is it me or has astro gear shot up in price again :-(

[JeremyS]

3 hours ago, John said:

This is an article about the Telescope Museum in Tawa, Japan. Some wonderful telescopes in there but very few Takahashis, as far as I can see:

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/articles/a-visit-to-the-museum-of-astronomical-telescope-r3040

The Taks are all being used: a museum is no place for them  as they need to live and breathe under the night sky 😊

[tooth_dr]

9 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Baader filters also went up by quite a bit.

I think the Baader cmos filters are actually cheaper than a few weeks ago. 

[John]

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

The Taks are all being used: a museum is no place for them  as they need to live and breathe under the night sky 😊

I do agree that seeing all those fine scopes not being used was slightly sad, the row of Pentax apochromats just sat on the floor, especially

Edited November 24, 2021 by John

[johninderby]

Makes me realise it is getting harder for beginners getting into the hobby to buy decent equipment. 😢

[John]

4 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Makes me realise it is getting harder for beginners getting into the hobby to buy decent equipment. 😢

I hope it does not go back to what it was in the 1970's / 1980's. Equipment choice was quite limited back then (in the UK at least) and the prices seemed really high for someone (me !) trying to get some modestly decent equipment on a tight budget 

[johninderby]

Yes you don’t really need a Tak to have a good scope (shock, horror) that will give great views. Even basic equipment is better than it used to be in the “old days”. so I’m being a bit pessimistic I guess. 

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, John said:

I do agree that seeing all those fine scopes not being used was slightly sad, the row of Pentax apochromats just sat on the floor, especially

I've seen that museum article on CN before, amazing, but to be fair to the curator the article was produced at a time when the museum was still being set up, or that's how it appeared me in the pictures. Look at all those empty observing pads on the roof. I think it's clear that they intend to have a lot of their scopes up and running eventually and I also think it will be an excellent educational facility which will inspire many young wouldbe astronomers of the future.