Hey Bob,
Nice to hear from you. Thanks for contributing your intro.
Please drop a line from time to time, especially if your travels will
bring you around this way again. It would be nice to see you again.
Regards, Bob J.
--- Bob Czerwinski <bczerwin@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Hi, Everybody!
>
> I hope you'll pardon the late introduction, as well as the length of
> this
> posting. (Yes, I'm waaaaay behind in my TAC reading!)
>
> My name is Bob Czerwinski, I'm 53-years-young, and currently reside
> in the
> small town of Kenilworth, England, in the West Midlands. Yep, a
> bonafide
> Bay Area-TACo who just happens to be sitting 5,000-miles east of the
> Bay
> Area right now: N 52d 20m 24s, W 1d 34m 32s, give or take a few feet.
> I'm a
> Systems Engineer with a Silicon Valley-headquartered wireless
> communication
> company. Business has me traveling most of the time; right now I'm
> in
> Moscow, Russia, and I'll head to Vladivostok tomorrow. (The posting
> of this
> note will have to wait until I'm back in the UK.)
>
> I grew up in Pacifica. Until making this recent move to the UK, I'd
> been
> living in the South Bay for over two decades.
>
> Like many others of my generation, I was fascinated and captivated by
> the
> Space Race of the early 60's, and quickly found myself caught up in
> the
> excitement of space exploration. I vividly recall those early Ranger
> images
> of the surface of the Moon, along with those captured during the
> Mariner
> flyby's of Venus and Mars. But it was a 1961 summertime view through
> a
> telescope owned by a Linda Mar (Pacifica) neighbor that really
> grabbed my
> attention. That very kind gent had invited my parents over for a
> look-see,
> and Yours Truly just happened to tag along. Okay, okay -- I *begged*
> to go!
> As the song goes, "Just one look ..." and I was hooked on
> observational
> astronomy, receiving my first telescope, the ubiquitous Tasco 60mm
> refractor, as a 1961 Christmas present.
>
> I'm strictly into observational astronomy. For the past 45-years
> I've
> either had a telescope with me or have had relatively easy access to
> one.
> I'm a simple science generalist, a bit of an info-junkie and a
> certified
> astro-junkie.
>
> I really learned to observe at Fremont Peak. My first astro-trip to
> the
> fabled location was in 1978, and most of the time I observed alone.
> (Silly
> me!) Over the years the experienced Deep-Sky observers who
> frequented the
> place taught me the visual tricks-of-the-trade, such as how to
> protect/use
> my night vision, when/how to use averted vision, when/how to let
> photons
> "build up" an image on the retina of a non-moving eye, when/how to
> use
> high-powered eyepieces, etc. The list goes on and on. When not at
> the
> Peak, most of my weeknight observing was done at the end of a
> dead-end dirt
> road in the Santa Cruz mountains near Mt. Loma Prieta, while many
> weekends
> would find me at Henry Coe or Grant Ranch.
>
> I didn't learn about TAC until late 1998 when a flyer at Orion in
> Cupertino
> caught my eye. Up until then, I'd just call the SJAA's "calendar
> hotline"
> for info on weekend star-parties. I had no idea that amateurs were
> getting
> together on the fly to observe the nighttime skies; TAC really
> changed my
> observing life. My first TAC outing was a night up at Montebello
> when I ran
> into Mark Wagner. Prior to that venture, the last time I'd seen Mark
> was
> probably sometime back in the 80's at Fremont Peak.
>
> My 12.5" Starmaster is currently making its way across the Pond, with
> its
> big brother, an 18" Starmaster, safely tucked away in a San Jose
> storage
> facility. In the UK I've had the good fortune to be able to do a
> fair
> amount of backyard observing at the residences of observers living in
> and
> around Birmingham and Coventry, but just can't wait to have one of my
> own
> 'scopes with me again. Yes, most of my UK observing has been through
> sucker-holes, but ANY observing beats NO observing. Besides, if the
> Herschels could live with the English weather, then who am I to
> complain.
>
> Speaking of the Herschels, along with a number of other TACos, I've
> successfully navigated through the Herschel 2500 list (yes, I know
> the
> actual tally is substantially less than 2500 objects, even if The
> List
> indicates something over 2500), simultaneously hunting for other
> objects -
> mostly galaxies - in their general vicinity, and had spent most of
> the past
> few years hunting down members of selected galaxy clusters. I've
> also got a
> thing for comets and asteroids. From the West Midlands I may be
> relegated
> to the backyard viewing of the sky's brighter objects - and may even
> join
> the ranks of you Lunatics - but I'll have to admit that I still get a
> thrill
> every time I look through an eyepiece ... or just glance up at a dark
> sky.
> Two of my most exciting astro-experiences were n*ked-eye ones: Comet
> Bennett
> in the spring of 1970, with Comet West making an equally lasting
> impression
> six-years later.
>
> By the way, I really enjoy reading your Observing Reports, allowing
> me to
> observe the skies in vicarious fashion. I love it when a newbie
> describes
> his/her first view of a showcase item, or a veteran describes the
> effort
> he/she went through to track down an object at the edge of visual
> detection.
> ORs - and the Astro Animal's observing challenges - are a great
> motivator.
> Keep 'em coming!
>
> Even if I'm 5,000-miles from the Bay Area for a bit, I'll be lurking
> on TAC.
>
> See you all at the eyepiece!
>
> ...Bob...
>
> --
> What TAC's Mailing List Is About
> http://www.observers.org/Join.shtml
>
> Interested in WebCam, DSLR or CCD Imaging?
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>
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>
-- What TAC's Mailing List Is About http://www.observers.org/Join.shtml Interested in WebCam, DSLR or CCD Imaging? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TAC-imaging/ To Sub-scribe or Unsub-scribe from TAC http://seds.org/mailman/listinfo/sf-bay-tacReceived on Sun Sep 10 21:36:21 2006