Buying a Telescope:
I have a blog where I talk about what to buy, what to avoid, how to buy, and how to budget for a telescope.
The advice is mostly aimed at a first-time buyer, but it's useful for anyone looking to buy a scope, especially if you've been burned in the past or want to refresh your mind with some things you might forget.
Telescope Buyer's Guide
Astronomy Basics:
I also have a blog where I cover the basics of astronomy. What things are, how to observe them, how to get started with the "simple" stuff that it seems so hard to pick up, especially when folks seem to think you already know it.
Astronomy Basics
Telescope Making (and Fixing):
I enjoy building my own telescopes, and helping others build theirs, too. I also like tinkering with telescopes that are already built. I was doing that long before I started building my own.
There are lots of sites on the internet that cover amateur telescope making, I've marked some of my favorites on my Delicious ATM bookmarks.
You can see me, and some of the people I've worked with making telescopes and their optics at the Starforge ATM Gallery.
Star Parties:
One of the greatest joys of astronomy is in sharing it. You can come to a star party and look through my scopes, and those of others. We like to show the beauty of the night sky to anyone who wishes to have a look.
I give a number of impromptu star parties each year (I may just pull out my telescope in the parking lot at McDonald's, for example), plus I help out at more formal star parties such as the ones given by these groups:
- Starforge Astronomical Association, serving the greater Sacramento area.
- Nevada County Astronomers, serving Nevada County and surrounding communities.
- Explorit Science Center, one of the greatest little science museums there is.
- Imaginarium of Nevada County, another great little science museum.
- Don Machholz, The Comet Hunter, Don Machholz, discoverer of 11 comets (by eye!), organizes frequent star parties along the I-80 corridor in the Sierra Foothills of California. My family and I alway enjoy being a part of these events.