You know you're next level when you have a C8 as a finder scope. I think the real story here is how did he just happen to get a 70" mirror from a US spy satellite? So funny.
That's what I was asking myself as well. How do you get it? At what price? How do you transport it? Do you have to have it polished every once in a while like the ones in Hawaii oder Chile? So many questions, so little time ...
The mirror for the 200” Hale Telescope at Paloma’s Observatory was cast as a solid disk but had a 70” hole cut into it. That 70” piece of glass disappeared for decades but was located in a warehouse in Tasmania (of all places). It was purchased, brought back to California in the 1980s iirc, ground, shaped and figured and installed in an amateur scope on a hilltop above Fremont California. One never hears much about it.
Could you possibly be writing about the reflector in Fremont Peak State Park? If so, it is a 30" reflector operated by the FPOA. There is a group in MacArthur, CA, Group 70, which is building a 70" reflector with an extra blank made for the 48-inch Schmidt camera on Palomar Mtn. The 48-inch Schmidt camera uses a 70-inch main mirror and they poured two blanks just in case one didn't work out. As an aside, the 120-inch Shane reflector at Lick Observatory uses the 120-inch test blank poured in preparation for the pouring of the 200-inch Hale telescope mirror. All interesting history.
@@1DesertPirate not sure anymore. I ground a few primary mirrors at the ATM workshop at the Chabot Observatory in Oakland in the late 1990s along with a preteen nephew. One of the mentors was involved in the 70” project discussed it. It was fascinating.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
@@MaximumAstronomy Is there a way to contact Mike Directly? The reason is I make 2-inch fit 52mm focal length eyepieces and would like to donate one to him? Here is a review of one I sent to in the USA. ruclips.net/video/82pJQQqTFQk/видео.html
@@MaximumAstronomy First of all, Thanks for taking us close to Mike's awesome telescope. If I understand correctly, field rotation would prohibit long exposure photography due to rotation of the target in the field despite being tracked. But I guess that it should be possible to take pictures of like 5 second exposure (and with not too much magnification to handle seeing), cuz there won't be much rotation in, say, 5 seconds. And targets like moon shouldn't need much exposure time at all.
Great job buddy! Wonderful videography and you did a great interview with Mike, what an authentic character and total badass he is haha! :-D Clear skies!
So the question that immediately comes to my mind is what is the setup time and how much do you need to disassemble the scope to transport it out of the storage building. I have a 24” Starmaster Dob that uses wheelbarrow handles to roll it out of the storage building and along a sidewalk to a circular concrete pad very similar to yours. 70” is absolutely incredible. Thanks so much for sharing Mike. The way you designed the scope to move the eyepiece down to ground level on a Dobsonian is absolute genius.
It looked to me as if the whole thing could be moved (carefully!) on a pallet truck. Plus the path to what looks like it's shed is super smooth. But then I wonder how heavy the primary might be! lol Edit: ruclips.net/video/aeIhoSh2NU8/видео.html
Yes it can be wheeled in and out of the shed building quite easily. We have been tinkering the idea of disassembling certain parts and renting a trailer and taking it to a dark sky for a party and showcasing its glory under the extreme dark skies but it is very heavy and bulky and would definitely take a feat of engineering and labor to achieve a goal like that
@@MaximumAstronomy Actually if he wanted to "spend" more money to move it, all he'd would need is a 5th wheel low bed trailer and he'd be able to take it to pretty much any dark sky site. Then once at the site, have a platform on each side of the trailer to walk on.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
@@Ryan-lm8kd Having looked through this it turns the 1 arc second of seeing were used to into a chunky undulating blob, you'd need adaptive optics to get past that. With a huge reducer of like 1/10 you could probably get some great shots with sub second exposures.
Doesn't Clements also make some really crazy telescope focusers too? He should make a giant Schiefspeigler next (true off axis reflector) Keep up the videos Max!
