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.

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 about 135,000 miles to-date. I began riding in June 1979, but never thought or even considered the number of miles I’d one day ride.

The day I logged 60,000 miles (when turning into my driveway) for the very first time, it occurred to me that I should try for 100,000 miles. However, from my very first ride in June 1979, it would take me 29 years to achieve this feat, which occurred in October 2009.

Cycling photo (April 2026)

A few examples of my pencil sketches as following which were made at the telescope eyepiece without any embellishments or computer enhancements.