What's your dream scope?

[Mike73]

Realistically I have my dream scope, the only thing I would change would be the skies its under!

[Beulah]

Dream scope?

It'll be a 16" Dobsonian for me.

[foundaplanet]

Realistically I have my dream scope, the only thing I would change would be the skies its under!

Same here, very happy with my set up now.

I get good eyeball views and I'm portable. If I ever get to live well out in the sticks though, I expect I will go for a 16"dob.

[Sirius Bizness]

Astro-Physics 130 mm f/6.3 StarFire EDF 'Gran Turismo' Triplet Apochromatic Refractor with 2.7" Focuser

http://www.astro-physics.com/

Primarily for imaging but would be nice and portable for visual grab and go as I don't have a permanent setup. Would be scared I might drop it though!

[Sirius Bizness]

Maybe a bit overkill for visual!

[L8-Nite]

Maybe a bit overkill for visual!

No such thing as overkill.

[mert]

I also now have my dream scope, a 22" computerised goto dobsonian, but to be honest the scope i liked best was a Vixen 80mm refractor i had when i was a kid in 1986. I saw Halley's comet with it night after night.

Sent mobile

[badgerchap]

The first scope that can see through clouds

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do I hear a Radio Astronomer in the making?

[Rich MedRev]

This would be rather nice plus a house and obs in Dalby Forest to enable me to use it.

It is a 12" Tak - WOW

[nightfisher]

Im pretty well happy with my scopes, my 180 pro mak is a solar system delight, the Luna and planets are awesome with it, and i really like my refractors, you can see i like long focal length scopes

[JB80]

or....

[Andymac79]

Another Tak FSQ85 fan. Lots of things beat it on paper but this is a scope that really works. However... I'd like six of them on a Mesu Number One flipless mount for ultra fast imaging. Six hours per hour! Here's the one-sixth we already have...

Olly

We could do 'Scope swap', bit like wife swap but you have to do your own cooking. Im sure you would enjoy getting back to basics on my gear. It would only be for a couple of years. ?

[laser_jock99]

This would be rather nice plus a house and obs in Dalby Forest to enable me to use it.

It is a 12" Tak - WOW

I have tackled my 'astro dream' in the reverse order:

1) Buy a house in a dark sky site.

2) Build obsy.

3) Buy the sundries (scopes, mounts, cameras etc.)

I'm in phase 3 at the moment.

[RikM]

I have tackled my 'astro dream' in the reverse order:

1) Buy a house in a dark sky site.

2) Build obsy.

3) Buy the sundries (scopes, mounts, cameras etc.)

I'm in phase 3 at the moment.

That's the right way to do it

[Steve Ward]

Quite like one of these . . . if I'm going down the Ha route I might as well go the whole hog . . .

http://luntsolarsystems.com/blog/introducing-the-new-ls230tha

[Astralstroll]

I think at the moment I would settle for some clear skies to use the scopes i already have.

Dave.

[Champagnerocker]

This is my dream scope - PLease send donations to Pig

There was a model a bit like that one in the clearance section on the FLO website. Although they don't state the price and to be honest the reviews were a little mixed; lots of complaints about the weight, eyepiece height and tricky initial collimation.

[badgerchap]

There was a model a bit like that one in the clearance section on the FLO website. Although they don't state the price and to be honest the reviews were a little mixed; lots of complaints about the weight, eyepiece height and tricky initial collimation.

There were actually two more available recently going cheap. A US govt department that ordered them before Hubble even flew sold them to NASA for something hideously tidy like a million dollars each. I wonder if NASA would be up for putting them on UK Astrobuysell? Fairly sure they'd be collection in person though!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I rather like this one. The secondary will be 4.2m, I am told

[badgerchap]

Lol my only complaint with that one and the VLT is their over exciting naming protocol. Extra large Telescope! At least it does what it says on the tin! I think it should be called the Moore Telescope

[nicks90]

dream scopes?

I have 3!!!

An astro professional 152mm frac on heq5 for general observing and moderately transportable to dark sites.

a celestron nexstar 6se for a travel scope to store in the caravan

and a Skywatcher 350p Flextube Dobsonian with GOTO for home use

All would be fitted out with a range of premium 2" nagler or delos eyepieces.

total cost - approaching £10k i reckon

[nicks90]

forgot to add and included in the above price - all would be bundled up with a custom wheeled case that includes a leisure battery in the bottom compartment with 12v and inverter/240v, above that a mounted windows laptop and eye piece case all built in and a fold out observing stool. Ports under a waterproof cover would be built into the side of the case with the cables pre connected on spring loaded spools.

[nephilim]

Just this http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/ plus all the bells & whistles to use it.

Steve

[Marki]

Jarrod beat me to it - I love the whole steampunk look of the Great Wetherell, matched with 8" of TEC ED apo triplet loveliness! Should do me for visual for a bit... .

http://platypusart.com/wetherell/sculpture_greatwetherellrefractor.html

[swamp thing]

Hopefully mine will look something like this when its finished. If so, it will do me very nicely.