Why do I do this to myself

[SoulFrenzy]

Why ... please someone tell me why I look at telescopes I know I can't afford. Tell my why I look at all the specs and think to myself "If I only had this telescope I could see Jupiter a little clearer" It's a form of sadistic cruel self torture that I put myself through every time I do it. I immediately start looking for things around to sell... My wife gets a scared look on her face and slowly starts hiding the valuables. Aperture fever takes hold of me and it is a vile sickening disease that I am sure can be cured by buying a larger scope, sure to the non-astro average person going from an 8" to a 10" my not seem like a big deal, but to someone that is gripped in the sickening hold of aperture fever... it means the difference of resolving a binary star or making those distant faint fuzzies a little less faint and a little less fuzzy.

[E621Keith]

You should move to the UK. The weather here helps to relief aperture fever. The performance of a 16" and a 3" is about the same on an average night ...

... because it'll be cloudy.

Apart from the weather, there is no known cure for aperture fever. Like flu, medication only helps to relief the symptom. That medication is collecting eyepieces. Draw up a list of eyepieces to remind yourself what eyepiece you will be missing every time when you think about buying a larger telescope.

Here is a list to get you going (widefield collections)

Celestron LX > Baader Hyperion > Pentax XF > TV Radian > Vixen LVW > Pentax XW > TV Nagler > Tak UW > TV Ethos > Nikon NAV HW > TV Ethos SX

by the time you finish that list, go for a ortho collection

Volcano top orthos > BGO > Pentax SMC orthos > CZJ ortho > ZAO > TMB mono > Pentax XO and XP > ZAO II

a lot of these have been discontinued, so finding them on the used market can keep you occupied for a while.

By the time you finished, get a binoviewer and start collecting matching pairs again.

Hope this helps with your aperture fever

[Stephen]

Only a 10? That's not really aperture fever yet is it

Think 16 .... or 20 ....

[johnny diamond]

same here im afraid!! already the Accessories have cost more than the scope,and i still cant see footprints on the moon!! (ha! ha!)

[earth titan]

Only a 10? That's not really aperture fever yet is it

Think 16 .... or 20 ....

Where's your imagination?

[todd8137]

thats why i brought a 12" as my first scope as i new that would be the limit of some thing i could handle

[tibbs1972]

My 5" keeps me going for the moment, except for when an issue of Sky at Night drops through the door.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

I've been torturing myself staring at pictures of 200p's. Finally, after several months of dreaming, i'm just waiting for payday at the end of this month, and then i get to wait for delivery! I'm literally going to go nuts.

[The_PSY3NTIST]

I've been torturing myself staring at pictures of 200p's. Finally, after several months of dreaming, i'm just waiting for payday at the end of this month, and then i get to wait for delivery! I'm literally going to go nuts.

You don't live near Sheffield do you? I've been waiting weeks for these clouds to clear.. A new scope in the area can only mean more cloud. The curse will strike!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I worked with this one:

A modest 60" or so affair (did infrared spectroscopy on it). Decommissioned in 2005. Couldn't ship it to my garden at the time (not just planning permits got in the way ).

But, no, there is no real cure for aperture fever.

[E621Keith]

I worked with this one:

So that's why the weather was so bad in recent years

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

So that's why the weather was so bad in recent years

Nah, this was in 1983, and in Switzerland. We had rather good weather when it was our turn to observe. 7.5 nights out of 9 is not bad, in November in the Alps.

[Parus major]

I'm thinking about getting a 300P DS Newtonian.

No it isn't sensible.

[Astro Imp]

If the weather was a little more conducive to viewing instead of drooling over equipment we can't have perhaps this would help - or not

[The_PSY3NTIST]

I'm thinking about getting a 300P DS Newtonian.

No it isn't sensible.

This constant cloud cover has cost me dual axis motors and the eq mod. Just looking at small scopes now for the slt mount. Anyone know the advantages and disadvantages of the maksutov design.. The small size is great.. Just looking at a 90mm one to replace the nexstar 60mm that came with the mount.

[Dunkster]

Last night I was looking at articles on the Orion (US) XX14g/i... totally ridiculous because I wouldn't be able to lift it, have concerns about contorting to get to the EP and have bad LP round here.

But WHAT IF ... the clouds ever decided to part....

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

This constant cloud cover has cost me dual axis motors and the eq mod. Just looking at small scopes now for the slt mount. Anyone know the advantages and disadvantages of the maksutov design.. The small size is great.. Just looking at a 90mm one to replace the nexstar 60mm that came with the mount.

The main disadvantage is cooling time, but unless you go pretty big, it isn't too bad at all, no more than a refractor really. Advantages are long focal length, great for planetary and good on eyepieces. The small size is great too.

[The_PSY3NTIST]

What about the obstruction in the middle of the mak? Do you think this would give less light gathering than the 80mm refractor?

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Not done the maths on light gathering, but i imagine the frac would gather more, these are more planetary scopes due to the long focal lengths and narrow FOVs.

They do however correct for chromatic abberation quite well apparently, something that you'l have to pay a lot for in a frac.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

A 90mm mak gathers more light than an 80mm refractor if we simply look at surface area: 90 squared is 8100, whereas 80 squared is 6400. A 30% central obstruction removes removes 9% of the light. 91% of 8100 is 7371 which is larger than 6400 by a healthy margin. Even taking losses in reflectance into account, and the absorption in glass in the frac, the 90 mm wins.

[The_PSY3NTIST]

Thanks Michael. Maybe I'll make my mind up soon looking at the evostar 102mm too as the mount can take it. Just want to make sure I make the correct choice. The mak is nice and small though so with your reply about the obstruction it looks like the Likely choice

[LukeSkywatcher]

Its normal to look at and want things we can not afford. It isnt just scopes. I love looking at the Bugatti Veyron and i want one. I'll never have one but it doesnt stop me looking and dreaming.