Him: "Darling, do you know where I put the welder's helmet?" Her "It's 2 am, you are not going to work in your shop now!" Him: "No, no I am just gonna take a look at the moon."
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
The largest scope I ever got to look through was the 22" Kuhn scope that members of the Orange County Astronomers built (primarily Bill Kuhn) in the early to mid '80s.
Does he realize there is a dinosaur wandering around his yard (first appeared at 8:18 and a better view was at 8:36)? Even dinosaurs are interested in this scope.
Wow, this behemoth telescope makes my 15-inch Dob look like a finder scope. I'm sure many objects that are very dim through a 15-inch are quite the opposite through a 70-inch.
Amazing, thanks for sharing. I was wondering if a large shroud was going to go over the frame at some stage. But I guess for these monsters it would be difficult to do and also would knock it out of collimation. I did notice the black card to help block out the glare at the eyepiece.
Ich schaue in die Sterne seit Sommer 2023 und mein größtes Teleskop ist ein 200mm f5 Newton. Ich bin sooo begeistert von diesem Monstrum. So wuderbar das es so etwas in Privathand gibt. Leider beherrsche ich kein Englisch aber ich möchte so gerne viel Freude und Faszination am Universum wünschen. Unfassbar 70"....phooooooahyippijea ^^
Unfortunately that telescope wasn’t setup for photographic use. The telescope because of its extremely long focal length and being Alt Az, long exposure is just about impossible with an instrument with this much magnification.
@@MaximumAstronomy If you use it for visual only, how do you manage atmospheric seeing at high magnification ? When I think, I can barely stand seeing through my tiny 4" refractor...
@@c.guibbs1238 Honestly most of the observing through this telescope is down at 40mm or similar eyepieces that will still deliver somewhere in the 275x magnification range. But we don’t hardly ever get to go above that since the atmosphere doesn’t allow it. But at 275x power it’s already hard to get decent views some nights because of seeing.
@@MaximumAstronomy I'm not surprised : with your scope, a magnification of 275x corresponds to an exit pupil of 6mm, which leads to high levels of eye aberrations (mainly spherical). So, at the end, you have to deal with a non cooperative atmosphere and a non cooperative eye, as well !
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
My thoughts exactly. They probably choose Jupiter because this was an open-house event. While I have observed through a 74" telescope, its location was far from ideal, unlike when it was built in 1935.
I love how this guy is just so cool n down to earth (pun intended), especially at 8:48 when he sees the guy dressed as the dinosaur n looks over during n after his presentation! 😂 he takes pride in his work but not boastful n just super passionate about astronomy itself! Man is a true legend!
Many years ago at RTMC, there was a guy who had on display the framework (all out of 2x4's) for a 70" scope...with no mirror. His wife gave him the OK to build the framework but not the OK to purchase the mirror. Obviously the framework was too flimsy to support a 70" mirror, but this guy believed otherwise. You have all types attending the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference!
That would make a fantastic scope for video astronomy. You could set up multiple 4K tv's/monitors around the scope to handle any size crowd and still accommodate visual observers..
No, it really wouldnt. Over 11 meters of focal length... Even a 25mm eyepiece would lend you 440x magnification. For comfortable viewing at this focal length, your need an eyepiece with 200mm focal length which just wouldnt work out. Also without perfect seeing, this beast is heavily limited.
With its 11-metre focal length the image of the moon would be 95mm (close to 4 inches) across. That's way beyond the sensor size of even professional movie cameras. Even a full-frame camera (43mm diagonal) would show only a small fraction of the moon in any one shot. You wouldn't see any more detail than in other telescopes either, because the shimmering caused by the atmosphere is what limits resolution beyond quite small instruments.
Technically speaking, the monster is a Single-Fold Herschelian -named for the design first used by John Herschel , essentially an (slightly) off-axis Newtonian to maximise light gathering from poor reflectivity in the 18th century. There has also been an article posted in March 2004 Sky & Telescope for making an 6" unobstructed instrument.
