Amateur CCD Astronomy

I have been interested in astronomy since 1968 when my wife, Sue, first taught me the constellations. With the purchase of an inexpensive 60 mm refractor, I discovered Jupiter and Saturn in a single night. I was hooked! The small refractor was exchanged for a motor-driven 6 inch F/8 Newtonian reflector (RV Dynascope) soon thereafter. This telescope opened up the universe of deep space objects for me. I also ventured into astrophotography of planets and the moon using Kodak Tri-X film, an Olympus OM-1 SLR camera, and eyepiece projection. After a couple of years, the 6 inch Newtonian was traded in for aCelestron 8 inch F/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The extra aperture was wonderful but increasing light pollution prevented me from using my back yard as an observing site after several years. I had all but given up hope for convenient astronomy when I discovered the Santa Barbara Instrument Group (SBIG) ST-7 CCD. The SBIG ST-7 CCD allowed me to "see" detail in deep space objects, such as nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters, from a badly light-polluted location that I was not able to see from even the darkest viewing locations. As an added bonus, I was now able to take images of what I was viewing as records of my observations. Before long, I became interested in producing quality color pictures of my experiences. This led to the acquisition of evermore sophisticated (and expensive!) equipment.

I hold a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, but haven't practiced it for years (I'm getting too old!). My other hobbies include amateur radio (AE0L, amateur extra class), history, scuba diving, and underwater photography.  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior while attending St. Louis University in October, 1971. After an intensive and thorough education in math and science, I find no conflict between faith in Christ and the facts discovered by science. Since accepting Christ, I have tried to serve Him in every way that He calls me and He blesses beyond recounting. My testimony is that Christ is faithful even when I am not!