John Blackwell

John Blackwell and his C8.

In 1977 we moved to London, England, and, as luck would have it, a global center for amateur astronomy with groups like the British Astronomical Association. I joined the BAA and learned quite a bit from those more senior than myself. I finished viewing all of the Messier objects and started looking for other astronomical projects to keep my interest. I then received as another Christmas gift a Celestron 8" SCT (here pictured), which I still use today as my primary instrument. By this time, I was living in Massachusetts while attending the University of Massachusetts with a Physics/Astronomy major.

It was then that I discovered variable stars. I was still very much interested in deep sky observing, but when I had exhausted most of the evening's objects, I needed something else to keep me under the stars. variable stars proved to be just the right thing! I joined the AAVSO, learned a lot, and kept making observations of LPV's until I decided to go back to school (this time a degree from Daniel Webster College: Aviation Management/Flight Operations). I left the AAVSO during this time, then rejoined once I had completed the degree.

Now, I still observe mostly deep-sky objects, and I am finishing up sketches of each of the Herschel-400 having completed the Messier objects last year (1997). I still observe a few long period variables like V Boo, U Her, and R Vir. My goal for the future is to observe more variables and eventually have a home observatory from which I can automate a CCD photometric system for unattended observation. If anyone would like to discuss this or other variable star projects, please feel free to contact me via email or visit my monthly astronomy web newsletter, Regulus.