The classic Dobsonian telescope
IN 1969, JOHN DOBSON sent an article query to Charles Federer, founder and editor of the US edition of this magazine. Dobson had come up with a new way to build large-aperture telescopes cheaply and effectively. But Federer famously rejected Dobson’s submission, saying, “While your shortcuts undoubtedly help to demonstrate large amateur telescopes, they can hardly lead to satisfactory instruments of the kind most amateurs want in these large sizes.”
To say that Dobson had the last laugh is an understatement. Dobsonian telescopes revolutionised amateur astronomy. The majority of large-aperture amateur telescopes today ride upon Dobsonian mounts. I recently wrote a brief article on how to build a modern Dobsonian mount for a hobby killer (AS&T: Feb/Mar. 2020, p. 36). But we haven’t yet published an article on how Dobson did it back in his heyday.
I recently got the opportunity to examine a genuine Dobsonian telescope that had never been finished, and to complete its construction using the original materials of the day. Of course I documented the process. So here, at long last, is the article that should have been published in 1969.
Dobson spent over two decades as a Vedantan monk, and the austere monastic lifestyle stuck with him even after he left the monastery. To make ends meet, and to continue his ongoing goal of promoting amateur astronomy, he taught classes throughout the US
