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A 17.5" Dobsonian
A work of Art & Science
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A Telescopic History
Being an astronomical and commercial illustrator gave me few inherent skills for Telescope Making yet gave me great skills in the honoring of the sights it affords the patient amateur astronomer. My dear friend Jeff Carmack, whom introduced me to amateur astronomy in 1976 was building a telescope with his wife, and as my wife and I where almost family, sans blood, we would be included in the labor and crafting of this incredible telescope. I had been obsessed with space imagery and the ideas about the unknown universe since I was a tadpole. Amateur astronomy was a natural direction I would have likely missed had I not met such a devoted and talented amateur as Jeff. His obtuse and eccentric personality fascinated and entertained me to no end, and his impressive astronomical knowledge interested & nourished the less developed areas of my obsession with space and science. Jeff had been building telescopes and various components for years and in fact had worked in the manufacture of 12" and 14" commercial Newtonians and all that goes with that also. So with the completion of the main assembly and tube construction and modifications it was agreed I would paint the telescope as an astronomical artist would want. Not just decoration. A work of art of the highest order. And definitely a labor of love.
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After a many years of seeing through many telescopes and research of images and the science of astronomical phenomena and learning and painting the sky and the absolute jewels it is filled with, I was ready to devote the many hours of hand rendering to this telescope. Itself a work of art in engineering, it was the perfect place for my best illustration work. I spent close to three months painting the objects and covering every inch with paint. Jeff and I had done t-shirts some years earlier and Jeff was almost as proficient at airbrush as I was. So he panted areas of the scope in his favorite cyclic style, somewhat abstractly resembling the stars in a night long exposure to film. A perfect addition. We carefully coated all the surfaces with heavy acrylic varnish when the paint had cured. Jeff and his wife applied leather Swede a few years later to all the edge surfaces with tiny brass nails in many long weekends. We spent hundreds of hours in many places observing. Halley's was a front seat affair with this great telescope. Nebulae and planetary as well as deep sky all a pleasure.
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The telescope was first shown publicly at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley for a major astronomical art show with many of the best Astronomical Artists of the time in 1992. I was also honored to show my paintings with those who's works I had admired for years. The telescope was an attraction for many who asked how well it worked. Could something that looked so great perform as well? It not only performed as well. It went beyond. We observed every major astronomical event we could with it because it was an incredible telescope to see deep sky or planetary. I saw many serious astronomers look on this telescope with wanting eyes.
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In 1984 after it had just been finished, Jeff took the telescope to the Riverside Telescope Maker Conference and won acclaim for it's wonderful quality performance. The article in that years Telescope Making Magazine #23 said it all.
A 13" Dob was also done to perfection and had a perfect mirror! It was shown in Sky and Telescope Magazine. One year a freak wind gust at RTMC destroyed it's astronomic ability and perfect paint job. The mirror was not in the scope so was saved. Even though, Jeff sold the scope body to someone for the art alone for a tidy sum!
Why are you selling
this great telescope?
We are selling for the simple reason we do not have the time to truck this massive telescope to a remote site, set up, break down and re-store it. It is a two-person telescope for its weight and bulk. Jeff is in Greeley Hill in the Sierras and I am in S.F. Bay Area. As much as we love the scopes great seeing it is time to let her go. For a buyer who has a home in dark skies it is an incredibly ideal large telescope. A platform and a dome would make a perfect home for this champion astronomical instrument. Here in the Bay Area it is not worth the trouble with our very light polluted "city skies". We have two city Sodium Vapor lamps in our front yard. I asked Santa for a pellet gun for a second time in 40 years. Being a good citizen Santa knew better. I did too, but miss the sky for us all.
more details:
Astronomical Deep Sky Dobsonian Telescope 17.5"
FOR SALE
min. NOW $4000.00
PayPal, Casheers Check ONLY
Worth twice this!
Free Delivery within 200 miles
Shipping is buyers responsibility
if beyond 200mi.
Retouch of the art if needed is negotiable
Fine Art of Science
Highly Customized Coulter Dobsonian Telescope. Primary Diameter 17.5" Pyrex Disk 1.625" thick, Parabolic surface figure Secondary Mirror Pyrex 45 degree ellipse ¾" thick, Minor axis 4.25 major axis 6" flat surface. Focal length 77" F-Ratio 4.5 Minipower 50X Max power 410X Light gathering power compared to human eye= 4625 times greater. This gem has a custom machined eyepiece holder, Mount for Telrad and the primary mirror has a custom built case also hand painted. Included is a black Lycra wind boot for the tube and an off axis metal end cover with planetary anodizing filter, solar filter and lead counter weights also. Storage bags are also included. Weight is over 100 lb. including rocker box. This fine telescope was hand Painted with Astronomical art by Illustrator Garret Moore with real and imagined objects. All surfaces are painted. This fine instrument was featured in Telescope Maker Magazine and was shown as part of an art show at the Lawrence Hall of Science. It's sister 13" Dobsonian also painted by Garret, was destroyed by a freak wind storm at RTMC. Yet was still purchased for it's unique beauty. This is an Ideal telescope for a stationary dome or public institution that would like to excite young and old, veteran and novice amateurs. Garret Moore's work for NASA, SETI, The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, International Space Sciences Organization and OneCosmos Network is known world wide for it's scientific and aesthetic appeal. This telescope took 3 months to complete and was done with acrylics and covered with a heavy clear sealant. Need for retouch and restoration is minimal but can be arranged for the new lucky owner for a reasonable fee.
- GOOD HOMES FOR THIS FINE LEARNING TOOL:
- 4A School or institution
- 4Scouting and Explorer group telescope
- 4Public Planetarium, Museum or Related.
- 4An Art Collector- Amateur
Contact:
Garret Moore Email
183 J. Street, Fremont CA. 94536...... (510) 796-7773