The K-20 Project

The K-20 Project

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11/12/2007 - The Transition begins.....

One of my favorite hobbies is that of building telescopes (no kidding right?)....as much as or even more than observing with them.  But there's an important point in the design and construction of any telescope that an ATM must recognize and that is transitioning from ATM to observer....for that particular instrument at least.  I've reached that point with the K20 Project.  This scope is fully functional and aside from some last odds and ends and the occasional tweak and improvement, my relationship with it must change.  I must now concentrate my energy on enjoying what such a beautiful and high quality instrument it can be.  Most importantly I must SHARE it with people...it would do a great dis-service to everyone whose efforts (from the tailgate and mirror through to the woodwork and spider) were it not to be used, and used a lot!  So, my transition has begun and so has that of the content in this Journal.  Aside from a few ATM-ish entries when I tweak the scope or add to it, these entries will now contain happenings as "we" become an amateur astronomer and his telescope peering into the wonders of the night sky.

ENTRY PICTURES


Yours truly and the scope on Mt. Pollux.	Ditto

This past weekend my club's Free Observatory Observing Program (held every Saturday evening that it's clear from April through November) hosted almost 100 people. The K20 was a hit on objects like the "exploding" Comet 17P/Holmes to the Double-Cluster and the Andromeda Galaxy. In this pic, a member of the public enjoys M31 with the scope up in the "Dobson Hole". This hole refers to the position in the sky at and immediately around the zenith directly over the telescope. Because the lever arm of the scope about its azimuth is very small, manuvering the scope in this position although buttery smooth requires much more effort.	Here we are on Mt. Pollux viewing Comet Holmes. We had a 70mm refractor, 102mm refractor, 100mm binoculars and of course the K20.