A Herschelian is off axis; the axis of the parabolic mirror doesn't align with the axis of the telescope tube (or truss in this case). This monster does have the mirror aligned with the truss so the centre of the image goes straight back to the secondary in the middle. It's only different from the usual Newtonian in that the angle of the flat secondary is not 45°.
I can understand using Jupiter as a target for an open house event, but did he move to any deep-sky objects as well? I would love to get the chance to look through this telescope.
@@Sr.DeathKnight I imagine even the lowest power is quite high, and without a drive, one would be constantly having to move the scope to recenter everything.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
I might, although other people must own them too, have the smallest amateur telescope. my 5x10 Zeiss Mini Quick monocular.I actually do use it for stargazing and was looking at M11 , the Wild Duck, and Epsilon Lyra, and Double Double,in it two nights ago.At some point I'll have to see if it can pluck out Neptune.
damn you need some custom 3 inch or 4 inch eyepieces with that monster 😂😂 like a 100mm 4 inch ethos deluxe pro max 120 degrees 256GB 16GB Ram (fantasy eyepiece 😂)
Neighbor: our neighbor sucks like, hes using the small ones because its cheap 😂😂 Him being a mf: oh yea? *building this humongus telescope* Neighbor: 😶
I couldn't help but notice this old ripped guy was using his weight set for a counter balance - lol! The other thing that struck me was that he got his hands on a mirror intended for a spy satellite. I remember hearing stories about how Russia agreed to destroy many of their spy satellite optics after the Soviet Union collapsed. There were novelty web sites selling small glass tchotchkes made from the glass - I felt this was an abomination. The complete telescopes, or at least the optics would have been a god send to any amateur astronomy organization - what a waste!
So, are there any videos which show what can be pictured with this telescope? And, I missed, have he build the corpse only or the mirror itself, as well?
Teleskope dieser Größe sind zum Fotografieren unbrauchbar. Mit kleineren Teleskopen können Sie bessere Ergebnisse erzielen. Aber es ist wahrscheinlich unglaublich für das Auge und schwer zu beschreiben, das Auge ist anpassungsfähiger als eine Kamera. Toller Kerl, reflektiert auch sein Teleskop.
That was fun - too bad you couldn't show any pictures. No way you could have pointed just a smartphone into the optic? Thanks for sharing, I had no idea this existed. But I live in Switzerland in the middle of Europe, maybe that's why 😉
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
The largest optical telescope in the solar system is Hubble at a good 90ft aperture and can split double stars closer than 0.01 arc seconds. For a larger telescope than that, one would have to go to another solar system, perhaps Proxima Centauri B, where, who knows, there might be an optical telescope of a mile or more in diameter, which might be able to see Earth clearly.
Hubble has an aperture of around 7.8ft. 2.4m. Still wrong btw, since the JWST is currently the largest optical telescope (21.3ft, 6.5m) in space around earth, but definitely not the largest optical telescope humans have built. If youre mixing up aperture and focal length, then its still wrong. Hubble's focal length is 189ft (56.7m), Webb's focal length is 431ft (131.4m). Hubble's angular resolving power is 0.05 arc seconds.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
Yes it is! The focal length is around 11,000mm, give or take a little. So even a lower power eyepiece around 40mm give around a 275X magnification. You can of course so higher power if you’d like as well!
bros using an 8 inch telescope as a view finder
scope is so big its spotting scope has a spotting scope
Lol
😂😂😂
😅
Me who tried to make it at home
You know you're next level when you have a C8 as a finder scope. I think the real story here is how did he just happen to get a 70" mirror from a US spy satellite? So funny.
That's what I was asking myself as well. How do you get it? At what price? How do you transport it? Do you have to have it polished every once in a while like the ones in Hawaii oder Chile? So many questions, so little time ...
@@stefanschneider3681that’s how Hubble was built. Surplus mirror from a keyhole sat iirc. So there is some precedent for civilian use.
