Where do telescopes go to die

[TrevorW]

Over the last 400 years there has been a proliferation of telescopes made and moreso with the growth and commercialisation in the last 40 but I've often pondered where have all those telescopes gone

the 6" Newt I built 25 years ago
the 4" Meade SCT I owned 20 years ago
the 4" Newt I owned 15 years ago

Is there a graveyard for all those old scopes not just mine but many with far larger and better mirrors/lens or are they stripped the good parts used again or discarded like so many other precious things of the past, lost for all time in the flotsam and jetson of mankind never again to see the light of the night sky

[space oddity]

The answer is easy. Each of the stars in the heavens is a deceased telescope. In the Lion King, dead Lion Kings become stars , so the logic trail is simple.

[el_draco (Rom)]

Originally Posted by TrevorW

Over the last 400 years there has been a proliferation of telescopes made and moreso with the growth and commercialisation in the last 40 but I've often pondered where have all those telescopes gone

the 6" Newt I built 25 years ago
the 4" Meade SCT I owned 20 years ago
the 4" Newt I owned 15 years ago

Is there a graveyard for all those old scopes not just mine but many with far larger and better mirrors/lens or are they stripped the good parts used again or discarded like so many other precious things of the past, lost for all time in the flotsam and jetson of mankind never again to see the light of the night sky

Good telescopes don't die... Klingons steal them and on-sell them to Vulcans!

[taminga16 (Greg)]

A 10" reflector that I know of serves as a rather substantial coat rack behind the front door of a friends home.

Greg.

[taminga16 (Greg)]

Originally Posted by space oddity

The answer is easy. Each of the stars in the heavens is a deceased telescope. In the Lion King, dead Lion Kings become stars , so the logic trail is simple.

This is almost as romantic as the notion that the rings of Saturn are made up of all of the luggage that has ever been lost at airports.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I'm sorry, but I thought the rings of Saturn were made up of little coffins, each containing the deceased light sources of hologrammatic Ace Rimmers?
I saw that on telly so it must be true.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Telescopes don't die. They Ascend. That is why there are never any corpses found.

[GrahamL]

Well you hope most scopes that lose there way find a good home in time ..Some would likely go to land fill though.
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...l/fpart/1/vc/1


I came across an old refracter at a garage sale once boxed and very
nice (polerax ?) .. its present owner wanted to be rid of it and the way he said it was , its going one way or the other.

I dind't have much spare cash at the time and was hunting a bird cage
so coming home with a telescope wasn't really an option , but It bugged me enough that the guy might toss it away that I went back late that day , couldn't see the boxes from the road so figured he sold it.

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

I have just thrown mine to the dump, 4" reflector and a 75mm refractor.

Adrian

before anyone as a heart attack the reflector fell down the stairs and broke and the reflector I got for $2 at a garage sale and it had double vision when you looked at the moon 2 images offset by about 2mm

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I've an old 76mm reflector that was on a dump pile. Spent an evening cleaning and regreasing. Eventually I'll knock up a dob base for it and pass it on.
My first scope, a 60mm refractor I'm keeping, it could come in handy as a guide scope.

[leon]

I too have pondered this thought, and reckon good glass lasts forever.

A telescope can still see the same star, that it saw 50 years ago, if of coarse the scope was keep in good condition, just a thought.

leon

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

Originally Posted by TrevorW

...the 4" Meade SCT I owned 20 years ago...

Hey, I've got one of those, second hand, which I've had for nearly twenty years. It was my first telescope, a birthday present from my parents. Perhaps it was yours?

[TrevorW]

Blue tube with a table top EQ mount (which could be adapted to a tripod) in case, it cost me $1500 20 odd years ago

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

No then, mine was without a mount. I had it on a wobbly camera tripod for several years until I built my dob.

[Ric]

Where do telescopes go?

Douglas Adams had a good theory.

Probably to the same place that ball point pens go to. They slip quietly through tiny wormholes and go to another dimension to enjoy the good life.

[pmrid (Peter)]

I'm embarassed to admit that I have a fairly long list of ex-scopes. And it isn't just te scopes - it's also that jungle of old wood and aluminium legs and mounts - and a mixture of ill-suited weights. They all more or less mark my slow progress up the learning curve. Wherever I can I hand them on to kids. I offered a quite serviceable 4" newtonian to a local school not too long ago and got a knock-back. So I've given that up as a waste. I've also junked a couple but only as a last resort and after salvaging anything that might be of use. The result is I have a collection of bits and pieces of various degrees of #$%^ but you never know do you?



Peter.

[Wavytone]

I was once a member of the mourning party invited to watch two dobs cremated on a truly spectacular funereal pyre. I'm sure their mirrors ascended to heaven as we watched.

Ashes to ashes, sand to sand