Analog Sky Dream 200mm Binocular_1.JPEG Analog Sky Dream 200mm Binocular_2.JPEG
Thank you Robert for demonstrating your prototype binoculars at GSSP. I have used JMI 6" binoculars in the past and I must admit that yours are not only larger, but much easier to use. The quick release filters and integrated PiFinder makes this a powerful instrument. Although I did not see it, the fact that it collapses down to the size of an approved airline carry-on package is remarkable.
The contrast and view of the Ink Spot Nebula (Barnard 86) was outstanding along with the Veil Nebula with the OIII filters.
I look forward to your additional tweaks and release. I hope you got some more great ideas from the crowds enjoying these binoculars.
Thanks for sharing your experience at GSSP John, it was great meeting you and sharing the views.
We do have a big announcement regarding this binocular, which is a name change. Until a couple weeks ago I hadn't ever heard of Dream Aerospace before because I don't take photos or have whatever amount of money their scopes cost. They make top-shelf astrographs they call Dream RC's and Dream Astrographs and apparently have been around since 2003. Anyhow, we want to play nice in the pool, so we're renaming our 8" binoculars to:
Why Bloom? Well, first off, these binoculars open up the sky. After spending four nights with them at a dark site, I can say I’m suddenly seeing 10x more objects I’ve never noticed before. It truly feels like the sky is in bloom.
Secondly, it connects directly to amateur telescope making lore. John Dobson was the inventor of the enormously popular Dobsonian telescope. He developed it in secret while living at a monastery. He’d sneak out with his finished telescope and show it to people around San Francisco, setting up on sidewalks with enough aperture to see distant galaxies. Soon, people wanted their own Dobsonians, so Dobson had a problem on his hands: As a monk, he definitely wasn’t supposed to be spending his time building and selling telescopes. But the lure of sharing the night sky with others was too great, and so he started building them in secret. Customer service was by letter, and he’d update customers on the progress of their telescopes with a code. A primary mirror was called a “geranium.” A coated mirror was called a “geranium in bloom.” A finished telescope was a “potted geranium in bloom.” So if you got your letter about a potted geranium in bloom, that means your telescope was done and it’s time to go pick it up.
All telescope builders in the 21st Century have an enormous debt to John Dobson, not only because he invented a great type of telescope, but he emphasized finding ways to build a good telescope far less-expensively than contemporary methods. His builds used cardboard tubes, surplus glass, roofing shingles, and even vinyl records. Thousands of telescope builders have enjoyed scopes they could never have afforded otherwise by using Dobson’s method. It created a bloom of telescope making in the world that’s spanned decades and continents.
Clearly, here at Analog Sky we feel it’s really important to offer binocular views that are a fraction of the cost of other commercial offerings, and that it’s important to keep teaching people how to put together their own stargazing instruments. So hopefully calling our first release of mirror-based binoculars Bloom will be received in the spirit it’s intended: To pay tribute to the enormous contribution of John Dobson, and to make you feel like you’re walking through an endless field of starflowers in summer as you scan the sky with this truly incredible power level.
I wrote a long report on our community about the first light under dark skies and am answering community members' questions and product ideas at members.analogsky.co You can sign up for free. There will be a livestream there this Sunday 12:30 PM PST.
(Image credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory)
Edited by robertasumendi, 02 July 2025 - 12:54 PM.
