Telescope Size Debate
of the Greatest Magnitude
40-inch Telescope Now Under Consideration
Aperture fever is all a rage. The debate is now ongoing. I thought I had the solution with the simple choice of the 18-inch, 20-inch or 24-inch Dob Ultra Light reflector telescopes. Then I made the choice to go with the largest 24-inch. Then I started thinking. Would I be satisfied? Actually I think not. The company can supply fast mirrors up to and including 40-inches and therefore I'm seriously thinking of moving to larger premises to make a bigger sky rise observatory and purchase the finished 40-inch objective mirror and build a massive Dobsonian telescope around it. Inspired by the spirit of John Dobson, and rampant aperture fever, it will be a project not unlike NASA. NASA is already using one of these mirrors. Why not me too? Therefore tonight I will draft the email to the optical manufacturing company requesting a quote. Perhaps the cost will be out of sight, or within reach. I won't know until their reply is received. Let's hope for the best. Stay tuned for the result!
Update: the Optical Company has yet to reply with a mirror cost, both a request this time and last time, so maybe they are not interested in gaining this new business for making a 40-inch telescope mirror. Even at f3.6, the 40-inch will have a tube 144 inches long or 12 feet high. This is too dangerous and too high for a ladder perched precariously on a deck at a thousand feet in the air. At this time, the stock 24" Dob telescope is only 6.6-feet high and much more manageable. Additional thought contains an analysis of a Taiwan mountain not too high but with thousands of stars for deepsky. The location has restaurants and lodging and could be treated like a week-long star party, taking a telescope there, living there short term, and imaging DSO every night.