Fell off a truck.
@@praveenb9048 🤣
@@dmacpher Yeah he bought it at a surplus auction
The mirror for the 200” Hale Telescope at Paloma’s Observatory was cast as a solid disk but had a 70” hole cut into it. That 70” piece of glass disappeared for decades but was located in a warehouse in Tasmania (of all places). It was purchased, brought back to California in the 1980s iirc, ground, shaped and figured and installed in an amateur scope on a hilltop above Fremont California. One never hears much about it.
Could you possibly be writing about the reflector in Fremont Peak State Park? If so, it is a 30" reflector operated by the FPOA. There is a group in MacArthur, CA, Group 70, which is building a 70" reflector with an extra blank made for the 48-inch Schmidt camera on Palomar Mtn. The 48-inch Schmidt camera uses a 70-inch main mirror and they poured two blanks just in case one didn't work out. As an aside, the 120-inch Shane reflector at Lick Observatory uses the 120-inch test blank poured in preparation for the pouring of the 200-inch Hale telescope mirror. All interesting history.
@@1DesertPirate not sure anymore. I ground a few primary mirrors at the ATM workshop at the Chabot Observatory in Oakland in the late 1990s along with a preteen nephew. One of the mentors was involved in the 70” project discussed it. It was fascinating.
@@nohphd, probably was Kevin Medlock. He's heading up the Group 70 project.
Jesus Christ, Friggin Tasmania. I wish we could cut that place off from the mainland. Kiwi's are better than them
Fun fact: Before Mike built the actual scope he first built a model our of popsicle sticks. (Really!)
What an amazing achievement Mike has done! I would love to see any videos of the moon or planets that have been taken with this remarkable telescope?
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
@@MaximumAstronomy Is there a way to contact Mike Directly? The reason is I make 2-inch fit 52mm focal length eyepieces and would like to donate one to him? Here is a review of one I sent to in the USA. ruclips.net/video/82pJQQqTFQk/видео.html
@@MaximumAstronomy First of all, Thanks for taking us close to Mike's awesome telescope. If I understand correctly, field rotation would prohibit long exposure photography due to rotation of the target in the field despite being tracked. But I guess that it should be possible to take pictures of like 5 second exposure (and with not too much magnification to handle seeing), cuz there won't be much rotation in, say, 5 seconds. And targets like moon shouldn't need much exposure time at all.
@@yashsvidixit7169 Correct. But the atmosphere turbulence needs to be at an absolute minimum to focus a camera at 11,000mm focal length. :)
@@MaximumAstronomy Exactly.
Great job buddy! Wonderful videography and you did a great interview with Mike, what an authentic character and total badass he is haha! :-D Clear skies!
Thank you so much!
So the question that immediately comes to my mind is what is the setup time and how much do you need to disassemble the scope to transport it out of the storage building. I have a 24” Starmaster Dob that uses wheelbarrow handles to roll it out of the storage building and along a sidewalk to a circular concrete pad very similar to yours. 70” is absolutely incredible. Thanks so much for sharing Mike. The way you designed the scope to move the eyepiece down to ground level on a Dobsonian is absolute genius.
It looked to me as if the whole thing could be moved (carefully!) on a pallet truck. Plus the path to what looks like it's shed is super smooth.
But then I wonder how heavy the primary might be! lol
Edit: ruclips.net/video/aeIhoSh2NU8/видео.html
Yes it can be wheeled in and out of the shed building quite easily. We have been tinkering the idea of disassembling certain parts and renting a trailer and taking it to a dark sky for a party and showcasing its glory under the extreme dark skies but it is very heavy and bulky and would definitely take a feat of engineering and labor to achieve a goal like that
@@MaximumAstronomy Actually if he wanted to "spend" more money to move it, all he'd would need is a 5th wheel low bed trailer and he'd be able to take it to pretty much any dark sky site. Then once at the site, have a platform on each side of the trailer to walk on.
