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When I was a young kid, my father ground a 6in mirror with a 48in focal length. I remember him walking around a table at night for weeks. The first mirror didn'
by Wistar 5y ago
When I was a young kid, my father ground a 6in mirror with a 48in focal length. I remember him walking around a table at night for weeks. The first mirror didn't work out so he had to grind a second.
The resulting telescope was, and still is, a remarkable device, although we had to have the mirror re-silvered a few years ago.
The first time I saw Saturn in all its glory was through that telescope, looking the size of a softball, and I remember thinking, Wow, it really exists!
- dekhn 5y agoSure, but these days you can buy most any lens or mirror you need rather than grinding it yourself, and then spend more time viewing stars and planets and less time breathing glass particulates. I think in most cases making your own lenses is just a labor of love, not a way to save money or achieve better results. This is merely because lens and mirror making was industrialized and has impressive economies of scale.
- Wistar 5y agoThis was back in the early 60s and although he could probably have purchased a ground mirror, I think getting one with a 48in focal length may have been beyond his budget.