Sky & Telescope - March 2022 - 7

debt, I was able to purchase a shiny new
8-inch (20-cm) Celestron Powerstar II
in the 1980s. This telescope opened the
entire universe to me, especially since
it had an accurate clock drive, which
enabled me to get into astrophotography.
Nick Funk
Fairhope, Alabama
I loved this article. The November issue
fell open at " A Golden Age for Amateur
Astronomy, " and I sat down and read it
all, which is not the norm. It's such a
great article. Like Bill Sheehan, I was 15
when I bought a secondhand 4.25-inch
Edmund Scientific " Palomar Junior. "
Like many other amateurs, I have had
a Cave 8-inch Newtonian, an orange
Celestron C8, a 10-inch (25-cm) Meade
LX200, and a Celestron NexStar 11
Schmidt-Cassegrain. Later still, I got
an 18-inch NightSky Dobsonian. I had
many great times at star parties and with
members of the Austin Astronomical
Society. Those experiences were the treasures
of a lifetime. But after retirement, I
found myself fading out of the hobby.
That all changed when I bought a
Unistellar eVscope eQuinox this summer.
This telescope has been a revolution
in my passion for astronomy. It weighs
around 20 lbs and has no cables, controller,
or place to put an eyepiece, nor
does it need any of that. Quite surprisingly,
it makes imaging effortless, with
little post-processing needed. I routinely
print 11×14 images for my walls. I foresee
a revolution coming comparable to when
the Celestron C8 displaced the Cave
reflectors in the 1970s.
Jack Estes
Boerne, Texas
Looking Forward
Howard Banich's article " Arc of an
Amateur " (S&T: Nov. 2021, p. 58) really
intrigued me because it reminded me
of my journey in amateur astronomy,
which began in 1970. I often reflect on
the changes in this hobby and how we
adapt. While there are certain constants,
sometimes we get drawn into the times,
and they change us.
As I approach the golden years of my
own life, I also look at what I can do in
this hobby. I want to make sure I get as
much in as I can before it is too late.
The really important thing to remember
is that it's not about how large your
telescope is, or even how much one has
seen, but whether we are enjoying what
we are doing and sharing it with others.
Make sure to find time to enjoy the
amazing people along the way, too. Get
out and become involved in a club, and
go to star parties and meet new people.
That is the future of our hobby.
James Paulson
Medicine Hat, Alberta
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75, 50 & 25 YEARS AGO by Roger W. Sinnott
1947
1972
º March 1947
Lunar Craters " Among curious
notions that have haunted astronomical
thought, few are more
phantastic than that which would
explain the facial appearance of
the moon by the fall of a hundred
thousand meteorites and comets.
. . . One seems to be in dreamland
when he pictures the lunar heavens
alive with flying blocks of stone . . .
" Maedler, Nasmyth and Carpen1997
ter,
Moreaux, W. H. Pickering, and
Goodacre, all have favored some
form of volcanic theory, though not
insisting on a single igneous agency.
. . . And the moon itself provides a
multitude of witnesses whose testimony
. . . is a mighty No. "
The Apollo missions would finally
convince astronomers that most
lunar craters are due to impacts.
º March 1972
Leonid Meteors " As far as the
writer knows, there are no records
at all of the Leonids from the 9th
century or earlier. Why is this?
Did the orbit of the Leonid swarm
undergo some drastic change about
that time, making collision with the
earth possible for the first time? . . .
" [T]here are many references
to a spectacular Leonid shower
in A.D. 902, on or about October
12-13. The best account comes
from Islamic Spain, [where] 'there
was seen in the sky an innumerable
mass of stars, which were
dispersed like rain, and [they] were
cast off to right and left. . . .'
" One of our group, A. T. Gerard,
has pointed out what may be a still
earlier observation of the Leonids.
It reads as follows: 'In the year of
the Incarnation of our Lord 900
there appeared a marvelous sign
in heaven. For the stars were seen
to flow from the very height of
heaven to the lowest horizon, well
nigh as though they crashed one
upon the other.' Radbod, who was
the author, was elected Bishop of
Utrecht in the Netherlands in 899
[and was perhaps] the first to see
and record the Leonids. "
This report came from D. J.
Schove of St. David's College.
º March 1997
Carl Sagan " As president of The
Planetary Society, Carl fostered
Russian/American dialogue in order
to achieve mutual understanding
and lessen the chances of nuclear
winter - the planetary catastrophe
he researched and feared most. . . .
" Carl's advocacy of exobiology
was considered disreputable
by some scientists and drew
criticism, further fueled by their
jealousy of his public renown. I
recall, with some shame, publically
poking fun at Carl's idea of floating
life forms in Jupiter's atmosphere.
. . . Nonetheless, Carl practiced
science with rigor. . . .
" We astronomers - amateur,
armchair, professional - are
fortunate that such an eloquent
spokesman for science should
have come from our midst. "
Astronomer Clark R. Chapman
paid tribute to his former teacher.
Sagan died in December 1996.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * MARCH 2022
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