Sky & Telescope - April 2022 - 6

FROM OUR READERS
Matching Lafayettes
As a subscriber for many years, I was
delighted to learn in " Coming Full Circle "
(S&T: Nov. 2021, p. 84) that one of
my favorite authors/editors, Dennis di
Cicco, had the same connection to the
2.4-inch (60-mm) Lafayette refractor
as I had. I got mine when I was in high
school around the same time he did
(1960-1961). I also remember, like it was
yesterday, the first time I saw Saturn.
I used to read Sky & Telescope from
cover to cover at the library when I
was 12 or so. That telescope and my
interest in science led me to a PhD in
physics and a 42-year career as a chief
scientist at four different research
labs. I am semi-retired now, but I still
consult on projects for one of the labs.
Glad to know Dennis di Cicco and I
started on the same scope. I've never
seen it mentioned before. Thank you
for bringing back those long nights
when I was a teenager! I've since
graduated to other telescopes, but this
one holds a special spot.
Rich Tansey * Reno, Nevada
"
Dennis di Cicco replies: It's nice
to know that another person with
a long connection to Sky & Telescope
p Left: A young Dennis di Cicco inspects
his 2.4-inch Lafayette refractor. Right: Rich
Tansey's version of the scope, which is still in
use after 55 years.
started out with the same 60-mm Lafayette
refractor. Mine was a slightly early
birthday present in July 1963 so that I
could view the solar eclipse on July 20th.
I still have distinct memories of my first
view of Saturn, which happened when I
turned the scope to the bright " star " that
appeared next to the full Moon at the
beginning of August.
The scope has served me well in a variety
of applications over the years - many
of them being as a guide scope on larger
instruments. As the scope approached its
50th birthday, I got interested in restoring
it to nearly as original condition as
possible, and I began searching for " parts
scopes " on eBay. One that I obtained from
a fellow on Long Island was so original
that it still has excelsior packing in the
wooden carrying case.
Here's to more years of us both enjoying
our Lafayette telescopes!
Returning to Old Projects
I have long enjoyed the amazing material
in S&T. Dennis di Cicco's " Coming Full
Circle " was particularly touching. I, too,
had a similar full-circle event last year
when I finally finished a telescope that I
started 50 years ago.
Fifty-one years ago, during the fall I
turned 16, I had a bit of time and found
myself drawn to building a telescope.
So I found an 8-inch (20-cm) piece of
glass and a book on telescope making
and went through the steps. Through
autumn the Andromeda Galaxy got
lower and lower in the west, and I
realized, as much as I wanted to see it
through my own telescope, it was not
going to happen. Other opportunities
started to appear and, while I felt that I
had not really gotten the mirror as good
6
APRIL 2022 * SKY & TELESCOPE
as I could have, I realized I had to put
it away. I bought a small suitcase from
the thrift store for 50¢ and tucked the
mirror away. I knew the mirror holder,
truss tube, and mount would all have to
be easily transportable as I'd be moving
soon, so I drafted out, in my mind, a system
I thought I could afford, build, and
transport. And then I moved on.
Well, during a lifetime of distractions
and 22 moves, that little suitcase
has gone with me every step of the way.
Every fall, as Andromeda sank farther
into the west, I thought about the telescope
I wanted to build. This year, I got
the suitcase out. Much to my delight and
amazement, the f/6 mirror tested pretty
darn good. So I went to the hardware
store and bought the parts needed to
build the telescope. I finally screwed it all
together, just as I had been thinking of
doing every fall for a lifetime.
Then, early on the morning of July
12, 2021, I used the telescope for the
first time. It worked! I observed Jupiter,
Saturn, Mars, Venus, the Moon,
and . . . wait for it . . . the Andromeda
Galaxy, too!
Thanks again for telling this age-old
story of how we are all touched by our
youthful selves. And thank you for giving
me (and thousands more) a lifetime of
wonderful monthly reading in S&T.
Bill Kahn
Weddington, North Carolina
Approaching a Telescope
Reading " Coming Full Circle, " I started
thinking about the mindset folks bring
to a telescope or to an astronomy club.
Sky & Telescope - April 2022

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