aboutus

About Us

Here is a little background as to how we got started.

Welcome to our astronomy webpage. Before I explain the purpose of this project, I thought it best to give a little background information. For the past few years our son, Matthew, has had an interest in space and the shuttle program. When sufficient time had past to where I knew it wasn’t just a fad, we blindly took it to the next level. Christmas 2005, Matthew received his first telescope. It was a Meade ETX-80. Now, I received a good deal of flack from momma who expressed “No 7 year old needs a $300 motorized, computerized telescope”. Well, with me having some technical skills (I prefer not to use the phrase ‘GEEK’), I stood by my decision and I think it has paid off. So how did we get to where we are now?

Matthews' interest in space soon became OUR interest. In March of 2007, Matthew and I attended our first sidewalk astronomy event hosted by our local amateur astronomers club (http://lgdso.com). We were hooked! Matthew and I met several members of the club and had the opportunity to view Jupiter and the rings of Saturn clearly for the first time. We were so impressed that we joined the group the very next day. We frequently meet at the clubs ‘dark sites’ to get away from the light pollution. Matthew’s experiences include viewing the clear night skies through telescopes ranging from 3 inches to 24 inches. He can name several constellations and their primary stars verbatim. He has also taken an interest in the moon and its geography. I could go on, but that is why I developed this site.

We now own four telescopes, binoculars, a lunar planetary imager, one modified webcam for astroimaging, an 8 megapixel DSLR, an Orion Deep Sky Color Imager and a laptop dedicated to our astronomy interests. Several nights a week we can be found in the backyard finding different objects, tracking planetary motions, and photographing what we see (and cannot see with the naked eye). We have accumulated so many pictures, and video images that it had to be organized and shared. Hence, this webpage.

Since beginning this web page, Matthew has worked odd jobs around the neighborhood to purchase his own Orion StarBlast 6 Astro ReflectorTelescope. He has also completed the requirements for his Sky Puppy pin and certificate through the Astronomical League. We attended our first official Star Party. And ....joined the Chiefland Astronomy Village. This new moon weekend, we set out for the clubs annual picnic. (Hopefully, I will have more images to post soon).

Now, we are still relatively new to this field, but there are several reasons that we will stick with it. Mostly, it is wonderful to have a father – son interest that we both enjoy. Next, compared to other hobbies, it is relatively inexpensive. I didn’t have to buy a boat, a truck to tow the boat, docking fees…….well, I think you get the picture. Another positive note is you can never know everything or see everything that the skies have to offer.