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The heavens proclaim the glory of God...
Psalm 19:1
Welcome to the Edge of the Universe
In the 1950's my father dragged me outside to watch Sputnik dart across the night sky. It was easy to find. After all, at the time the moon was the only other object in earth orbit.
My father remembers the reaction of his 5 year old son as being, "Wow, is there anything else to look at tonight?" I've spent the past 4 decades trying to see what else there is to look at in the night sky.
My first telescope was a 3 inch Jason refractor that my father probably bought at K-Mart. It was good enough to look at the moon, but I didn't know where else to look.
Then one night I accidentally
discovered the Orion Nebula. The next day, my father went out and bought
another, larger, telescope.
For several years I owned
an 8 inch f/8 reflector, manufactured by Cave Optical. In those pre-Dobsonian
days, an 8 inch was about as large as most amateurs could handle. I may have
changed a little since the above photo was taken in 1969, but the telescope
still looks the same. My father and I gave it to the community of Ware Shoals,
S.C., where it is still in use today.
In December, 1968, my parents gave me a 3.5 Questar, which I still use.
Being a member amateur astronomy clubs often give me access to several telescopes, a CCD camera, a radio telescope, and a large library of books and resourses about astronomy.
The Crab Nebula, M 1. With no prior experience with a CCD, I
took this CCD image with equipment and a 14 inch Cassegrain owned and maintained
by the SFAAA.
M51 M 2 Comet Hyakutake, 1996, with the New Bethel
Presbyterian Church's steeple. M 57 Click Here To Visit
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