Probably I was in high school when I got my first look through a telescope. A friend had a 4 1/4" Edmund Scientific Newtonian and I think that we got a pretty good look at Saturn. Even though it was in the city the seeing was pretty good that night. I remember thinking that this was SO much better than looking at pictures in a book. Add to that the idea that the light I was seeing came from the Sun, bounced off Saturn and then came right into my eye. That idea of photons traveling that far still gives me shivers.

Hopkins gave me a chance to play with a real telescope. Although I didn't take any courses in astronomy I learned a lot from my friends Clay Johnson and John Locke. I am indebted to them to this day for reinforcing my interest in astronomy and helping me to acquire new knowledge and skills outside of the formal undergraduate curriculum that was our normal daily work.

Around this time I conceived the idea of having my own telescope and purchased several books on "how to build a telescope". Since this was to be a low budget project (as most of my projects were in those days) I decided to grind my own mirror. Eventually I settled on the traditional Newtonian 6" f/8 design and purchased a mirror grinding kit from Edmund Scientific. It had the mirror, the grinding tool and all the abrasives. Today you can buy a finished mirror but dedicated amateurs will still grind their own. Here are instructions on mirror grinding and they pretty much describe what I did when I made mine. You can still buy the kits.

Grinding started around the time I graduated and the mirror was done a year later. Parts from a used mount and tube appeared during graduate school and eventually I was able to cobble together a very sturdy mounting.

It must have weighed upwards of 150 lbs and was far from portable but it didn't wobble. There was no clock drive so guiding by hand was the order of the day. The only pictures I ever took with it were short exposures of the Moon. No stars, planets, or deep sky objects. Here are two views of the scope:

This telescope followed me around for several years until I sold it to the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury for use at public star parties. It may still be there for all I know. A lot of sweat and thought went into it and there are times now that I miss it.

Fast forward about 30 years and my old friend Clay Johnson kindly offered me his classic Celestron C8. Thanks again Clay. It is a significant improvement over that old 6" f/8 Newtonian. Besides having an advanced optical system, Schmidt–Cassegrain, it has (wonders of wonders) a clock drive and outstanding positioning controls. It's extraordinarily sturdy and easy to use. In spite of the fact that our house is near a lot of light pollution we do get adequate dark skies for deep sky objects. Nothing like you get being in the desert but vivid and entrancing viewing nonetheless.

My first attempt at a mounting was a collection of cinder blocks and clamps. It was very sturdy but cumbersome.

I some observing this way but decided there was a better mounting. After some research I purchased a very sturdy Celestron tripod and the setup doesn't take long. I had thought about a permanent structure like that little dome at Yerkes or the roll off roof at Lowell but eventually decided to keep things portable.

One night I did a basic alignment on Polaris and marked the location of the tripod legs. The next day I positioned 3 floor tiles at the locations of the tripod legs. Now I can put the tripod on the tiles and know that the alignment should be pretty good for at least casual viewing.

This is a very basic scope by contemporary amateur standards. There are no computer controls or built in star charts. In that sense it's very much old school and I like it that way. I haven't tried any advanced digital photography either and it's basically just a naked eye instrument. I did add a heated dew cap which was a necessity in the damp area where we live. I'm very happy with it and don't plan to do any expansion.