A Window to the Universe in My Backyard….

Having a backyard observatory is like having my own window to the universe. Any clear night I can roll the roof back and marvel at all the wonders available to see.

Having a backyard observatory means not having to spend time setting up or breaking down my equipment. I can be ready to start imaging in just a few minutes and in the morning; just roll the roof closed and I can head off to work.

I designed my observatory with Shapr3D on my iPad. I looked at many different designs and chose the most useful features for my own needs.

Brian’s biographical sketch:

My astrophotography journey started a little over 25 years ago as an extension of my photography hobby. I got interested after attending a public viewing put on by the Starsplitters in Wyalusing State Park, a group I currently belong to. I got to see a few of the planets and several star clusters. I got pretty interested and started looking for a telescope. My first was a 10” Meade LX200. I shot with that scope for several years, but I found myself losing interest because the scope was heavy and hard to set up. Fast forward to the ’17 solar eclipse. At the eclipse, I got to look through a solar hydrogen alpha telescope, and my interest was reinvigorated. My main interests in astrophotography are nebulae and solar.

For the last 20-plus years, I’ve worked as a manufacturing engineer for a small local company. They make plastic under the hood engine parts for all the major OEM’s. My focus there is automation, machine vision, robots, and injection molding. Outside of work, my hobbies include photography and woodworking.

This meeting will take place in person at our usual Space Place classroom location. It will also be streamed live to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@madisonastronomicalsociety.