If money were no object

[Peteren]

For those that like to dream a little
If money were no object what would you put in your backyard observatory
for astrophotography ?

[Octane]

An RCOS on a Paramount with a big fat SBIG hanging off the end.

H

[hotspur]

how about this HUGE tak refractor,not sure what the mount is pictured with it,but I will take it too,-'if money were no object'

[mithrandir]

One of these?

http://www.rcopticalsystems.com/mounts/RCOS_Equatorial_Fork_32RC-40RC.html

Not sure what CCD you'd need for it though.

[seeker372011]

yes
just look at this image by jase-Jason Jennings-with a 24 inch RCOS

http://www.rcopticalsystems.com/gallery/images/ngc7293Lightbuckets.jpg

and imagine what a 32 inch could do in the right hands-I have inspected my mind and it boggles (channelling PG Wodehouse there)

[Peteren]

OMG :eyepop:I had no idea that this sort of equipment was available and that it could do this
http://www.rcopticalsystems.com/gallery/images/m16.jpg

Makes my 10" reflector and EQ6 look very ordinary :(

[Hans Tucker]

You already have a big fat SBIG...so you are 1/3rd the way there. Me..I would go for the Alluna Optics RC24 on a Paramount ME with a big fat Apogee CCD hanging off :D

[michaellxv]

If money were no object the first thing i'd be looking for is a new backyard.

[strongmanmike]

Hmmmmm?...let's see....ignoring the more fanciful options I could wish for :rolleyes: ;)...I recon a good 10" APO on an AP1200 mount, a 24" F3.5 dob with a full set of Ethos eyepieces and say a 20" F3.5 corrected Newtonian astrograph with 4" Wynn corrector on a good accurate fork mount with my big fat ProLine 16803 hanging off it :D (each scope with all the bells and whistles of course) wouldn't go astray...oh and the APO and Astrograph in twin domed building linked by a control room with an observing pad outside for the Dob...and move my backyard to darker skies.

Aaah, that was fun :thumbsup:.....now back to reality :sadeyes:

Mike

[supernova1965]

don't tease me :p:d

[JD2439975]

Money no object....hmmm.

I'd buy Hubble off NASA & the ISS, just for weekends of course & if anything broke I'd dump a truckload of cash on NASA's doorstep & say "FIX IT, don't bother me with the details just do it". :D

But more realistic would be one of those 32" RCOS jobbies stuck on a mountain in the Atacama desert....300 clear nights a year you say Mike...Noice one. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

You'd need a BIG CCD for the 32" too though or else you would be limited to capturing postage stamp size images :lol: oh and a jet to fly you to the desert, you wouldn't wanna actually live there :eyepop:

:thumbsup:

[andrew2008]

Well since money is no object this is the first thing that springs to mind.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/images/content/209572main_keckTelescopes-browse.jpg

[troypiggo]

You guys are all doing it wrong. Money is no object. You can't image if there's clouds. I'd build a cloud-zapping machine that punches holes in the sky so I can use the equipment I have any night you want.

[bloodhound31]

Ditto...and a cloud-zapper..

Baz.

[that_guy]

i would get the 50" orion monster dob...

[sejanus]

Thats nuts! :eyepop: I need one of those :rofl:

[Paul Haese]

This is my wish list. I am planning on getting most of this during the next construction boom.

Soooo.


20" Meade 400RCX on Max mount for doing planetary imaging. This thing has auto collimation, internal dew heaters, moving secondary, cooling (but will need peltiers), quite sharp optics and heaps of light for imaging at hi res. It will make the C14 look like a bucket of bolts.
17" CDK from planewave with STX and filter wheel on top of a PME or Robotic unit. That will be my DSO unit down at my country house.

Nothing else needed, just those things. I am a firm believer that the SCT is the better imaging telescope for planetary imaging over nearly every other unit. In good seeing it produces superb images.

The planewave scope has reportedly the flatest field getting around and is very sharp. Times for delivery are better than RCOS.

Nice to think about the future, now back to work.

[Terry B]

Is the AAO for sale?

[jase]

Ah...that image is now 'old school' with its 2x2 binned data ;)
The Lightbuckets team and I out did it with this effort late last year - shown here (http://cosmicphotos.com/gallery/image.php?fld_image_id=196&fld_album_id=11)

====

Interesting thread. No one has yet indicated they would go on any courses to learn photoshop inside-out in order to boost their knowledge on processing. What good is a million dollar rig when you don't know how to maximise the data you're obtaining from it. Sure the cost of a couple of courses is nothing in comparison to equipment, yet it is probably your knowledge (and available time) that's going to be letting you down. Food for thought.

[Ric]

Excellent point Jase. If money is no object I'll pay you to tutor me.:lol:

With all the stuff out there that is of such a high quality I find it difficult to decide what I would want.:confused2:

Cheers

[Hagar]

Money is no object, what's the matter with you blokes? Lack of it is the real problem.
In reality when I look at the amount I have wasted buying junk for this hobby I could easily have a great setup in the backyard and it would all be paid for but alas I bought the junk and probably will continue until tattersals gets generous.

What would I buy? Dunno, probably more junk or at least it would be in my hands. The trouble is the skill you cannot buy.

[Geoff45]

The problem is that whatever you buy, after using it you yearn for more and when you get more, the old stuff becomes junk. A 4" APO--great, but what could I do with a 6" apo, an 8" APO, ...? PE at 5 arc sec, but wouldn't 2 arc sec be better.
20mm diagonal on my camera, but 50mm would be better--trouble is it needs a scope with a wide, flat field and a better mount to get nice sharply focussed images etc etc. No matter how much you have, there will always be something better over the horizon. That's why the professionals keep pushing the funding agencies for bigger scopes.