Your Dream Scope?

[ballaratdragons]

A good way to find out what people would like to do astronomically is to have a dream thread!

Here it is!

<b>If you had a budget of $100,000 to spend on any Astro gear, what would it be?</b>

Mine would be a Celestron C20 on a pier (approx $45,000 AU), build a proper 12 foot diameter dome up the back paddock (approx $30,000) and spend the remaining $25,000 on High quality EP's, a computer to put in the Observatory and Top of the Range Astrophotography gear.

I would also keep my 12" Dob for travelling around to other sites.

What would you buy with your $100,000 budget? Would it be a few acres in the bush for viewing plus gear? or all gear?

[Striker]

I would buy a GSO 6" dob then book a ticket on the next space shuttle!.

And I would tell the misses I only have $50,000 not $100,000...lol

[Astroman]

LOL Striker!

I have always wanted a 30" Schmidt Cassegrain, you think they could make me one for $100,000? With full goto, and also a 200mm Refractor for a guide scope. At least 3 computers, Big dome (automated) and a bit of land in the darkest part of Australia.

[janoskiss]

Andrew, I think you need to add at least one more 0 to the $100k budget!

[Dave47tuc]

I think my dream scope is not on this planet:whistle:

So build me a Starship so i can go looking for one:P

:ship2:

[ballaratdragons]

Tony,

How are you going to keep that within $100,000? A trip on the Shuttle would be a couple of Mill.


Dave,

If you had a starship you probably wouldn't need a telescope. LOL

[Dave47tuc]

Thats the point:P

[ballaratdragons]

So, that's what Tony is really up to! No wonder he sold his LX200

Nah! Can't be, he is already in Space.

[rumples riot]

Dream Scope?

Ritchey Chretien 20" $46,300 US
Astro Physics 1200 GTO Mount $9,400 US
Sbig Camera $15,000.00

Oops run out of money, can I have it in US dollars?:D

Anyway that is what I want. Either that or the top of the range Takahashi 300 Mewlon on a Astro Physics 1200 GTO mount.

Anyway that my dream scopes.

[Rodstar]

With a lazy $100K I think I'd go on a world tour visiting some of the best (and most remote) viewing sites in the world.

I'd stay in 5 star hotels and have a full time Cherpa in tow to carry the scope and other equipment to each location.

I would also head to Cape Canaveral for a Shuttle launch, and visit an old mate of mine who works with NASA as an engineer.

....And I'd get a 31 mm Nagler.

Rodstar

[Exfso]

One of these would be a good start, they make them up to 20inches I believe, but that is a 6fig usd sum.
http://www.tmboptical.com/itemsRecord.asp?item_id=16&cat_id=4&

:eyepop:

[ballaratdragons]

TMB Apochromat. Very impressive! I like the mount.

[Starkler]

I would get a 15 inch obsession or starmaster truss dob, blow a few K on eyepieces and an argonavis and put the rest towards a suitable dark sky property near a stream full of trout :D

[RAJAH235]

I've already got mine. Plan on saving the imaginary $100,000 for my OLDER age. :P L.

[janoskiss]

Without any money up front that is one difficult question to answer. I would spend $10,000 on researching how to best spend the remaining $90,000. So please advance me $10,000 and I will report back to you in 1-2 months. :D

PS. I would favour a "maximum aperture per dollar" approach.

[ballaratdragons]

In other words, for a hundred grand you would like a 1.5 metre reflector! Where are you going to house it?

Or possibly a 2 metre Dobsonian! Imagine the size of the Dob base!! LOL

[janoskiss]

I don't know. That's why I need 10% of the grant up front to conduct a feasibility study! :D

[iceman]

I like Starklers, that'd suit me too, except I still need to work so there's no point having a nice scope out in the sticks that I have to drive an hour to get to each night.

Or does this fantasy include living somewhere that you can use your scope from the backyard, and not having to work?

[xelasnave]

I,m pretty happy with my new 12 inch because it is my (past) dream scope, dont get me wrong there will be others but it was the next step. and I recon given the viewing here its probably as good as a 16 inch inb the Northern Hemisphere say.. I am working on the observatory outta free rock and cheap cement but the Missus just left home for a real life
so the house has turned into a observatory with gear from one end to the other.. I should send you a photo so you can hold it up to your wives etc and say..."now you think I,m obsessed with astronomy look at this (here add your own words) hill billy...:)
alex

[ving]

umm... dunno. sumpin big i guess...

[ballaratdragons]

Ballarat is 1.5 hours from Melbourne and hundreds of people travel to work in Melb every day.

I am about 2 hours from Melb and some people out here travel to Melb each day too.

If you were serious about a dark spot you wouldn't have to stop working! I'm sure there must be dark spots to live within an hour or so of your work. That excuse didn't work, did it Mike. LOL

[Astroman]

I would be happy with a 12" SCT on a GEM with some imaging equipment of some sort. Already got the observatory, so a bit of land near the flinders rangers will be on the cards.

Oh and a house there too. Nice cheap land and houses up there :)

[Starkler]

The thought behind my 100k plan is that a super-mega dream scope is a bit wasted operating from my backyard.
Its not easy to find a publicly accessable dark sky site so my plan includes buying one :D

[dhumpie]

My dream ""scopes"" would be a Starmaster Hybrid 14.5" f/4.3 truss dob with CZ mirrors as that is the largest scope I can use flatfooted and one of them 20x100 binoculars for comet hunting!

Darren

[ausastronomer]

Ken,


Your way short with your budget, as someone else suggested you need 2 double it then add a zero on the end and then allow it in $US, $US 2,000,000 should keep me going

Powered site Dark Sky property with properly equipped observatory with appropriate electronics, kitchenette and sleeping quarters $US 200k


40" OGS Ritchey Chretien Main Scope $US 780k

8" Takahashi Flourite APO $US 170k

Cameras, Eyepieces and other
much needed accessories like
adaptive optics $US 200k

TOTAL COST $US 1,350k

And it looks like I have change out of my $2 mill to book a shuttle flight :)


Seriously for $AUS 100k I would set up a small dome observatory on a leased dark site housing a 16"/F5 equatorailly mounted newtonian with a 4" APO as a guidescope and have some change left over.

CS-John B

[ballaratdragons]

LOL John, You'll need the change left over to stock your kitchenette with tucker! (don't forget the dunny paper either)

[tornado33]

I'd love to go to the main focus of the OWL telescope http://www.eso.org/projects/owl/index_3.html
...and put a 30mm Nagler on and look at things like the Proplyds in the Orion Nebula, the detail in the Humumclus Nebula in Eta Carinae, the Blue Planatary , Ghost of Jupiter, Ant nebula and so on. Imagine what you could see with a 100 metre aperature, with near diffraction limited resoloution thanks to the adaptive optices used. See http://www.eso.org/projects/owl/images/High_resolution/Opt_design.gif
The scope is a monster, even the SECONDARY mirror is over 3 times the size of the Keck telescope. Just gotta wait for it to be built now hehehehe

[ballaratdragons]

Wow! Can you imagine the diffraction spikes from the framework holding the secondary. That ain't no ordinary spider!