THE ASTRONOMY SCENE
60 Image processing
We show you a novel technique to
bring out emission nebulosity in your
astrophotos.
By Timothy Jensen
64 Test report
Sky-Watcher’s AZ-GTi mount and
Evostar 72 refractor make for a
dynamic duo.
ByRichardS.Wright,Jr
70 Astronomer’s workbench
Mel Bartels has done it again, with a
design for a mega amateur scope.
By Jerry Oltion
74 NightLife and Astro Calendar
Events, activities and what’s
happeningintheastronomyworld
75 In profile
A new section of the magazine where
we interview leading amateurs.
76 Gallery
Latest images from our readers
80 Marketplace
81 Indextoadvertisers
82 Focal Point
A simple mistake led to an alarming
observing surprise.
By Pat Plunkett
ON THE COVER
What, if anything, came before the Big
Bang? Some scientists think we might be
about to find out. Turn to page 28.
IF THERE’S ANYONE WHO KNOWS a thingortwoaboutamateur
telescope making, it would have to be Mel Bartels. Famous for his
innovations over the years, Mel just keeps them coming with his new
design for a mount that eliminates the annoying ‘Dob’s hole’ effect (as
you can see in Jerry Oltion’s Astro Workbench column in this issue, page
70). This, combined with a clever new style of Crayford focuser (from
Pierre Lemay) has produced a superb new large-aperture, fairly compact
instrument for serious deep sky work.
Seeing Mel’s new scope and all the other marvellous and ingenious
gadgets that Jerry features in his column, got me wondering about how
much amateur telescope making still goes on out there. ATMing used
to be the main way in which amateurs acquired their scopes — it wasn’t
until the 1970s that high-quality, mass-produced scopes began becoming
available. And many would argue that in this day and age, why would you
bother going to the trouble of building your own when off-the-shelf gear is
so affordable and technologically advanced? That’s a fair point, but others
would argue that there’s nothing quite like putting your knowledge, skills
and tenacity to the test by undertaking your own project.
What do you think? Are you in favour of building your own kit, or are
the glory days of DIY gone forever?The days of DIY
astronomy
Jonathan Nally,Editor
[email protected]AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE
(ISSN 1832-0457) is published 8
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Australian Sky & Telescope.EDITORIAL
EDITOR Jonathan Nally
ART DIRECTOR Lee McLachlan
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
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