I’ve been doing astronomy for over 20 years. In that time, I’ve owned and used pretty much every type of telescope, from big Dobsonians to refractors to Cassegrains. My preference is for large aperture “light buckets” when visually observing. Lately I’ve taken the dive into EAA or “Electronically Assisted Astronomy”. This involves using astrophotography cameras and computers to display what you’re observing in near real time, and in greater detail than can be observed with the naked eye. Currently I use three primary telescopes based on the type of observing I’m doing:

• Celestron NexStar 8se Schmidt-Cassegrain
• Orion SkyQuest XX12i 12″ Dobsonian
• Lunt 40mm h-alpha refractor (for solar observing)

I’m currently using planetary and deep-sky cameras from ZWO to take photos and “live-stack” images for EAA.

I use all varied brands of eyepieces from Orion, Celestron, Meade-Coronado, SVBONY, Highpoint Scientific, and Apertura. My current favorite is the 2″ Highpoint Scientific 42mm, which gives magnificent views of large galaxies and nebulae.