ASRAS

Speakers:

Main talk (and short talk!): Bob Piekiel from Marcellus NY will talk about "The History of Celestron and the development of the Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope."

From Bob: The talk will deal with the design of the SCT, the reasons it was built the way it is, the evolution of the design in recent years, and some of the theory behind the optics. I will present a detailed slide show of rarely-seen photos, provide some technical background in easy-to-understand terms, plus I will bring several rarely-seen early Celestron telescopes and equipment, for everyone to view up-close and personal. I will also have copies of all four of my books for sale.

Bob's bio:
Robert Piekiel has been an astronomer and telescope maker for some 35 years. He regularly hosts public star parties in the central new york area and is employed as a contract naturalist / astronomer for Centers for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods in Marcellus, NY. He has given technical talks on SCT design and optics for many Astro-clubs in NY, plus lectured at several universities in the area. He has written four books on SCT design, testing, collimation, and manufacture:
"Celestron The Early Years"
"Testing and Evaluating the Optics of Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes"
"Collimating Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes"
"Making Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope Optics"

Come early, starting at 7 for conversation and snacks.. Our meetings are always free and open to the public. Why not stop in and listen? And if you're able, join us for after meeting conversation and food at MacGregor's on the north side of Jefferson Road, just east of RIT.