I've been interested in astronomy since I was a kid. I spent many hours poring over descriptions of telescopes, pier mounts, eyepieces, etc. in the Edmund Scientific catalog.
I always thought an 8 inch telescope would be the ideal size for light gathering power and portability. So, living in California where the skies are clear most of the year, when Celestron introduced their NexStar 8 scope in 2000, I had to have one.
The photo above is me with that telescope (Many thanks to Walt Reil, president of the Central Coast Astronomical Society, for taking the photo and letting me use it.)
I took a memorable Astronomy course at the University of Oregon taught by Professor Emeritus, E.G. Ebbighausen (or "Ebbie" as his students referred to him when he wasn't listening). Dr. Ebbighausen's class was one of the most enjoyable in my college career. He would lecture us on the orbits of planets and the structure of stars but he would also season his lectures with discussions on such topics as the plasticity of glass and of witnessing the breakup of winter ice on the headwaters of the Mississipi when he was a child in Minnesota. Dr Ebbighausen died in 1984 but I still savor the memory of his winding lectures. His out-of-print textbook on Astronomy remains one of the most concise and useful astronomical references in my library.
I always thought an 8 inch telescope would be the ideal size for light gathering power and portability. So, living in California where the skies are clear most of the year, when Celestron introduced their NexStar 8 scope in 2000, I had to have one.
The photo above is me with that telescope (Many thanks to Walt Reil, president of the Central Coast Astronomical Society, for taking the photo and letting me use it.)
I took a memorable Astronomy course at the University of Oregon taught by Professor Emeritus, E.G. Ebbighausen (or "Ebbie" as his students referred to him when he wasn't listening). Dr. Ebbighausen's class was one of the most enjoyable in my college career. He would lecture us on the orbits of planets and the structure of stars but he would also season his lectures with discussions on such topics as the plasticity of glass and of witnessing the breakup of winter ice on the headwaters of the Mississipi when he was a child in Minnesota. Dr Ebbighausen died in 1984 but I still savor the memory of his winding lectures. His out-of-print textbook on Astronomy remains one of the most concise and useful astronomical references in my library.
Images
Dr. Ebbighausen