I want to see images of this telescope.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
@@MaximumAstronomy thanks for explaining why no images.
I want? Learn some manners! Manners maketh man!
@@MaximumAstronomy Couldn't you use Lucky Imaging tactics to get around the atmospheric wobble using this telescope?
@@Ryan-lm8kd Having looked through this it turns the 1 arc second of seeing were used to into a chunky undulating blob, you'd need adaptive optics to get past that. With a huge reducer of like 1/10 you could probably get some great shots with sub second exposures.
So cool! Kudos to Mike for the build.
Amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Don’t you envy this guy?
So powerful you need to wear sunglasses when you look through it at the moon.
Where are the pictures taken with this telescope?
@@gertebert read the description
@@gertebert There are none, it wasn't made for astrophotography, just visual astronomy.
Doesn't Clements also make some really crazy telescope focusers too? He should make a giant Schiefspeigler next (true off axis reflector) Keep up the videos Max!
I’m pretty sure he has. I remember seeing a vid here on yt.
That's Don Clements, this is Mike Clements. Don is in California, Mike in Utah.
It is not an off axis design. In off axis design,the secondary doesn’t block out light falling on the primary
Correct, it is not off-axis.
Now THAT'S a serious case of Aperture Fever!
You did good, Mike!
Im on a budget, can i get this for 50 quid?
We all wish, right?!
Thanks for sharing this amazing and lovely beast!
He has to resilver both mirrors yearly. Respect!
I'd be afraid looking at the moon through this scope might ruin my night vision for a couple weeks. 😊
)))))) Already in a 4-inch refractor from the light of the moon, vision disappears)))
Him: "Darling, do you know where I put the welder's helmet?"
Her "It's 2 am, you are not going to work in your shop now!"
Him: "No, no I am just gonna take a look at the moon."
Thats all good and exciting but arnt we going to see any images from this beast?
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
Great video. Too bad we couldn't have a camera shot through it.
Yup. Where are all the pictures taken with this telescope? I'm looking for them for 5 years now.
Fr like the telescope is cool and all but we want to see what the views look like
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
With very precise collimation it sure can do planetary imaging - it's not near as demanding as deep space imaging.
Too much turbulence, the image wouldn't come up focused. @@hyparh
I looked through a 45" at a star party many years ago and that one blew me away! I can only imagine how impressive the 70" views are.
The largest scope I ever got to look through was the 22" Kuhn scope that members of the Orange County Astronomers built (primarily Bill Kuhn) in the early to mid '80s.
This has inspired me. How would I make a smaller version of this? Where do you get the mirrors? Where do you get the plans?
Any chance you could link to any website or gallery they might have?
Does he realize there is a dinosaur wandering around his yard (first appeared at 8:18 and a better view was at 8:36)? Even dinosaurs are interested in this scope.
Wow, this behemoth telescope makes my 15-inch Dob look like a finder scope. I'm sure many objects that are very dim through a 15-inch are quite the opposite through a 70-inch.
15 inch is still pretty insane. Im stuck with a 5" lol
I'm stuck with my phone no telescope
@@wotclips5581 I'm using 60 mm refractor.
The problem is that it has a focal length of 11m, lol. Not many big objects can be seen. Also, he can't move It to darker places.
@@Sr.DeathKnight ...and climbing up and down tall ladders would get old fast.
Amazing, thanks for sharing. I was wondering if a large shroud was going to go over the frame at some stage. But I guess for these monsters it would be difficult to do and also would knock it out of collimation. I did notice the black card to help block out the glare at the eyepiece.
A shroud is certainly an advantage for a Truss Newtonian.
Ich schaue in die Sterne seit Sommer 2023 und mein größtes Teleskop ist ein 200mm f5 Newton. Ich bin sooo begeistert von diesem Monstrum. So wuderbar das es so etwas in Privathand gibt. Leider beherrsche ich kein Englisch aber ich möchte so gerne viel Freude und Faszination am Universum wünschen. Unfassbar 70"....phooooooahyippijea ^^
WOW !!! I owned a 17.5 inch dob and viewed with 20 and 25 inch dobs, but you have those beat. Very nice telescope.
