Whats the biggest telescope you've ever used...

[steveangel]

Hi everyone,

I was just wandering what the largest telescope that all the lovely people at SGL have ever looked through was.

I was recently in Tenerife on a field trip with my Uni and was lucky enough to go up to the observatory on Mt. Teide. This is where i first viewed Saturn through a telescope and it took my breath away (both Saturn and the telescope). It was the MONS 50cm reflector and a hell of a piece of kit!

Although i didnt look through it directly, i also used the IAC-80, a completly computerised 80cm reflector to take some wicked photos of the eskimo nebula (my favourite!)

Couldnt find a pic of the actual telescope

[richbyers]

cant say ive looked through anything bigger than my 5 inch, though i intend to build my own observatory before i die!

rich

[brantuk]

Keele University Obervatory's 22" Newtonian and their massive refractor (can't remember the size but it was around 20ft long).

[Hypernova]

The biggest I have looked through was either a 12" OO Dob or a Large Mak-Cas (unsure sure of the size but it was big)

In the dob M13 was amazing at 120x, it was like a photo

[Mark at Beaufort]

I have visited many observatories and seen some wonderful scopes but never observed through one.

At this years SGL5 star party many of us had a view through Mutley's 20" Dob - I will never forget viewing NGC4565 - the edge on spiral and the Sombrero M104. So this is the largest scope I have ever used.

Mark

[NGC 1502]

Hi, the largest scope I've looked thru is a clubmates 20" Dob, the Veil Neb was a

mass of fine detail.

Owners of big scopes need to have a lot of patience, as everyone wants to take

look. So if they look busy, I'd say let 'em carry on. After all, they either payed

for it, or built it, lugged it there, set it up, & finally the clouds are gone.....only

to be replaced with a queue........

Cheers, Ed.

[RikM]

So far the biggest scope I have looked through has been Albedo0.39's 16" Light bridge at SGL5. Absolutely fantastic.

Rik

[Peter Drew]

My 30" F4.1 Dob.

[albedo0.39]

30" dob... my mind boggles..

I've "only" used a 22" dob and was impressed

[NickH]

Looked through. 22" Dob...

Used... 200" Hale Telescope at Mt Palomar

[marcdearn]

The 20" Dob at SGL5 ....although I was terrified I would fall off the step and straight into the scope!!!!!

Had a quick look at M104 and hastened away, chastened, to My 5" newt....

[James]

I've only managed to look through a 15" telescope, not exactly huge but as it was Patrick Moores 15" reflector there was a special something about it. I usually tend to avoid looking through scopes bigger than mine (10") as I suspect I'll just get aperture fever again which is a very hard bug to control...

James

[AstroNinja]

20" Obsession at Helix Nebula - amazing

Jon

[Moonshane]

my 12" dob. it's great and probably as big as I'd go, although maybe a 14"? (note to self - STOP now).

[tomys]

my bad china brand 4" reflector with very loose finderscope placed at a air and light polluted environment which causes it to not be able to see any interesting deep sky object(i am going to try the famous M31 later).

Anyone as unlucky as me?

[ncjunk]

Tomys, that is the bad 4" telescope that is slightly melted?? (and welcome to the forum i read your other posts, keep at the astronomy!)

The biggest for me is my 8" spx f8, not had a chance with anything else.

[George Jones]

A 20" (51 cm) dob that a friend helped to build.

[LukeSkywatcher]

For me it is my 130P SW Heritage Dob.

[OptiGone]

Another 130p here but EQ mounted.

Due to use some bigger toys in Spain mid-September

[Teddy]

A 16" at todmorden obs. First ever look through a scope and saw mars n Saturn .... My head nearly fell off in amazement !

[Talitha]

My friend's 20" dob... direct vision is awesome.

[yeti monster]

I fully intend to make the arduous journey (1 mile) over to Tod, to try their scopes soon, thus far, for me, my 10" SNT is the largest I have yet peered through.

[Doug]

the largest I've even seen throw was at Herstmonceux

Hailsham, East Sussex

you can go there for the day and in the evening you can look throw there scopes , scopes taken to Sussex in 1954 from Greenwich and now open to the public have a look on there web site The Observatory Science Centre, near Herstmonceux, Hailsham, UK

Doug

Essex

[russ]

20" at Hampshire Astro Group back in the 80's. They then decided the mirror wasn't upto scratch and we had make do with a 16". But i think they now use a 24", although i haven't visited their observatory since 1991. But the 20" is still by far the largest i've used....i remember M27 was a sight to behold.

[WayBig]

Just my 4.5 inch 'flec so far.

Am planning to get to the bayfordbury obsy this autumn which is just down the road from me. They've got a few bigger scopes, I think a 20inch sct, and a 4.5m radio telescope - though not sure if that will count at "looked through"