Re: [ATM] the future of amateur telescope making and amateur astronomy

[<fundo@bellsouth.net>]

> What do you think the future of telescope making and amateur astronomy will
> be like?
> 
> I'm giving a presentation this summer at ALCON07 and wish very much to
> supplant my ideas with yours.
> 
> Mel Bartels

I started in this sport in 1959......a LOT has changed.  Back then a 12.5' was big....now its a starter scope!  If you told someone you were going to make a 30" telecscope, they would correct you and tell you that telescopes were measured by aperture, not focal length!!!  Astronomy was big because of the beginning of the Space Age. 

>From that perspective:

1)  I see our numbers shrinking still more, but  more being accomplished.  I see a stronger tie between amateurs and professionals

2)  Electronics will be playing a bigger and bigger part in what we do.  CCD cameras will be more affordable and some of our equipment and methods will rival the pros, as they do now.  Adaptive optics and automated searches/observing programs will be commonplace.

3)  The electronic/computer aspect  will draw individuals who are just interested in that part of the hobby;  eyeball observing, unfortunately, will become a lost skill.

4)  A break through in thin optics (25-30 to 1  or greater dia to thickness ratio) will eventually be made, primarily in electronic figure control, and we will produce even bigger instruments than today.  I think that in the near future, a low cost ceramic or polymer with an acceptable CoE will come to the market that will allow super thin mirrors, but the cost will be offset by the need for a dedicated computer to correct and maintain the surfaces.  (With the electronic figure control CoE will become a non-issue.)

5)  I believe that any effect on night sky conditions by the current trend to reduce the use of fossil fuels  will be offset by increased efficiency from LEDs and similar lighting sources.  Hopefully, the technology will advance only enough to make intelligent use of lighting a no-brainer! <G>  Smog and haze should be reduced, and you will be able to see the Moon from downtown New York/Chicago/Los Angeles/etc. again.  <<VBG>>

6)  I think we will continue to achieve greater things at the amatuer level.  "Astronomer" will be a more generic term, since the line between amateur and professional will blur, except for the compensation received by the latter. There will still an ATM list, in some fashon, and people will still be interested in buiding their own telescopes.  

7)  Tele-vue will have a 180 degree eyepiece, Meade and Celestron will introduce their Palomar series of 200" SCTs, I'll own a vintage Ferrari, and I'll be able to afford the T-V eyepiece and the big models from C and M!!!!  

*****-----
Dan F.
Memphis, TN




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