INTERACTIVE
Stories and strange tales from the world of amateur astronomy by Jonathan Powell
Back in the early 1980s, telescopes could be readily purchased from high street electrical shops and even the odd chemist, placed next to the tinsel in the shop windows in the festive period. My first telescope, a 60mm refractor I’d asked Santa for, duly came down the chimney one year. Trying the beastie out, I focused on a signpost a quarter of a mile away, only to be disappointed at not being seeing a fly waving back at me. In truth, my telescope was better to look at than look through. However, the failing was not with the telescope, but my expectations of its capabilities, which I only understood as I gained experience. My first scope still holds fond memories for me, as it gave me many hours of happy observing in the years that followed.
Email your own tales to Jon at TalesfromtheEyepiece@themoon.co.uk