http://www.skyandtelescope.com.au 75What has been your favourite moment?
Observing the 2001 Leonid meteor
shower in WA, where my wife Glenda
and I recorded a ZHR of over 1200
and a huge number of fireballs with
coloured trails — most of these were
observed in the dawn twilight; very
spectacular! Our dark sky observing
spot was about 80 kilometres east of
Carnarvon on the Murchison highway.
It had been cloudy nearly all day but the
clouds cleared around midnight, just in
time for the shower. We were very, very
lucky! Much of Australia was clouded
out for this event.What has been your proudest moment?
Receiving the Berenice Page Medal in
2004, for which I have to thank my
friends and colleagues at the Sutherland
Astronomical Society for nominating
me. The award was for observing and
publishing many original asteroid light
curves, gathered over many dusk-’til-
dawn CCD observing sessions.What’s on your ‘to do’ list?
To observe the total solar eclipse from
my backyard in country NSW in 2028
— I hope I’m still observing at that
time! So far I have two solar eclipses
under the belt — Turkey in 2006 and
Queensland in 2012 — both observed
in near-perfect weather. Hopefully the
third attempt will also be lucky!Colin Bembrick
A
stalwart of the amateur
astronomy scene in Australia for
many decades, Col Bembrick was
the 2004 recipient of the prestigious
Berenice Page Medal awarded by the
Astronomical Society of Australia.
What got you into astronomy?
A small paperback book by Patrick
Moore, probably a Christmas present,
on how to observe the Moon. This was
closely followed by the excitement and
publicity of the Sputnik I era (yes, that
was back in 1957) when I was in high
school. Following the coverage in the
newspapers, neighbours rushed out
into their backyards to witness the
passage of the satellite overhead. Many
chatted over the back fence to people
they had never spoken to before — this
was ‘social media’ before the term was
invented. At this time I was learning my
way around the night sky using a pair of
6×24 Zeiss binoculars, which I believe
Dad used for bird watching.
What was your first telescope?
A 50-mm ‘Jupiter’ tabletop refractor
with two eyepieces, 25 and 12.5 mm.
I was thrilled when I could find more
t Col Bembrick’s first big telescope was a 20-cm, f/8 Newtonian.
p His current scope is a 40-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain.than one satellite of Saturn. Following
Patrick Moore’s instructions, I started
drawing craters of the Moon using the
little refractor to become familiar with
the lunar surface and light conditions.
It was good training for honing critical
observing skills.
My second telescope was a 20-cm,
f/8 Newtonian, which I assembled
myself. I was too impatient to grind
the mirror, as many did I those
days, so I bought one from England.
The telescope was mounted on an
equatorial mount of my design in my
backyard in suburban Sydney. Some
experimental astrophotography was
done with this set-up, using a jury-
rigged drive system incorporating
an old washing machine motor.
Photographing Nova Delphinus 1967
was a highlight of this time.What sort of gear do you use now?
A 40-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain on an
equatorial Go To mount with CCD
camera, which has been used for minor
planet light-curve photometry and
variable star work. My original refractor
is now the finder/guidescope on the 40
cm (never throw anything away!).IN PROFILE