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Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 29th 03, 01:08 PM
Nathan Koren
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Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

Greetings,

In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. Their budget for the
scope itself (nevermind the enclosure and sitework, et cetera) is
$750,000. This seems like an akward number to me -- a lot larger than
any definition of "amateur" that I'm familiar with, but a lot smaller
than any institutional observatory I've ever heard of. Nonetheless,
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Cheers,

Nathan Koren.
  #2  
Old July 29th 03, 06:27 PM
Jonathan Thornburg
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Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

In article ,
Nathan Koren wrote:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. [[...]]
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


A number of companies advertise in "Sky & Telescope" magazine that
they build custom telescopes to order. A quick look through the
current issue found an add in the classified section from a company
who says they do up to 2 meter aperature, which should be more than
enough to absorb your client's budget.

Another possibility would be to contact an existing professional
observatory in your client's area and ask who they would recommend.

ciao,

--
-- "Jonathan Thornburg (remove -animal to reply)"
Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut),
Golm, Germany, "Old Europe" http://www.aei.mpg.de/~jthorn/home.html
"ActiveX as a security component? Isn't that like Ben and Jerry's ice
cream as a diet component?" -- Bill Unruh, sci.crypt, 18.Jul.2003
  #3  
Old July 29th 03, 06:27 PM
Jonathan Thornburg
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Posts: n/a
Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

In article ,
Nathan Koren wrote:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. [[...]]
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


A number of companies advertise in "Sky & Telescope" magazine that
they build custom telescopes to order. A quick look through the
current issue found an add in the classified section from a company
who says they do up to 2 meter aperature, which should be more than
enough to absorb your client's budget.

Another possibility would be to contact an existing professional
observatory in your client's area and ask who they would recommend.

ciao,

--
-- "Jonathan Thornburg (remove -animal to reply)"
Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut),
Golm, Germany, "Old Europe" http://www.aei.mpg.de/~jthorn/home.html
"ActiveX as a security component? Isn't that like Ben and Jerry's ice
cream as a diet component?" -- Bill Unruh, sci.crypt, 18.Jul.2003
  #4  
Old July 29th 03, 06:28 PM
David
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

Nathan Koren wrote:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. Their budget for the
scope itself (nevermind the enclosure and sitework, et cetera) is
$750,000. This seems like an akward number to me -- a lot larger than
any definition of "amateur" that I'm familiar with, but a lot smaller
than any institutional observatory I've ever heard of. Nonetheless,
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


Do they have any other preference beside spending that amount of money ?
Where is the location (important for the right choice) ? Will the user
use it for casual observing, astrophotography or some "scientific" work ?

If you want to deal with an US company, you may consider this:

http://www.tmboptical.com/itemsRecor...d=19&cat_id=4&

David

[Mod. note: top-posting fixed -- mjh.]
  #5  
Old July 29th 03, 06:28 PM
David
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Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

Nathan Koren wrote:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. Their budget for the
scope itself (nevermind the enclosure and sitework, et cetera) is
$750,000. This seems like an akward number to me -- a lot larger than
any definition of "amateur" that I'm familiar with, but a lot smaller
than any institutional observatory I've ever heard of. Nonetheless,
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


Do they have any other preference beside spending that amount of money ?
Where is the location (important for the right choice) ? Will the user
use it for casual observing, astrophotography or some "scientific" work ?

If you want to deal with an US company, you may consider this:

http://www.tmboptical.com/itemsRecor...d=19&cat_id=4&

David

[Mod. note: top-posting fixed -- mjh.]
  #6  
Old July 29th 03, 06:29 PM
Del Johnson
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Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?



"Nathan Koren" wrote in message
...
Nonetheless, if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom
would you go?


One possibility would be optical Guidance Systems:

http://www.opticalguidancesystems.com/

Del Johnson

[Mod. note: top-posting fixed -- mjh.]
  #7  
Old July 29th 03, 06:29 PM
Del Johnson
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Posts: n/a
Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?



