Dobsonian telescopes have come a long way since John Dobson first introduced the world of amateur astronomy to his design in 1965. Their unique design of a Newtonian reflector telescope mounted onto an alt-azimuth rocker box not only made for simple design that could easily be built at home, it also allowed for lighter weight, greater portability, and, above all, cheaper manufacturing. The Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope in many ways harkens back to the early days of mass-manufacturing of the Dobsonian design, and at a very relaxed cost of only $549.99 this Dobsonian continues the main goal of John Dobson—to make astronomy easily accessible to anyone. The Explore Scientific FirstLight series features a ten inch model as well, and the extra aperture sells at a retail price of $749.99.
Explore Scientific is one of the newest telescope manufacturers on the scene, but they have been quickly building their reputation as one of the most affordable quality telescope producers. Much of this has to do with their founder, Scott W. Roberts, who left Meade—themselves one of the leading manufacturers in consumer telescopes—and announced his founding of Explore Scientific at the Astronomical League’s Awards in 2008. The company fits right in with John Dobson’s intent, as Explore Scientific is an official licensee for National Geographic, Discovery, and PBS, speaking toward their mission statement of helping the general public experience the adventure, wonder, and excitement of scientific exploration. That is certainly what the company is accomplishing with the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope, designed to be an affordable entry point into the world of amateur astronomy while still keeping the achievement of sighting deep sky objects in mind. While still making a name for themselves amongst the likes of Celestron, Meade, and Orion, Explore Scientific is a growing brand that can be trusted to make a quality telescope at an affordable price, and while the telescope reviewed here is a Dobsonian, its worth mentioning that their specialty of late has been their models of apochromatic telescopes designed specifically for astrophotography.
Classic Dobsonian light bucket
Partially due to the low cost, the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope has a fairly basic, almost utilitarian design. It is a simple Dobsonian on a rocker mount, with an almost bland white appearance. It might not be flashy, but the Newtonian optical tube with an eight inch aperture, and f/6 Focal Ratio, and a focal length of 1218 millimeters, this telescope is certainly able to accomplish the same sights as telescopes at over twice the cost. This telescope is the prime definition of a light bucket, enabling breathtaking sights with incredible detail of deep sky objects. This is thanks to both the parabolic primary mirror which is made with low-expansion glass, and the secondary mirror, which is made with borosilicate glass, both of which reduce coma from the field of view.
The Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope also comes with a hexagonal rack and pinion focuser, designed to reduce vignetting with astrophotographers in mind. Unfortunately, the telescope is much better suited for deep sky object than planetary viewing, as the large mirrors create mild obstruction that slightly inhibits planetary viewing. Many users, particularly the beginners that this telescope is marketed to—hence the FirstLight branding— do not note any inconvenience, and even seasoned amatuer astronomers note that this telescope will still be able to pick up the planetary details that are commonly sought after, such as Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and banding, Saturn’s Rings and the Cassini Division, as well as Mars’ ice caps. The collimation process is simplified for beginners as well, able to be performed with a simple Phillips head screwdriver rather than an Allen key.
Like all Dobsonians, the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope is optimized for transport. The optical tube assembly easily disassembles from the rocker mount. The rocker mount itself can also be broken down into smaller pieces, and can be reassembled just as easily. This allows an otherwise cumbersomely shaped object to be broken down to three flat boards and a support beam that won’t take up nearly as much space in your vehicle as when assembled. The optical tube weighs in at twenty-five pounds, while the rocker mount weighs in at twenty-one pounds, and the full assembly weighs in at forty-six pounds. Fortunately, each piece is lightweight enough to easily be moved on their own.
Universal Newtonian design
However, the truly compelling aspect of this telescope, and what might lead users to choose the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope over similarly priced alternatives, is the universal design of the optical assembly. Like most Dobsonians with a rocker box mount, the optical tube simply rests on the mount, and can be lifted out. Once separated from the rocking rails, simply by removing the tightening bearings, the Newtonian optical tube can then be affixed to any EQ mount with the included Vixen style dovetail plates. It’s almost as though you’re getting two telescopes for the price of one—or, half of one. Setting the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope on an EQ mount is an easy process, and it drastically increases the versatility of the telescope. Where most Dobsonians can feel cramped and restrained when being used for astrophotography, setting this telescope up on an EQ mount allows for more room for movement and tracking, freeing up space to make astrophotography comfortable.
Rotatable tube rings
Another design feature unique to the the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope are the rotatable tube rings. As this is a basic Dobsonian design, the telescope requires balancing to be able to view comfortably and without unwanted movement, and the rotatable tube rings allow themselves to be shifted up and down the telescope’s optical tube to help with said balance. The ability to rotate also makes looking through and installing the focuser much more comfortable, as you can move the tube ring to your person, rather than having to awkwardly maneuver around the telescope.
