John Blackwell
John Blackwell and his
C8. |
I am currently a software engineer living in Concord, New
Hampshire, USA
and working in Portsmouth, NH. My interests in astronomy date back to when
I was nine
years old when I received a 2" Tasco(!) refractor for Christmas. At that
time my
family was living in Connecticut under dark skies, thus I was able to
observe the bright
planets, the Moon, and the brighter Messier objects. This was certainly
enough to get me
firmly attached to astronomy as a hobby if not a career.
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.