Astronomy

I've been interested in astronomy ever since Halley's Comet appeared in 1986. Although I never actually saw the comet, the excitement in the media attracted my attention to astronomy. In my second semester of college in 1994, I took an astronomy class. That class changed astronomy from just an interest into a full-blown hobby. A friend of mine had an old Jason 60mm refractor that he let me borrow. It was on a wobbly altazimuth mount and the focuser only took .965" eyepieces, but that humble little telescope increased my desire for a better instrument. One night I was in my front yard pointing the telescope at random stars since I wasn't very familiar with the night sky. I pointed the little Jason at one very bright "star," took a peek in the eyepiece, and almost fell over backwards when I saw Saturn in the field of view! I was amazed that I could actually see a planet "live" through that little telescope; being able to see the rings clearly was also a shock to me. I excitedly called my parents outside so they could see the ringed planet, too. I've taken several more astronomy classes, owned many more telescopes, and viewed many more celestial objects since that night, but I will remember my first view of Saturn for as long as I live.

The first telescope that I actually owned wasn't much better than the Jason. It was a Bushnell 60mm refractor, a typical "department store telescope" with lots of plastic. Luckily, that telescope didn't frustrate me and turn me off to stargazing; it made me want an even better telescope. I eventually got rid of the Bushnell and "upgraded" to yet another "department store telescope." This time it was a Tasco 4.5" reflector. The increased aperture was nice, but the telescope itself was pretty poor. Not long after having the Tasco, I bought an Orion 90mm refractor. This was my first good telescope, and it was my first experience with using 1.25" eyepieces. I used the Orion refractor for a couple of years before I got my first large telescope, a Meade DS-10. This 10" reflector on a motor-driven equatorial mount was my main telescope for many years. I was amazed at the views through it, but this time my amazement was due to the fact that I was seeing galaxies millions of light years distant from my front yard.

After I got married in 2000, Michelle and I lived in apartments for a few years. This caused a decrease in my stargazing activities due to the lack of space and privacy to set up my telescope. When we bought our house in 2003, my interest in astronomy picked up again. I used the Meade DS-10 for a few more months. When the Mars opposition was nearing in the fall of 2003, I decided that I wanted a smaller, more portable telescope. I decided to sell the Meade and buy an Orion 4" refractor. I bought the Orion SkyView Pro 100 setup. Very soon after this purchase, Orion released their new 80mm f/7.5 apochromatic refractor, the "ED80." Not being able to resist the price and seeing the excellent reviews, I bought an ED80 and sold the 4". This purchase was without a doubt the best "bang for the buck" purchase I've ever made. The ED80 is an outstanding telescope. The build quality isn't like that of a TeleVue, Takahashi, TMB, or AstroPhysics instrument, but it's still a solid little telescope. The optics are excellent and the Crayford focuser is buttery smooth. Several other refractors have come and gone since I bought the ED80, but the ED80 remains in my possession. These other refractors were a Meade AR-5, a Meade/Towa 80mm f/15, a Celestron C102-HD, a Burgess 1278, a Stellarvue 80/9D, and a Meade AR-6.

I used the ED80 almost exclusively from the fall of 2003 until near the end of 2004. At that time, I developed a case of "aperture fever" and wanted a larger telescope once again. This time I decided to buy an Orion 8" reflector, the same optical tube assembly that's included in Orion's SkyView Pro 8 package. The purchase of this 8" f/4.9 reflector was another wise decision; I enjoy the telescope immensely. The only modification I made to it was to replace the focuser with an excellent MoonLite CR2 Crayford unit. The ED80 and 8" are currently my only two telescopes. They complement each other nicely, and I've been very happy with both of them. I have both telescopes mounted on Orion SkyView Pro mounts with dual axis drives, and I use one or both telescopes as frequently as I can.

My current eyepiece collection consists of the following eyepieces:

• TeleVue 31mm Nagler Type 5
• TeleVue 20mm Nagler Type 2
• Meade 14mm Series 4000 Ultrawide Angle
• Meade 8.8mm Series 4000 Ultrawide Angle
• Meade 6.7mm Series 4000 Ultrawide Angle
• Meade 4.7mm Series 4000 Ultrawide Angle
• TeleVue 3mm-6mm Nagler Zoom
• TeleVue 2x Barlow

I also use a Lumicon OIII filter and an Orion white light solar filter. I use the popular SkyAtlas 2000.0 as my "roadmap," along with Starry Night Pro 5.0 software.

Astrophotography has never been an interest of mine. I've snapped a few pictures of the sun and moon with my digital camera, but other than that, I have zero experience in taking astrophotos. But I'm thankful that there are so many talented photographers who take stunning photos of the planets and deep space objects; I really enjoy looking at their work.

My dream telescopes are a Takahashi FS-102 mounted on a Losmandy GM8 mount and an Obsession or Starmaster in the 18" or 20" range on a tracking platform.