"Nathan Koren" wrote in message
...
Nonetheless, if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom
would you go?


One possibility would be optical Guidance Systems:

http://www.opticalguidancesystems.com/

Del Johnson

[Mod. note: top-posting fixed -- mjh.]
  #8  
Old July 29th 03, 06:29 PM
Davoud
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Posts: n/a
Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

Nathan Koren:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. Their budget for the
scope itself (nevermind the enclosure and sitework, et cetera) is
$750,000. This seems like an akward number to me -- a lot larger than
any definition of "amateur" that I'm familiar with, but a lot smaller
than any institutional observatory I've ever heard of. Nonetheless,
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


*****

Kindly forward the name, address, phone number, and e-mail address of
your client. I need this just in case he/she manages to spend only,
say, $700,000 for his/her 'scope. I could use the change to purchase a
nice little scope for myself.

It could be difficult to find someone to build a 'scope in that price
range, and it would certainly be unnecessary; a *very* high-end scope
can be had for a small fraction of that amount. Fabrication of a
telescope at the specified price would not be speedy; it could require
a couple of years. I take it that your client is not at present an
astronomer, otherwise he/she would already know where to start looking
-- Sky & Telescope magazine, Google, or the astronomy department of a
good-sized university. Beware of the latter; if they know that someone
has a research-grade telescope they're going to want some observing
time!

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
  #9  
Old July 29th 03, 06:29 PM
Davoud
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

Nathan Koren:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. Their budget for the
scope itself (nevermind the enclosure and sitework, et cetera) is
$750,000. This seems like an akward number to me -- a lot larger than
any definition of "amateur" that I'm familiar with, but a lot smaller
than any institutional observatory I've ever heard of. Nonetheless,
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


*****

Kindly forward the name, address, phone number, and e-mail address of
your client. I need this just in case he/she manages to spend only,
say, $700,000 for his/her 'scope. I could use the change to purchase a
nice little scope for myself.

It could be difficult to find someone to build a 'scope in that price
range, and it would certainly be unnecessary; a *very* high-end scope
can be had for a small fraction of that amount. Fabrication of a
telescope at the specified price would not be speedy; it could require
a couple of years. I take it that your client is not at present an
astronomer, otherwise he/she would already know where to start looking
-- Sky & Telescope magazine, Google, or the astronomy department of a
good-sized university. Beware of the latter; if they know that someone
has a research-grade telescope they're going to want some observing
time!

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
  #10  
Old July 29th 03, 07:20 PM
Mike Simmons
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Posts: n/a
Default Where to buy a high-end custom-made telescope?

Nathan Koren wrote:
In the course of my architecture practice, I have encountered a client
who wishes to built a personal observatory. Their budget for the
scope itself (nevermind the enclosure and sitework, et cetera) is
$750,000. This seems like an akward number to me -- a lot larger than
any definition of "amateur" that I'm familiar with, but a lot smaller
than any institutional observatory I've ever heard of. Nonetheless,
if you had $750,000 to blow on a telescope, to whom would you go?


The issue of the best source for the proposed observatory goes far
beyond the available budget. There are many options available in this
price range and it's necessary to know the purpose of the observatory as
well as several other factors before making a decision on either the
type of telescope or the manufacturer or manufacturers (telescopes in
this range often have components provided by different sources). There
are many companies that can build a telescope that will cost this much
for your client. What he will end up with could well be unsuitable for
his purposes, however, unless proper care is taken in matching the
instrument and building to his needs. There's more homework that needs
to be done before deciding where to buy the telescope.

If someone asked you what car to buy for $125,000 would you recommend a
Ferrari or a Rolls-Royce? Both are great cars. But while one would
satisfy the customer, the other would be a big disappointment. And
you'd have to know which showroom to go to ahead of time so you can
learn about the most appropriate options available.

Mike Simmons
 




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