I have been interested in the night sky and astronomy since my early teens. Like many others, my first 'deep sky object" was a fuzzy Saturn with definite lobes, but very poor optics made for an impossible view. In 1985 I bought an 8" 2080 LX-3  (which is still in service, converted to ACF optics in 2021). I was taught how to use that scope as a member of the STAR Astronomy Society in a NJ suburb.

 

A career of relocation after relocation pulled me away from astronomy for most of my working career, only to dive in even deeper since retiring in 2015.​ Since then, I dusted off old equipment, switched to DSLR astrophotography (away from my Ektachrome days in the 80s), and then found fellow enthusiasts in my midst. I also discovered the new world of dedicated astrophotography cameras that likely equal or outnumber the DSLRs in service that replaced the mechanical SLRs before them.

 

The Trail 53 Observatory and its permanent telescope installation became operational in the summer of 2022. When I see Saturn now and think back to the smudge that drew me in all those years ago, it is incredible. Now I host public observing sessions at the site along with a team of cohorts, introducing people from our town and beyond to the night sky. In parallel, I am building this catalog of astrophotos. The 14" setup pictured is particularly well-suited to narrow-field targets, especially galaxies. My 'guidescope' addition to that setup has morphed into my wide-field astrophotography platform. See NGC 7000 in Nebulae for my very first wide-field astrophotography result.

 

​​​I've been sharing the results one at a time with friends and family, and finally decided to curate them properly, hence this site. Now I have a permanent, accessible record of my efforts, and I can easily share these works with others. To read my (random) recent astronomy musings, go to Blog. Otherwise...