236 replies to this topic

[Defenderslideguitar]

Yeah Took quite a while to go through this great old thread again.....If we click on the Hut Observatory link and it appears that it is now an ad   for GoDaddy    who wants this domain?  

[oldmanastro]

This is a wonderful thread. I  really enjoyed the history of the Choates telescope. It will be interesting to know what became of it.

[Steve_M_M]

I heard from John Briggs late last year.  We only corresponded briefly by email and the Goto was not discussed.  Dan Schechter did speak with John Briggs in October, so maybe Dan will jump in here and offer a status on the Goto if he sees this message.  As some of you know, Pons also sold his 10" Zeiss last year.

 

I just sent Briggs an email seeing if I can get an update on the Goto.

 

Well, let's add a bit more to this thread...

 

Unknown fact....the plating on every plated part was badly corroded or many times just gone when I acquired the telescope.  I found a shop called Highland Plating who was willing to sit down with me and go through each part one by one for an evaluation.  This was not a simple replating job.  Many of the parts had such high tolerance that the plating had to be an exact thickness and very even across the part.  We had to examine the original plating to determine the exact process and type that was used.  Highland then duplicated the process and type.  My first meeting with them and their team was 3 hours long!  My total cost on the work, and the post plating work for the RA/DEC circles and verniers was $3,800.  

 

Attached are some of the pictures I sent t Highland when I first reached out to them.  These pictures are after I had done "my work" on the parts.  Basically removing all the corrosion/gunk and polishing best I could.  

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 
• 

Edited by Steve_M_M, 18 September 2021 - 09:19 AM.

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

I have a little trick to observing the full or near Full Moon. Normally I use binoculars for this. I wait for the full Moon to rise and then oberve it for the next hours or so. The added atmosphere that the light from the full Moon to travel thru, because it's on the horizon, acts as a filter to make the full Moon easier to look at and gives it a pleasing orange colour. Later on when the Moon is much higher in the sky, it helps to use a 13% or 25% neutral density filter so that the full Moon isn't so bright and so you the ray craters, which are really fun to look at.

 

*** WARNING: observing during full Moon can be extremely hazardous as any of the observers in attendance could change into a Werewolf or Vampire. LOL! Disclaimer: the previous is absolutely False and was only added humorous reasons.

 

But still, the full Moon can be fun to look at. Hmmm, a full Moon Star Party sounds interesting. I must look into this further.

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[DouglasPaul]

I have a little trick to observing the full or near Full Moon. Normally I use binoculars for this. I wait for the full Moon to rise and then oberve it for the next hours or so. The added atmosphere that the light from the full Moon to travel thru, because it's on the horizon, acts as a filter to make the full Moon easier to look at and gives it a pleasing orange colour. Later on when the Moon is much higher in the sky, it helps to use a 13% or 25% neutral density filter so that the full Moon isn't so bright and so you the ray craters, which are really fun to look at.

 

*** WARNING: observing during full Moon can be extremely hazardous as any of the observers in attendance could change into a Werewolf or Vampire. LOL! Disclaimer: the previous is absolutely False and was only added humorous reasons.

 

But still, the full Moon can be fun to look at. Hmmm, a full Moon Star Party sounds interesting. I must look into this further.

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

I just put as much magnification on it as my scope will handle and that dims it down enough to be tolerable.

[cavedweller]

This thread has a little bit of everything in my areas of interest: SoCal ATM history, Cave Optical Co., Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles Astronomical Society, Mt. Pinos, Goto, Zeiss, and more!

[Cloudy~Knight]

Awesome! Just Awesome! This has been one of the most enjoyable threads, if not THE most enjoyable and entertaining thread I've ever read on CN. What a long road this old GOTO has travelled, all the way from Japan to LA for the enjoyment of the 16 year old son of a powerful wealthy man, to the ownership of at least 2 others we know who were evidently the best caretakers of this fine instrument, to apparently wind up apparently forgotten in the collection of the defunct HUT observatory in Colorado.

 

A little research on my part has discovered that the internet archive "Wayback Machine" has archived most of the original HUT website, which can be accessed HERE. At the top of the page, on the far right, is a link titled "Historical Collections" which will lead to the HUT collection where the GOTO is only mentioned in passing: "6-inch Goto observatory refractor, 1956, formerly of Titan Observatory, Los Angeles". It's unfortunate they didn't include a photo of the GOTO along with all the other photos of their collection.

 

I also found this site which offers this PDF download of some variable star discoveries which John Briggs and HUT observatory were involved in. That PDF has a tiny photo of the HUT observatory located in Eagle CO. I've enlarged that photo and attached it below. It makes me think of what a Hobbit observatory would look like, and I haven't been able to find out if it's still in use today.

 

So is it safe to assume that the GOTO is gathering dust in some warehouse somewhere still in Colorado? Only John Briggs knows for sure...

 

Clear Sky's,

Frank B.

 

Edited by Cloudy~Knight, 07 October 2023 - 11:19 AM.

[deSitter]

Awesome! Just Awesome! This has been one of the most enjoyable threads, if not THE most enjoyable and entertaining thread I've ever read on CN. What a long road this old GOTO has travelled, all the way from Japan to LA for the enjoyment of the 16 year old son of a powerful wealthy man, to the ownership of at least 2 others we know who were evidently the best caretakers of this fine instrument, to apparently wind up apparently forgotten in the collection of the defunct HUT observatory in Colorado.

 

A little research on my part has discovered that the internet archive "Wayback Machine" has archived most of the original HUT website, which can be accessed HERE. At the top of the page, on the far right, is a link titled "Historical Collections" which will lead to the HUT collection where the GOTO is only mentioned in passing: "6-inch Goto observatory refractor, 1956, formerly of Titan Observatory, Los Angeles". It's unfortunate they didn't include a photo of the GOTO along with all the other photos of their collection.

 

I also found this site which offers this PDF download of some variable star discoveries which John Briggs and HUT observatory were involved in. That PDF has a tiny photo of the HUT observatory located in Eagle CO. I've enlarged that photo and attached it below. It makes me think of what a Hobbit observatory would look like, and I haven't been able to find out if it's still in use today.

 

So is it safe to assume that the GOTO is gathering dust in some warehouse somewhere still in Colorado? Only John Briggs knows for sure...

 

Clear Sky's,

Frank B.

 

HUT Observatory.jpg

Oh man, I hope that old warrior is still upright.

 

-drl

[Cloudy~Knight]

Oh man, I hope that old warrior is still upright.

 

-drl

Who? John Briggs, or the HUT observatory? 

[deSitter]

Who? John Briggs, or the HUT observatory? 

Ha The Goto may be at Briggs' "Lyceum" in New Mexico. He has one of everything ever made

 

-drl

[dothead]

Is Pons still alive ?

Where's his 10 inch F/16 Zeiss now ?

[jragsdale]

Is Pons still alive ?

Where's his 10 inch F/16 Zeiss now ?

Last I heard yes, he's still around. And the Zeiss is now in Arizona.