Astronomy

Me at WUTS 2003

I've been into amateur astronomy since I was about eleven years old. At thirteen, I ground an 8 inch mirror in a class with the San Diego Astronomy Association. That mirror went into a simple dobsonian telescope which I used for many years. I'm still quite an active observer, getting out to a dark sky site as often as my life allows. Early on, my observing was purely visual, but I am currently doing more and more astrophotography.

The photo at left is, of course, me at the 2003 Weekend Under the Stars (WUTS) Star Party in Wyoming. We were clouded out for the most part, but I had a good time anyway. That's my 16 inch dob and my pair of Stellarvue refractors.

 

My Current Telescopes

Stellarvue 102ABV: 102mm f/8.0 doublet apochromat [photo1] [photo2] [photo3]
This is my most used scope. The optics are exquisite with stars reaching beautiful, color-free pinpoints. This is the scope I've been using to do most of my astrophotography. When I moved to Hawaii in 2006, this scope suffered some damage in transit. Fortunately, the lens was fine and Vic Maris at Stellarvue resurrected it with a whole new tube which is also binoviewer compatible. The new version can be seen in photo 3.

AstroSystems 16 Inch f/4.5 Truss Tube Dobsonian [photo1] [photo2]
This is the scope in the photo above. I bought this telescope used and the mirror is originally from a Meade Starfinder. The mount was a little clunky and heavy, so I purchased a TeleKit from AstroSystems and that's what you see in the photo above. I've also had the mirror refigured by Galaxy Optics in Buena Vista, CO.

Stellarvue 80BV: 80mm f/9.4 doublet achromat
This is a nice grab and go scope which got me into binoviewing. I also use it as a guide scope while imaging. It is a long focus (f/9.4) achromat, so it has relatively little false color and provides wonderfully crisp views.

Previous Telescopes

Department Store Refractor
Like many others, I started in this hobby with a cheap department store refractor. I don't remember any of the details of this scope, but it did give some decent views of Saturn (or at least that's how I remember it). I had a lot of trouble finding anything else because of the standard flaw of a wobbly tripod. Luckily, I'd done enough reading at this point to know that a better telescope would show a lot more.
Celestron C4.5 Newtonian
This was my first "real" telescope. My parents bought this for me from OPT in Oceanside after we'd observed with the little department store refractor for a bit. The C4.5 was a great beginner scope despite a few flaws. The most glaring was that it was not a full 4.5 inch aperture. The secondary mirror was undersized and thus only used a portion of the primary mirror, probably around 3.5 to 4 inches. It was on a good equatorial mount (a Polaris, I believe) with wooden legs.
8 Inch Homebuilt Dob
After using the C4.5 for a while at SDAA star parties and public viewing events, aperture fever struck. Convieniently, at about this time, the SDAA started a mirror grinding class and I started grinding an 8 inch mirror. This was a long process as I didn't really put a lot of time into it aside from going to the class each week, but after a couple of years, with a lot of help from my parents, I had a decent 8 inch mirror. It has a turned edge and probably isn't all that great a figure, but I was thrilled with it. We built a simple cardboard tube dob around it which I used for many years after and this is the scope I took with me to college in Berkeley (after I got a car there to haul it around) and eventually grad school in Boulder. It only got replace when I got my 16 inch dob.
Celestron C90 Spotting Scope
After getting the 8 inch dob, I wanted a smaller, portable scope. I don't remember the exact sequence of events for this, but I happened to win this C90 scope in a raffle at an astronomy event which took place at SDSU. I took this scope with me to Berkeley and Boulder, but eventually sold it because I wanted wider field views that the maksutov design couldn't provide. My search for a wide field portable scope took me to Stellarvue and eventually to buying an AT1010.
Stellarvue AT1010 (aka Stellarvue Nighthawk) (80mm f/6 achromat)
I got this after using the C90 and wanting wider fields. I saw an ad for Stellarvue which was still a new company at the time and I was originally on the wait list for a 102EDT a unique scope which is sadly no longer made, but I eventually switched to the AT1010 which was less expensive and available quickly. The AT1010 is a great scope which provided fantastic views, it is very sharp and an excellent size for quick looks. I finally sold it after many years after catching the binoviewing bug and buying a Stellarvue 80BV.