Refractors: Interesting piece by Terence Dickinson

[John]

I was sad to hear of the death of Terence Dickinson back in February this year. I've read a lot of his books, articles and other publications and he seems to capture the wonder of astronomy really well.

I came across this piece that he wrote back in 1989 for the magazine "Sky and Telescope" through a link on the Astro Physics website. I can recall reading this when it was first published in S&T and enjoying it so it is nice to read it again and share it 30+ years on 🙂

The article mostly mentions AP refractors but the general thoughts on the appeal of fine refractors are interesting I think:

adventures-in-refractorland.pdf (astro-physics.info)

Edited May 14, 2023 by John

[Stu]

Thanks John. I had not heard of Terence, but sad when someone with so much experience dies. I’ll have a read of the article later.

[laudropb]

Thanks John . A very interesting read from a bygone era.

[starbob707]

Sad I did not know this. I have one of his books.  Love his stuff,  Thanks for sharing,

[Space Hopper]

Good article that I remember reading before somewhere. 

I also have a couple of 'Backyard Observers Guide' by Terrence D that I read the covers off back in the day.

Also I can fully concur with the last two paragraphs in the article, as someone who is also 'biased and smitten with Apo refractors' 😀

[JeremyS]

Gosh, that brings back memories. I remember reading that when it was published in S&T

[Paz]

That is a good read. Imagine having a 7" f17 refractor, thats 3 metres long!

Edited May 14, 2023 by Paz

[Knighty2112]

I like his quote, “To me, telescope viewing is primarily an aesthetic experience - a private journey in time and space. Stars look like tiny pinpoints to the unaided eye, and that’s the way I want my telescope to show them.” One reason I like ‘fracs too mostly.  

[DirkSteele]

About 6 years before I started reading S&T (though I was about 9 when this was published). Magazine  changed a bit between then and when I bought my first issue in 1995.

 

Great article as well. Especially before the refractor revolution when they became mainstream. Heck of a price per inch in 1989. We should all appreciate  lucky we are with prices of good quality scopes in 2023 compared to those buying more than 30 years ago.

Edited May 14, 2023 by DirkSteele
Typos

[John]

1 hour ago, DirkSteele said:

...... Heck of a price per inch in 1989. We should all appreciate  lucky we are with prices of good quality scopes in 2023 compared to those buying more than 30 years ago.

Yes, I noticed that. When you think about 34 years of inflation the price per inch today is really very reasonable, even for premium glass.

[Stu]

Good article John, just read it. Seems to match my preferences too.

[RobertI]

Fascinating article. That 3” F16 Unitron must have been quite a scope - splitting both components of Epsilon Lyrae at x48 is no mean feat. 

[DirkSteele]

On 15/05/2023 at 22:06, RobertI said:

Fascinating article. That 3” F16 Unitron must have been quite a scope - splitting both components of Epsilon Lyrae at x48 is no mean feat. 

Very much so, though I just checked and one of the components was about 2/10s of arcsecond wider when this was written, though the other may have been ever so slightly tighter than it is now. I do not recall ever splitting it at lower than around 65-70x magnification with a smaller scope so quite an achievement regardless.