Indeed, many of the best planetary imagers in the world use large GoTo Dobsonian telescopes. While even the best Dobs aren’t exactly the ideal kit for deep-sky astrophotography, they are fabulous for shooting the planets, especially if equipped with some form of motorized tracking. Nonetheless, some astrophotography can be done with Dobsonians, and in this article, we’re going to go over what you can do and some useful tools for doing astrophotography with Dobsonians. Dobsonians often lack any sort of tracking, and if they do have it, it’s of course an alt-azimuth mount design anyway, hardly ideal for long exposures. Likewise, a Dobsonian telescope has little in common with the high-tech mountings needed for astrophotography. Many of the best astrophotography telescopes put up views that are hardly top of their class or can’t even accommodate an eyepiece at all. Plus, with the accuracy of computerized tracking, you can even use a Dobsonian for some types of astrophotography.Many people are disappointed to learn that the requirements for visual astronomy and astrophotography don’t overlap. But this new technology certainly lowers the learning curve and allows you to view many more objects in a single observing session. While you can still find inexpensive models, today's GoTo computerized Dobsonian telescopes feature fully motorized mechanics to locate and track thousands of celestial objects automatically. Purists might argue that these 'fancy' Dobsonian telescopes take some of the fun out of navigating the night sky using nothing but your finderscope and the lazy-susan style mount. Originally conceived as a simple, no-frills telescope, the Dobsonian has, as of late, evolved into a more sophisticated device. Its 'rocker box' mount is easy to manipulate and holds the tube like a cannon. The mount is really what distinguishes the Dobsonian from a standard Newtonian telescope. This means there is a concave mirror at the end of the telescope tube and an eyepiece on the side, toward the front. Specifically, the Dobsonian telescope is a reflecting telescope with a Newtonian optical design. Of course, Dobsonians truly shine under dark skies in remote observing locations, but when John Dobson first invented this telescope, he used it to provide stunning views of the planets and other objects to families on the streets of urban San Francisco. These telescopes are affectionately known among astronomers as 'light buckets' thanks to their bucket-shaped design and their superb ability to concentrate light and deliver it to the eyepiece. offers a wide selection of Dobsonian telescopes from ultra-portable tabletop designs to monster telescope systems measuring 16' in aperture.ĭobsonian telescopes are known for their large aperture and low magnification, which makes them ideal for observing faint objects in a very wide field of view.

More than half a century later, Dobsonian telescopes are still a favorite among experienced stargazers for providing the hands-down best value-per-dollar on the telescope market.

In the 1960s, John Dobson's simple new telescope design revolutionized the hobby of amateur astronomy and brought 'sidewalk astronomy' to the masses.

Big dobsonian telescope