen Palomar 8 With my 14" I had the star field in view and was in the exact right spot, but could not see it. With the 25" scope it was right there and very plainly visible.