Is it possible that they can show images through the telescope?
Unfortunately that telescope wasn’t setup for photographic use. The telescope because of its extremely long focal length and being Alt Az, long exposure is just about impossible with an instrument with this much magnification.
@@MaximumAstronomy
If you use it for visual only, how do you manage atmospheric seeing at high magnification ?
When I think, I can barely stand seeing through my tiny 4" refractor...
@@c.guibbs1238 Honestly most of the observing through this telescope is down at 40mm or similar eyepieces that will still deliver somewhere in the 275x magnification range. But we don’t hardly ever get to go above that since the atmosphere doesn’t allow it. But at 275x power it’s already hard to get decent views some nights because of seeing.
@@MaximumAstronomy I'm not surprised : with your scope, a magnification of 275x corresponds to an exit pupil of 6mm, which leads to high levels of eye aberrations (mainly spherical). So, at the end, you have to deal with a non cooperative atmosphere and a non cooperative eye, as well !
@@c.guibbs1238 This is why they put large scopes at extremely distant locales.
So we don’t get to see any images of its capability? I was looking forward to that.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
70” of aperture….& you go and look at the planets??? 😂😂😂
…..I wanted to hear what it was like on relatively dim DSO’s! 😃
My thoughts exactly. They probably choose Jupiter because this was an open-house event. While I have observed through a 74" telescope, its location was far from ideal, unlike when it was built in 1935.
I’d actually be a little terrified of looking at Jupiter through that, has to be like looking at the sun, I’d love to see M1 through that monster.
Great history, brilliant people. Thanks for blowing up our minds today too. Inspiring. Keep on going
Wondering what would be the focal length of this thing ! I mean using C8 SCt as a finder scope, I cant comprehend this monster's capabilities
I did some calculations, should be around 7000mm f4
11m, lol!
I love how this guy is just so cool n down to earth (pun intended), especially at 8:48 when he sees the guy dressed as the dinosaur n looks over during n after his presentation! 😂 he takes pride in his work but not boastful n just super passionate about astronomy itself! Man is a true legend!
Many years ago at RTMC, there was a guy who had on display the framework (all out of 2x4's) for a 70" scope...with no mirror.
His wife gave him the OK to build the framework but not the OK to purchase the mirror.
Obviously the framework was too flimsy to support a 70" mirror, but this guy believed otherwise.
You have all types attending the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference!
That is fantastic! If I visit I'll have to dig out my dinosaur costume - can't remember where I put it though.
Finally someone mentions the marauding Allosaurus running around.
😅
This thing deserves a permanent mount and dome.
That would make a fantastic scope for video astronomy. You could set up multiple 4K tv's/monitors around the scope to handle any size crowd and still accommodate visual observers..
No, it really wouldnt. Over 11 meters of focal length... Even a 25mm eyepiece would lend you 440x magnification. For comfortable viewing at this focal length, your need an eyepiece with 200mm focal length which just wouldnt work out.
Also without perfect seeing, this beast is heavily limited.
Wow! How, just how?!? I can barely find energy to set up my up my Meade 10inch LX200. Very cool.
Better change your diet and do some walking if your that low in energy...or someone else will be selling your scope at an estate sale.
The T-Rex was the icing on the cake...9:50
When pointed at the zenith, for fall protection, should you be equipped with a parachute?
Admit it! You're building a Death Star!
Any videos of the moon with this scope?
Still looking for pictures taken with this telescope. Looking for 5 years now.
With its 11-metre focal length the image of the moon would be 95mm (close to 4 inches) across. That's way beyond the sensor size of even professional movie cameras. Even a full-frame camera (43mm diagonal) would show only a small fraction of the moon in any one shot. You wouldn't see any more detail than in other telescopes either, because the shimmering caused by the atmosphere is what limits resolution beyond quite small instruments.
