Of all telescopes available commercially, which do you want the most and why?

I'd take the Takahashi FCT-250 10" apo, probably because its $250,000.

is the Keck commercially available?

 it doesn't matter how much its worth or how much it costs. 

i'd rather have several quality scopes suited for specific applications....

a couple of primo APO's a 6" and an 80mm  - photography/guiding/planetary

a big dob, like a 16" or better. - galaxy hunting

and the one i already have:

8" schmidt-cass - portable general purpose viewing/photography

none of them cost $250,000 - but they are realistic.

  O.k.--

  Without getting greedy:

  --one of them 16" meade SCTs witht the floor mounted equitorial fork in a custom made 12' domed observatory WITH a warm room. 

   And a 6" goto refractor for "just screwing around".

   And a little fridge in the warm room.

I already have a dream scope. It just takes about 4 OTAs to do it. 

My dreams are simple.  A light bucket that I can move with relative ease, one where the eyepiece is at a height that doesn't require a tall ladder, transportable, with great optics.  An 18" Obsession or Starmaster.

johnm:

I already have a dream scope. It just takes about 4 OTAs to do it. 

Would that be a "quad-viewer"?

I only have two more scopes that I desire. An 18 or 20 inch Obsession, and a Celestron CGE 9.25  (XLT). Those, paired with a roll off roof observatory would make me a happy camper!

  I wonder if I could pile everything on an AP "El Capitan" mount. Know any banks I could rob to find out?

Dream Scope - Webster 28 inch f3.6 or equivalent Obsession when they get shorter and lighter....

I know this is going to sound crazy but I already love my Cave 8" Newtonian.  I would love to put it on a permanent pier in an observatory. That would be dream enough.

If I had to buy something new, putting an observatory class 12" Parks Newtonian in that observatory, where I could mount it alonside a 6" Takahashi Refractor, would pretty much keep me happy till the cows come home.

L

 Like another poster said, my present scope is my dream scope. Anything larger would be a pain for me to observe with, being an old duffer. I do wish there was a device composed of a big red switch that when turned to "off", would kill all the outside lights for 50 miles. Bet they would sell millions! Mr Q

My dream scope would be powerful enough to show me Pluto and surface detail on Mars, and light enough to carry in and out of my house. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......................

Oh, I'm sorry I musta dozed off !

 Situation like it is, my C-11.  It is plenty big and still mobile.  If I had money to blow but keep it within reason... Something along the lines of a 16 inch SCT on an equatorial pier.  I would pour a nice pad in the back yard and build a small observatory around it.  I would put some kind of warm room in it for those cold nights and have all the space I need for equipment storage and organization.  I would also put a nice computer out there for astronomy only needs. 

My dream telescope is an Obsession 20" f/5- $ 2795.

I've changed my mind. I'd have a custom-built 12" Astro-Physics refractor, with a complete collection of Nagler, Ethos and monocentric eyepieces.

O.K., I'll be the retarded newbie, but what are the Obsession scopes?  Sounds like that would be the thing to have according to all those that have mentioned them.  And I know this is kinda off the main subject, but could someone briefly tell me the difference in Plossl, Nagler and the couple of other types of eyepieces I'm hearing about whos names escape me at the present moment?  Sorry if I slow down the daydreaming.

I haven't been at it long enough to know what my dream scope would be, but there's a guy at the star parties we go to that has a 20" truss Dob.  don't know if it would be my dream.  But MAN, can it bring things right into your living room!

Obsession scopes are the Cadillac of reflectors.

There are two premium truss-tube Dobsonian manufacturers that are roughly equivalent in quality - Obsession and Starmaster.  Obsession was the first company to market such telescopes.  Obsession mirror boxes are somewhat more compact, which is a plus, and the telescope action is probably the smoothest to be found (i.e., has the least amount of "stiction"), which can be a pro or con depending upon one's taste.

http://www.obsessiontelescopes.com/

I've used truss-tube Newtonian Dobs from both companies (and many others such as the now apparently defunct Starsplitter) and can recommend either one.

Dave Mitsky

chuck81:

Obsession scopes are the Cadillac of reflectors.

If that's the case then count me out!

I would love something bigger at home to observe with. But I have a dream scope to image with already... FTN & FTS!

Anyone who wants to talk about serious DOB mount newtonians can't do so without bringing Webster Telescopes into the conversation. 

Well, that answers that.  Thanks.  Are there bigger newtonian reflectors out there that are say the "Chevy Impala" of reflectors?  Not the "Geo Metro".  Something between the Caddy and the Metro?  Bigger as in 16" to 20".