Or would the tolerances needed in the hinged mirror make the whole thing unusable?

I was looking at modern “smart telescopes” recently and noticed some are sideways and wondered if that would be possible for a normal hobby Newtonian telescope.

Possible upsides:

  • no tripod needed for use
  • mirror is light so smaller motors can be used for movement

Possible downsides:

  • maybe mirror flatness?

EDIT/UPDATE: so i tryed it with a 75mm first surface mirror, it kinda worked, at least better than a normal mirror, but i wasnt able to get it as sharply focused as i like. I suspect the mirrior i use has micro ripples because its just 2mm thick and doesent look like its seen a polishen process…guess thats how far a budget of 25bucks gets ya

  • Balthazar@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    To be effective, it would have to be like a telescope tube, which is what you’re trying to eliminate in the first place.

    • einfach_orangensaftOPEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      thats what i was thinking :/

      Tubeless telescopes exist tho, i saw some big diy newtonians that did not have any

      • Balthazar@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        2 months ago

        There are good reasons to not use a tube: tubes limit airflow over the mirror, increasing “mirror seeing”, and they add weight. But then you need an alternative way of rejecting off-axis light. One way of doing that is a dome or similar enclosure.