@@gertebert There are none, it wasn't made for astrophotography, just visual astronomy.
10:25 I love the red light at the top to keep aircraft from running into it.
What's the angular field of view at low power?
Brilliant!!! Great job.
Thanks for posting!
I can only imagine what globular clusters look like through that scope.
Technically speaking, the monster is a Single-Fold Herschelian -named for the design first used by John Herschel , essentially an (slightly) off-axis Newtonian to maximise light gathering from poor reflectivity in the 18th century. There has also been an article posted in March 2004 Sky & Telescope for making an 6" unobstructed instrument.
Mike's is not Herschelian but
Newtonian, the 28" 2ndary obstruct the 70" aperture
A Herschelian is off axis; the axis of the parabolic mirror doesn't align with the axis of the telescope tube (or truss in this case). This monster does have the mirror aligned with the truss so the centre of the image goes straight back to the secondary in the middle. It's only different from the usual Newtonian in that the angle of the flat secondary is not 45°.
Where do you get a 70-inch mirror?
custom made by someone at glass factory
I'm not saying this isn't homemade or impressive, but reusing a 70" spy mirror sure sounds easier than grinding out and coating a 70" reflector.
I can understand using Jupiter as a target for an open house event, but did he move to any deep-sky objects as well? I would love to get the chance to look through this telescope.
The problem is that it has a focal length of 11m, lol. Not many big objects can be seen.
@@Sr.DeathKnight I imagine even the lowest power is quite high, and without a drive, one would be constantly having to move the scope to recenter everything.
@@jc4evur661 Right.
I see my guy Mike doesn’t skip arm day at the gym 💪🏼
Big scope... "BigGunShow"!
He is like a student of Newton.
There is a cryptid in this video, behind the dude, moving right to left
A telescope so large it uses another telescope as a finder scope 😂
Photographs would be nice.
Thank you for sharing that awesome video.
I assume it lives in the nearby building - moved out with a forklift for use?
This guy didnt catch aperture fever...
He caught Aperture PLAUGE. 😂
Seems the only cure is a 70" mirror.
Man, you should have taken a few photos with a smartphone to show us lol.
Who else noticed the guy in the dinosaur costume?
The mirrors looked a bit mucky.
The arms on that bro! Clearly he did the work himself
Mike sounds like a genuinely lovely guy. That's a very impressive piece of kit! Where on earth do you get a spy satellite mirror from!? :D
Beats me! But it’s so awesome!!
Nice little travel scope Hahah amazing
you didnt put your phone up to the eyepiece!
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
Amazing telescope and an amazing person who built it!
I might, although other people must own them too, have the smallest amateur telescope. my 5x10 Zeiss Mini Quick monocular.I actually do use it for stargazing and was looking at M11 , the Wild Duck, and Epsilon Lyra, and Double Double,in it two nights ago.At some point I'll have to see if it can pluck out Neptune.
This thing is so big, he can see all the way to N. Korea and look through Kim jong un's bedroom window to spy on him.
Simple parts from Lowes and Home Depot? But a Super Brain to make it. Magic Mike
damn you need some custom 3 inch or 4 inch eyepieces with that monster 😂😂 like a 100mm 4 inch ethos deluxe pro max 120 degrees 256GB 16GB Ram (fantasy eyepiece 😂)
can i build this on my backyard using mirrors and scope?
Neighbor: our neighbor sucks like, hes using the small ones because its cheap 😂😂
Him being a mf: oh yea? *building this humongus telescope*
Neighbor: 😶
This was a fantastic video!
Thank you so much!
The relatively big C8 just disappears lol, that’s crazy…
I can't find any pictures taken with this telescope. Or am I looking not good enough? I'm so curious!
There are none, it wasn't made for astrophotography, just visual astronomy.
