The late Al Nagler (optical engineeer, founder and owner of Televue Optics) and myself at the 2017 Southern Star Astronomy Convention in Little Switzerland, North Carolina.
The 6-inch f/6 Newtonian pictured below is now my largest telescope. The time had come (March 2026) for me to sell my very heavy 10-inch f/4.5 EQ Newtonian.
After 34 years and more than 1,500 hours under a night sky, my 10-inch Newtonian became just too large and heavy for regular use.
The Observer’s Challenge report has received over 150,000 world-wide .pdf downloads (to-date) as of April 2026. The following link is still available for all to use as a reference for ~250 deep-sky objects.
https://rogerivester.com/category/observers-challenge-reports-complete/
My other hobby is cycling, with approximately 135,000 miles logged to date as of August 2026. I began riding in June 1979, never imagining—or even considering how many miles I might eventually accumulate.
It wasn’t until I reached 60,000 miles, as I turned into my driveway one day, that the thought occurred to me: 100,000 miles might actually be possible. I would eventually reach that milestone, but it took another 29 years. In October 2009, I finally logged my 100,000th mile.
A few examples of my deep-sky pencil sketches. I don’t embellish or use computer enhancements.
M71 Globular Cluster
Galaxy NGC 2859
NGC 1931: Bright Nebula + Star Cluster
Galaxy M33
Veil Nebula East:
Veil Nebula West:
Backyard Astronomy And Other 
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