What's hot at the moment.

andybmth · Post by **andybmth** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:12 pm

Hi, Do you have in mind a dream telescope that you would like to own and cherrish. are you saving up for a telescope that you have allways wanted to own?

Please let me know as im knew to the astromomy world and would like to get a good mental picture of what's hot and what's not at the moment.

Cheers,

Andrew.

David Frydman · Post by **David Frydman** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:25 pm

What is hot is not necessarily what is the most practical.

Regards, David

mike a feist · Post by **mike a feist** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:06 pm

It is true to say, I think, that it is not so much that the telescope should be that "hot" and-or expensive, it is the knowledge, skill and dedication of the observer at one end of it and the weather at the other that is the key to success. maf

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:16 pm

H Andrew.

There are many delights out there to tempt the unwary wallet. Superb hand-made optics from Great Masters, waiting lists years long (and many do wait). Dobsonian telescopes with mirrors 0.5 - 1 meter diameter. Mounts that track with arc-second accuracy.....and on and on.....

Personally. I'd like an Orion Optics Optimised Dall-Kirkham (I'll settle for 14inch diameter) on a Paramount mounting in an observatory with a dome and a good selection of planetary and deepsky cameras.

However I think Hell will freeze over before any of this comes to pass for me

Still, chin up!

ATB,

David Frydman · Post by **David Frydman** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:36 pm

For me, I have no dream scopes in mind nowadays.
The only thing I would like is totally dark skies at night over most of the U.K. And pristine skies.
Rather than cost anything, if the lights were turned off everywhere midnight to 6 a.m. it might save money.
Except for the argument about accidents and crime which I won't get into.
With the economy going down the drain throughout Europe and maybe elsewhere I might actually see this happen.

When a lot younger I would have fancied a 200 inch scope perhaps a Palomar copy perhaps on La Palma and a private jet to wisk me to my flat lower down the mountain.

With staff to man it and get it used by as many amateurs as possible when I was not using it.

A bit pricey, perhaps, but well within the range of a Eurolottery rollover single winner jackpot. And even in those days the New York lottery or the Fat one in Spain would easily have covered the cost. But I did not enter any of these lotteries, and its a bit late for me now.

So I will make do with my binoculars and spotting scopes.

Regards, David

dazcaz · Post by **dazcaz** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:43 pm

I'm with David on this... A decent dark sky.
I would also like a bit more sky to see, as my observable "window" is quite small, but at least it's in a decent direction

So I guess my dream bit of kit would be a house in the middle of nowhere, with enough land for a purpose built observatory and enough acreage for some decent ham radio antennas....

Note to self.... Don't forget to buy the lottery tickets

andybmth · Post by **andybmth** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:56 am

Talking about dark skys i once worked on an ocean liner called the qe2, queen elizabeth 2. when you find yourself a couple of thousand miles away from land you tend to see plenty are dark clear sky away from the light and vehicle emissions polluted cities. I remember my first time at sea. i was in the southern atlantic heading to the falkland islands. the sea was still as mill pond that night. as i looked up i was taken a back by the clarity of all the stars i could see just with the unaided eye. i had never seen the sky so clearly here in the UK before.

It was on the news that one city coucil had decided to save 1.5 million by turning off the street lighting late at night. i hope the trend caches on round the whole of the uk.

Andrew