Choosing and Using a Dobsonian Telescope
In the 1980’s, on the sidewalks of San Francisco, amateur astronomer John Dobson began showing throngs of people how to build and use large aperture scopes, often from scraps. The Dobsonian,‘Dobs,’ are now the best-selling large telescopes in the wor
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Choosing and Using a Dobsonian Telescope
Neil English
Dr. Neil English G63 0YB Glasgow UK
ISSN 1431-9756 ISBN 978-1-4419-8785-3 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-8786-0 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-8786-0 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2011931711 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
The 1960s gave the world flower power, the contraceptive pill, the Moon rocket, and Billy Graham. But on the sidewalks of San Francisco, amateur astronomer John Dobson began an extraordinary evangelistic movement of his own, showing throngs of ordinary people how to build and use large aperture ‘scopes from just about anything. Up until that time, large reflecting telescopes meant using heavy mirrors and complicated mounts, but Dobson almost single-handedly changed all that. By placing a large telescope on a simple, Lazy Susan mount, Dobson opened up large aperture observational astronomy to the masses. The Dobsonian revolution, as it came to be known, continues apace in the twenty-first century, with new and improved models appearing on the market every year. Dobsonian-mounted reflectors marry simplicity of design with portability and large aperture prowess in ways that other telescope designs simply can’t do. This book serves as the ultimate guide to buying and using a commercial Dobsonian for recreational astronomy. It provides in-depth accounts of the various models (plus accessories) on the market – both economy and premium – together with describing the wealth of innovations that amateurs have made to their Dobs to optimize their performance in the field.
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Preface
There has been a huge increase in the popularity of these telescopes in the last few years, and Dobsonians (Dobs) have been heavily advertised in all the major astronomy magazines. In fact, they are now the best-selling large telescopes, both in Europe and the United States. Furthermore, if you happen to visit one of the many star parties taking place at different times of year around the world, you’ll see a great variety of different Dob styles, ranging from the extravagant to the simplistic. This book will be of particular
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