Discontinued
Orion SkyQuest XT6: discontinued — what to buy instead
The XT6 was the smaller, cheaper sibling of the XT8 — a 6-inch Dobsonian that fit in a car boot. Orion's parent ceased operations in July 2024 and retailer stock is gone. These are the closest 6-inch-class Dobsonians you can still buy new.
Status: no longer manufactured. We checked retailer stock feeds directly —
across the shops we track there are 102 Orion/Meade/Coronado listings and none in
stock. Any listing you find is likely a stale page or a reseller.
Closest alternatives in stock
Same optical type and within 60 mm of the Orion SkyQuest XT6's 150 mm aperture, ranked by $/mm — lower is more telescope per dollar.
| Telescope | Aperture | Price | $/mm | Mount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sky-Watcher Heritage 130 Tabletop DobsonianAmazon | 130 mm | $305 | $2.35 | Dobsonian | Amazon ↗ |
| Sky-Watcher Heritage 150 Tabletop DobsonianAmazon | 150 mm | $439 | $2.93 | Dobsonian | Amazon ↗ |
| Sky-Watcher Classic 200P f/5.9 Dobsonian TelescopeAmazon | 203 mm | $725 | $3.57 | Dobsonian | Amazon ↗ |
| Sky-Watcher Flextube 200P f/5.9 8" Dobsonian TelescopeAmazon | 203 mm | $850 | $4.19 | Dobsonian | Amazon ↗ |
| Celestron StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian Smartphone TelescopeAmazon | 203 mm | $879 | $4.33 | Dobsonian | Amazon ↗ |
Buying a used one instead
Dobsonians age well — the mirror is the expensive part and it doesn't wear out. A used Orion SkyQuest XT6 in good condition is still a sound buy; the astronomy classifieds and auction sites are where they change hands. Check the mirror coating and that the focuser holds position. We don't track used listings, so the prices above are for new equivalents only.