Gerrys 32" Starstructure scope

Well Guys,
A few months back I had to good fortune to visit Gerry Moloneys house as he was gifting me a skylux mount for the eclipse in Russia, MANY THANKS FOR THAT GERRY, you're a life saver!


While there we went observing in his back garden where he has 2 of the biggest scopes in the country, namely a 28 inch Astrosystem Dob which as far as I know is for sale and a 32 inch F3.5 monster by Starstructure Telescopes. This is a colossal scope by anyone's measure, and unlike the wooden Obsession and Astrosystem scopes it looks very very sleek and modern, like something out of Buck Rogers.
BTW, all images are by Gerry Moloney and used with permission.


and if you think it looks big in that picture, here is myself and Dawn for scale.


Even if you are used to handling a big scope, this thing still looks massive!! It's extremely well built and holds collimation at all angles.

The night we were up there , there was a big moon in the sky so it wasn't really dark, I had to get the part for the eclipse for the following week so I didn't have a choice really when I could go up.

Here it looks like Dawn is climbing the truss polls to get to the eyepiece. :laugh:
Still, we had a look at some globular clusters and planetary nebula and could tell immediately that we were using a scope from a different class of aperture. Globulars were photographic and planetary nebulae were very bright and easily seen. Gerry used a parracor, a Denkmeier binoviewer with 2x 13mm ethos eyepieces, really what more could you want !! : cheer:
BTW, these ethos eyepieces are easy to use and the massive FOV is notably bigger then the standard naglers out there.


Gerry stores the scope in a shed which simply rolls away when he wants to use the it, this is by far the best way of housing a scope like this.



Did I mention that this scope has Argonavis and Servocat on it making it a FULL goto scope?, I was happy to see its exactly the same as I have on the 20" and it drives this behemoth very easily.


We had a look at the moon to discern its resolving power and I'm happy to say it does the business, it resolves craters, rims very well, you don't need the terminator to see lunar detail using this scope.

I'm not sure if this post should be in the observing equipment forum or here or the equipment review forums. So, to sum, up, many thanks Gerry for your hospitality and generosity with the scope.
All I need do now is break something else which gives me a reason to come and pick up something else from you.

Great report Dave. That's a serious scope!

A true monster and one can only imagine the views on a clear moonless night.

The only minor concern I'd have with using a behemoth like this is the climbing of the ladder. If the steps get icy, or at the end of a long night it's possible to lose concentration and it's a long way down.

Awesome! Looks better Gerry than from the earlier photos you sent me, more metal in the pictures here! When are you and Bob going to get his behemoth finished? And then mine...

Seanie.

lunartic wrote:

A true monster and one can only imagine the views on a clear moonless night.

The only minor concern I'd have with using a behemoth like this is the climbing of the ladder. If the steps get icy, or at the end of a long night it's possible to lose concentration and it's a long way down.

At least you'd be able to contemplate the views you had on the way down, its such a long way. :laugh:
Seriously though, the ladder is top class and I dont think there is any chance of falling off it to be honest.

Seanie, does this setup look unfinished to you ?? its worked perfectly when we were there.

Dave_Lillis wrote:

Seanie, does this setup look unfinished to you ?? its worked perfectly when we were there.

Not this one Dave, Bob Campbell's one, another TAS member, of whom Gerry and himself are like kids in a sweet shop when they get together to talk 'shop'!

Seanie.