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Post by Kitch101 on Oct 4, 2013 18:43:22 GMT -5
Having read Mark and Mike's stories on another thread reminded me of a 'simpler time'.
In the early 1960s, I was 5 or 6 years old, living with my 6 brothers and 2 sisters in central Finland.
Winters in those days were much more severe, temperatures of -30 C were the norm. We did not have much,
but what we did have made up for it, in fact the things we had set me up for a lifetime of looking up at night.
The 3 things we had were : Totally dark skies from September to April, an old Russian riflescope and skies filled with Aurora Borealis
I was hooked !
Since then I have seen the heavens through scopes ranging from 30mm finders to 48" reflectors,
my current arsenal of scopes consists of:
Takahashi Triplet Super Apochromat 120mm F7.5
Takahashi FS60CB Apochromat
Berry & Mackay 3.25" F15 brass refractor c1865
Carton 83mm F15 Under construction
Custom brass 83mm F15 Under construction
Polarex 40mm F10 Finder Under restoration
I look forward to reading your stories ...............................
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Post by Mike on Oct 4, 2013 21:46:06 GMT -5
I had an easy childhood Kitch. I grew up in Northern Kentucky. My Dad had a really good job. I was 5 years old in May of 1965 when we moved out of the city about 15 miles into a new house. The skies were so dark there. I looked up at the sky for the first time and exclaimed to my parents, "Look at all the stars they have out here!" I guess using the term "they" was what made them laugh. The summer Milky Way was an amazing sight. A white ribbon of light so bright, I swear it cast your shadow on the ground. A couple weeks later my grandmother presented me with a 50mm refractor on a spindly tripod. I looked at the moon all that summer. Remember this was the height of the US space program and their push to land on the moon. My grandmother loved the space program so she brought me books and anything NASA related and together we kept up with the progress. I still have a book from Marathon Oil that was all about the Saturn V, Service Module, Command Module and Lunar Module. I've owned many many telescopes since then. Through school, college, marriage and the many events throughout my life I have never taken a "break" from astronomy and observing. The night sky is just as fascinating to me now as it was all those years ago. Funny how something can inspire you and stays with you for a lifetime. Not a hobby... A passion.
Mike
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Post by boomboom on Oct 5, 2013 3:30:09 GMT -5
Mine was pretty simple too.
My dad was a scientist and former officer in the Royal Navy. In the Navy he was a radio officer and had a chart of the night sky for North and South Hemispheres. I used to go outside with the map and his pull out spy glass and look. One day my parents bought me a 60mm Tasco refractor and I was away...totally hooked and freezing cold. Canberra is 2000' up and home of Mt Stromlo Observatory. Spent many freezing nights within that scope. The best was doing an Astronomy subject in my last year at High School and using the 9" Oddie refractor along with my class of 6 kids once a week often all nighters. Ever since have been a refractorholic.
Matt
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Post by Mike on Oct 5, 2013 9:06:00 GMT -5
Matt, very cool that you were involved with the Oddie from so far back. Providing that new lens was one of our prouder moments. What a history Mt. Stromlo has. It's hard to believe the damage from the fire. It must have been heart breaking for you. Canberra is an amazing city from what I gather on the internet and Google Earth especially the Parliament complex and the State Circle. An amazing building with all the rock formation surrounding it.
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Post by Kitch101 on Oct 5, 2013 16:01:34 GMT -5
I must have just missed you Matt , I was in the ACT/Federal Police in 1979 - 2000 and during the early years had a partner whose uncle worked up at Stromlo, we often call in on nightshift and spend time on the Oddie refractor with him. I could have cried when I saw the fire damage, I came down from Queenland and headed up to Stromlo feeling sick in my stomach when I saw the damage done.
I am going up there today to take some pictures.
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rgm
Full Member
Posts: 65
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Post by rgm on Oct 7, 2013 5:45:55 GMT -5
My adventure in amateur astronomy is similar to many offers. Around the age 10, I discovered the night sky. Over the past 50 years I have been in and out of observing due to work and family. Now I have 2 small observatories in my backyard and observe from a blue zone. My Istar and a Tak78 are mounted on a G11 in one observatory, and the other houses a C8 set-up for variable star work.
The one event that "hooked" me, was looking at M13 through the 74" David Dunlop reflector located just north of Toronto, Ontario. It unfortunately is now in the middle of Toronto, and that view can never be duplicated again. But, it still remains etched in my memory, and I will never forget it.
Bob
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