[Evans, Marv]

I loved looking at the pictures & reading about this hobby you guys are enjoying but I'm not interested in taking it up. I did have it as a hobby as a kid in elementary school though when we lived in a little town at 4K' elevation. I did odd jobs around the neighborhood during the summer and saved my money. When I had enough, I ordered a 30x40mm refracting telescope from the Sears catalog. I'd set it up on a stool in the front yard on cool nights and look at things - especially the planets and moon. Of course I could see the craters on the moon, make out the polar cap on Mars and the rings of Saturn along with the larger moons of Jupiter. I also made a filter out of four welding lenses to see sun spots. I became familiar with the night sky and a bunch of the major stars, and that familiarity has remained with me. I still find the whole topic fascinating.