Having been involved in amateur astronomy 40+ years ago as a young man in Canada, it has been a real eye opener to return to this world last year now that I'm retired, and see all the changes that have (for better or worse) brought new technology, large numbers of accessible suppliers, and the internet as a place where it can all be discussed (to death).
The hobby has come along way from ship porthole mirror blanks, and even the budget production scopes on offer today seem to have a level of capability that was sadly lacking in the past. And yet, early astronomers like Dunlop, Messier, etc accomplished their discoveries with fairly basic equipment by today's standards.
This brings me to my topic: the obsession with mirror specs (he said as he kicked the hornet's nest).
Sure, it would be nice to have say a Zambuto mirror in my 16" dob but is it going to be a noticable improvement to my old eyes, and one that can be justified in terms of expense, or simply something for people to brag about to others; and preach about on forums. Expense is relative of course, and the primary mirror is the single most important item in any Newtonian, so spend your money as you see fit. But given a dark site, is there really any difference between a good production mirror and these exotic custom made ones with nice names and a list of test results to rave about. Can the average (old) eye use the difference, or is it more a case of wishful seeing.
