Spaced-Out Challenge: John Dobson (1915-2014)

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Welcome to this week's edition of the Spaced-Out Challenge. There are no targets this week. Instead, it's dedicated to the life of a man who dramatically impacted astronomy with a simple idea he refused out of his personal philosophy to patent.

If you want a more biographical write up on Dobson, check out the L. A. Time's wonderful obituary here. I'm going to skip over his unorthodox cosmological theory, and focus here on the "before and after" impact he had. It was, to put it mildly, profound.

Edmund's "top of the line" 8" reflector was considered a monster for it's time, and the price- $389 (over $2600 in today's dollars) was too. Throw in the mount and shipping, and you're shelling out over $4k in today's money. The reflector also weighed over 200 pounds, so "portability" wasn't exactly a strong selling point. Many people in the amateur community were discouraged from using instruments approaching this size, and few considered building the 12, 16, 24, and 30+" scopes that dominate star parties today.
John Dobson and his merry crew of sidewalk astronomers and telescope builders profoundly changed amateur astronomy by making it extremely easy to get a great view for almost nothing. The cost of a large telescope crashed with John's innovations and promotion: discarded glass, plywood, teflon bits, heavy-duty concrete pouring tubes, and a worn-out LP could be used to construct a sizable telescope for less than $400 (in today's dollars). No innovation since has done so much for so many in the field of amateur astronomy as this cheap, simple reflector design.
In addition to making an introductory 8" reflector accessible to millions, the innovations of this extremely simple design meant amateurs could build bigger. Much bigger:

The prevailing wisdom before Dobson insinuated that heavy mirrors and heavy mounts were just a "fact of life" for larger scopes. While many innovators since Dobson improved his very basic design, that "bigger = exponentially heavier" mindset was permanently changed, allowing for not only larger homemade telescopes, but mass-produced monsters: Obsession and Webster telescopes sell apertures greater than the 24" giant the SFSA took to the Riverside Telescope Maker's Conference in the late 1970s, and Orion just released a computer-controlled 16" dobsonian for less than $4000 in 2013.

Ray Cash has as close to the original "perfected" Dob plans as you can find for free online for constructing a 6, 8, or 10" telescope here.

John Dobson and the Sidewalk Astronomers showed tens of thousands of city dwellers a view they'll never forget, promoting the heavens above in a time in which light pollution seems to have alienated the bulk of us from our sky. They have announced this year's International Sidewalk Astronomy Night (March 8th) will be dedicated in memory of John and in continuing his work.

Everyone should have the opportunity to know where they truly are. This was the driving goal of Dobson, and he took an incalculably big step in making that a reality.

RIP.

The Sidewalk Astronomer's Webpage can be found here.

Until next week, clear skies to you, keep looking up, and those of you blessed to have a telescope, please: share the view.

posted by CAC at 09:58 PM

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