My First Telescope And Other Important Life Events, Including Family and Cycling
My first serious telescope. A 4 1/4-inch f/10 Edmund Scientific Reflector. In 1977, I now owned a new scope with came with a 25 mm eyepiece, and later I purchased a both an Edmund 12 mm Kellner eyepiece, and a MAG 5 Star Atlas. Now…..what else could I possibly need to be an amateur astronomer?
My first observations were made during the mid-60’s at about twelve years old. I used my brother Jim’s, 60 mm f/15 Sears (Jason) refractor with an equatorial mount. Jim purchased the scope for about a $100 bucks, which I thought this was all the money in the world at the time. Unfortunate for me, he sold the scope after a few years which left me without a telescope until I could purchase my own. During this absence without a telescope, I somewhat lost interest in astronomy, until the mid-70’s.
The following is a memorable night with my 4 1/4-inch reflector in the Spring of 1977.
I remember one special night with my Edmund reflector when I was attempting to find M81 and M82, two of the most beautiful galaxies in the heavens. During this time, I was living in an area packed with houses and street lights. The light pollution was severe in my backyard and seeing even the brightest of deep-sky objects was very difficult. I used my hands in an attempt to block the ambient light from entering my eyepiece, and then it happened: A small faint object entered my field-of-view, and then with a slight nudge, another. I had finally found M81 and M82. What a beautiful sight, which I savored for the longest time, even to this day.
Events by year:
October 1963: My brother purchased a Sears (Jason) 60 mm f/15 refractor telescope. A very nice and good quality Japanese refractor, equatorial mount, several decent eyepieces with a sturdy wooden case to keep everything in.
During the early fall, just after sunset, I would notice a small cluster of stars rising about the tree tops in the east. It would take me a while, but I did learn that it was the “Pleiades” or M45.
October 1967: I gave an astronomy presentation to my 8th grade science class, again, using my brothers 60 mm refractor. The subject and title was: “How To Use An Astronomical Telescope.”
March 1977: I purchased my first telescope, a 4 1/4-inch f/10 Edmund Scientific reflector on an equatorial mount. Life was good!
I could hardly wait to get to Science Hobbies, in Charlotte, North Carolina on that Spring day. The price for this 4 1/4-inch telescope was $159.99, which at that time was quite a bit of money. I had been looking at this scope in the Edmund Scientific catalog for almost a year. Purchasing this “humble” little scope, my very own after all this time was indeed a happy day for me. My preference was the Edmund Scientific 6-inch Super Space Conquerer, but just could not spring for the extra money. It seems that the price of the 6-inch was only about $100 more, however, at this point in my life, $300 for a telescope was far beyond my budget. However, It didn’t take long to realize that I needed a larger aperture scope, and soon sold the 4 1/4-inch reflector.
February 1978: I purchased a 6-inch Criterion RV-6 reflector, complete with an equatorial mount and a clock drive. My astronomy program was about to take a big leap forward! The RV-6 and Edmund 4-1/4 pictured with my oldest son, Roger Chadwick Ivester in 1978.
I really liked my new Criterion RV-6, but life got really busy and my observing had to take a back seat to a lot of other stuff. I didn’t have any time to think about the stars, so I sold my 6-inch Dynascope….a big mistake, indeed.
1985-86: I become acquainted with some local amateur astronomers and became a founding member of the Cleveland County Astronomical Society along with my youngest son, Brad, who is now living in Nevada.
A goal to meet….not in astronomy, but cycling:
Finally…..after twenty years, on Saturday, October 11th 2008, I was able to achieve my lifelong goal of 100,000 miles on my bicycle. This had been my goal for quite a few years and I was really excited to reach this milestone. When I first started riding in 1979, never would I have thought I’d eventually log 100,000 miles. It should be noted, I did not count my miles for the first year or so. My current “documented” miles is approximately 140,000 as of August 2018.
October 11th 2008: My wife Debbie put together a celebration get-together with cycling friends at the Broad River Coffee Shop in Boiling Springs.
I have two great hobbies: Amateur astronomy and cycling!
October 2012: A moment in time. All of my grandkids together in Kershaw, SC (from SC to Nevada)
December 2011: Driving my son’s tractor with granddaughter Zoe in Las Vegas.
Zoe and I love hiking in the desert
My two sons, Rev. Roger Chadwick of South Carolina, and Bradley Jason of Nevada
February 5th 1992: I purchased a 10-inch f/4.5, equatorial reflector. One of the first things I purchased after the telescope was an adjustable astro-chair, which I still use today. It’s just not possible for me to observe, sketch and take notes while standing.
February 20th 1992, my first night of serious observing: I was amazed when observing faint galaxies, after all, this was a much larger scope than I was used to using. Objects that were on the threshold of seeing, were now bright, and structure was visible. It was truly a revelation as compared to the much smaller 4-inch scopes that I had mostly used. I could see dark lanes in the bright open cluster M35, and the faint cluster NGC 2158 was almost glowing. My favorite galaxies, M81-82 looked nothing like what I had seen on that night in the 70’s when I first saw them using my, then new, 4 1/4-inch Edmund reflector. I was smiling while observing the low-surface brightness galaxy, M101. I knew that my observing would never be the same.
My wife, Debbie pictured with the 102 mm refractor:
Sunday, December 11th 2016 @ 12:05 PM: Debbie and I stopping in Taco Bell for a quick Burrito, on a cold wintry day
Downtown Boiling Springs, NC
A list of telescopes I have owned, or still own: Edmund 4 1/4-inch reflector, Celestron C-5 with wedge and tripod, Meade 90 mm EQ refractor, 10-inch Meade DS-10a f/4.5 reflector, 4-inch Meade 2045-D, Schmidt-Cassegrain, Meade ETX 90 mm, mounted on an 8-inch Meade wedge and tripod, 80 mm Orion classic f/15 refractor, Meade DS-10A f/4.5 reflector mounted on a equatorial mount, Orion/Vixen 102 mm refractor and GP mount, Celestron 76 mm Dobsonian FirstScope, an equatorially mounted TPO 6-inch f/6 reflector. My latest telescope is a birthday gift my my son, Brad, an 80 mm f/5 Orion refractor.
Roger Ivester
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