Astronomy
I’ve been interested in Astronomy and Space Travel since I was very young. In 1966 when the original Star Trek TV shows aired, I was completely hooked. I watched every single episode and dreamed of what it would be like to travel through space. I wondered if there really could be intelligent life on other worlds. When the series was cancelled after only three seasons I was extremely disappointed, but I’m still a die hard “Trekkie” after all these years.
When Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon’s surface in July 1969, I was convinced that I wanted to be an Astronaut when I grew up. I started reading everything I could find on Space Travel and became an avid reader of science fiction novels. It was also about this time that I built a homemade telescope. I bought the parts from Edmund Scientific Company including a mirror grinding kit. It was an eight inch reflector and took me several weeks to finish. Even though it had some imperfections, it turned out to be a pretty good telescope and I used it for several years.
I haven’t owned a telescope now in quite a few years, but someday I’d like to buy a really nice Meade telescope capable of Astrophotography. The telescope I have in mind is the Meade LX200-ACF. I’d like to get the 12″ model which is currently about $4,500, but it may be a while before I can afford it. I probably wouldn’t get much use of a telescope where I live now, though. There is way too much light pollution around our neighborhood to see much. I’d probably have to take it somewhere out in the country where there weren’t any streetlights or lighted signs to block the view.