That is the hugest Dobsonian I have ever seen in my entire life! How do you move it from one place to another?
Pallet jack.
Really big station wagon...
... I suspect it stays where it is, only moving from the garage to the flat concrete slab we see it on.
Collimation must be a 🤬
No such thing as collimation
Супер любительский телескоп!!!
I couldn't help but notice this old ripped guy was using his weight set for a counter balance - lol! The other thing that struck me was that he got his hands on a mirror intended for a spy satellite. I remember hearing stories about how Russia agreed to destroy many of their spy satellite optics after the Soviet Union collapsed. There were novelty web sites selling small glass tchotchkes made from the glass - I felt this was an abomination. The complete telescopes, or at least the optics would have been a god send to any amateur astronomy organization - what a waste!
When the size of your secondary outdoes the size of my primary by 19 inches. Unbelievable. (edited for spelling error)
Why no pictures of the sky through this telescope
Is the maim Mirror made of glass or metal with coated aluminum.
So, are there any videos which show what can be pictured with this telescope?
And, I missed, have he build the corpse only or the mirror itself, as well?
Y no muestran ninguna imagen?
Wished this caught the “spy satellite” moving from Montana to Kansas
Teleskope dieser Größe sind zum Fotografieren unbrauchbar. Mit kleineren Teleskopen können Sie bessere Ergebnisse erzielen.
Aber es ist wahrscheinlich unglaublich für das Auge und schwer zu beschreiben, das Auge ist anpassungsfähiger als eine Kamera.
Toller Kerl, reflektiert auch sein Teleskop.
bro's leviathan is over half the aperture of hubble
That was fun - too bad you couldn't show any pictures. No way you could have pointed just a smartphone into the optic? Thanks for sharing, I had no idea this existed. But I live in Switzerland in the middle of Europe, maybe that's why 😉
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
How does a 42% obstruction impact the image quality? Is the penalty worth the convenience?
I would imagine the bright lights from the surrounding neighborhood would cause bigger problems.
The largest optical telescope in the solar system is Hubble at a good 90ft aperture and can split double stars closer than 0.01 arc seconds. For a larger telescope than that, one would have to go to another solar system, perhaps Proxima Centauri B, where, who knows, there might be an optical telescope of a mile or more in diameter, which might be able to see Earth clearly.
Hubble has an aperture of around 7.8ft. 2.4m. Still wrong btw, since the JWST is currently the largest optical telescope (21.3ft, 6.5m) in space around earth, but definitely not the largest optical telescope humans have built.
If youre mixing up aperture and focal length, then its still wrong. Hubble's focal length is 189ft (56.7m), Webb's focal length is 431ft (131.4m).
Hubble's angular resolving power is 0.05 arc seconds.
Why does noone ever mention deep sky views!? What does m42 and m13 look like? M51?
Just curious... How much does your 70 inch main mirror weigh? Thank You!
more than a normal person can lift i assure you.
Looks like that thing from Alien Prometheus
I would like to see close-ups of craters on the moon.
NO IMAGE!? :( Really sad that this telescope doesn't have a full enclosure. The mirrors are getting damaged.
It’s not just that simple. Astrophotography using an Altazimuth design like this one introduces field rotation. This is combated using an EQ mount. But with a focal length of over 11,000mm and unstable seeing conditions, you are rarely ever able to take advantage of this aperture and power. Using a camera is going to deliver rotation and very fuzzy photos due to atmospheric turbulence. Mike has configured this as visual instrument only.
That is serious focal length. What's the lowest magnification, 1000x?
Yes it is! The focal length is around 11,000mm, give or take a little. So even a lower power eyepiece around 40mm give around a 275X magnification. You can of course so higher power if you’d like as well!
@@MaximumAstronomy Yet would have to always be manually moving the scope to track the object.
Put a camera on it, let's see what it can do!!
Awesome!!!
How did this guy fall into a 70 inch mirror from a spy satellite 🤨 (My man has some SERIOUS connections)