Features and specifications
- The Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope features an easy to use classic Dobsonian design with a rocker base and optical tube that features a floor-based manual alt-az mount and large, smooth-movement altitude wheels
- This telescope has a universal Newtonian design, allowing the optical tube assembly to be fitted with an EQ mount, offering versatility not commonly offered by Dobsonian telescopes
- The large eight inch aperture with 1218mm Focal Length, and f/6 Focal Ratio allow for superb sights of deep sky objects and decent planetary views
- High quality low-expansion glass primary mirror and borosilicate glass secondary mirror that reduce coma
- Rotatable tube rings allow for easy balancing and installing of focusers
- Rocker mount can be disassembled for easy transport
- The Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope comes with plenty of accessories, including a 2.5″ Focuser with reducer adapters, a 1.25″ 25mm Super Plossl Eyepiece, and a wide-field red-dot finder
User impressions
The Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope is featured on a number of different retailer sites, including Explore Scientific’s main site, OTP, and Amazon. Unfortunately, this also happens to be one of the least consumer reviewed telescopes that we have come across, and while overwhelmingly positive, its consumer scores reflect this with a 5/5 on Explore Scientific’s website, a 5/5 on Amazon, and a more reasonable Google aggregate rating of 4.4/5.
True to this, user are saying that the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope is a “hidden gem of a Dobsonian” that is “engineered the way an old school homemade dobsonian should be, with modern refinements.” This simple and functional design seems to be exactly what Explore Scientific intended with this telescope, and they certainly achieved as much. True to the FirstLight moniker, users claim that this telescope is “a great platform for beginners to work from” and “the perfect Beginner Dobsonian Scope” that offers “great aperture, simple assembly, and many useful accessories” which collectively work together to ”take the headache out of figuring out what is needed when just starting out.” On top of this, concerning the rocker base, “assembly is easy” and “similar to assembling Ikea furniture.”
Users report that the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope is “well designed” with “smooth movement and a sturdy build” that is “easy to use” and offers “a lot of power for the price”.
Despite the telescope not being the best suited for planetary viewing, one user reported that they had only used the telescope to view planets, finding that “the views of the planets are incredible” and that they were “able to easily track the Galilean moons of Jupiter” and “able to view the bands on Jupiter” as well as “the Cassini Division in the rings of Saturn,” “the shadow of the rings on the planet” and “Titan and several other moons.” While the obstruction of the oversized mirror mounts have been heavily criticized, they do not seem to curb the telescope’s ability to provide heart stopping views of our solar system. Of course, as a Newtonian reflector this telescope will always be best suited for deep sky viewing.
Some negatives to the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope were mentioned by users as well. When fitted onto the rocker base, the assembly can become a bit cumbersome, making it difficult to position without knocking into the base, which, in an interest in cutting costs is built out of organized strand board, a plywood alternative. While only one review mentioned this being a problem with the rocker board supporting the optical tube, it is actually a common design in dobsonian rocker mounts. Another issue was that while “the red dot finder works well,” the inherent brightness of the red dot is too high, so that “unless you’re pointing at the moon, you can’t see anything but the dot in the viewfinder.” As with all consumer telescopes though, the included accessories are typically functional but not top of the line, and will need to be replaced as to the favorability of the user.
To summarize, the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope is one of the more affordable beginner telescopes, made by a relatively new company whose products are designed for accessibility and work hard to prove their quality and merit. What truly separates this telescope from other Dobsonians of similar price is the universal design, which allows the Newtonian optical assembly to be fitted to an EQ Mount. This allows for much higher versatility from the telescope, as it is not limited to the Dobsonian design, which can make certain aspects of astronomy hard, such as tracking and astrophotography. The rotatable tube rings are also a unique feature, and are welcomed with a telescope that functions on a rocker mount, which requires balancing of the optical tube in order to work properly, which is aided by the mobility of the tube rings. The aesthetic of the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope, while basic, speaks toward the history of the Dobsonian design and it’s easy to use simplicity, perfect for beginners, and thanks to the universal design this telescope becomes a Newtonian telescope that can grow with your skill level.
Comparable telescopes
While we endorse the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope, you might also consider the following products:
- Apertura AD8 8″ Dobsonian Telescope with Accessories
- Zhumell Z8 Deluxe Dobsonian Reflector Telescope
Additional accessories
Here are some accessory suggestions that will improve your experience with the Explore Scientific FirstLight 8″ Dobsonian Telescope:
- Explore Scientific FirstLight EXOS Nano Equatorial Head Mount with Steel ST1 Tripod
- Celestron 1.25″ Eyepiece and Filter Kit
- Orion LaserMate Deluxe II Laser Collimator
