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This weekend, I conducted a private star party for Make-A-Wish Child, Abel Chen, his family, classmates, teachers and neighbors in a quiet residential neighborhood here in Southern California.  Abel (8 years old), his family and Celestron developed a good friendship during a Make-A-Wish event two years ago that honored Abel, with full news media and press coverage.  Those in attendance that night were able to see Abel’s dream of meeting and hugging a real life astronaut - C. Gordon Fullerton and viewing stars through a telescope fulfilled.  Earlier, Abel and his family had traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida to watch a Space Shuttle launch.  From that time, we’ve kept in touch on a regular basis. 

Although clouds began to roll in, there was just enough time to observe the Moon and the planet Jupiter through the threatening cloud cover.  The kids, as well as the adults, were not disappointed.  For some, it was their first time seeing the Moon and a planet through a telescope.  No matter how many times I’ve attended star parties, the shear excitement of someone seeing the Moon’s craters or Jupiter’s moons and cloud bands for the first time, never gets old.  I’m sure many star party veterans reading this blog can relate.  As an added treat, I allowed several children to operate the CPC800 telescope and command the scope to slew over to Jupiter or the Moon.  You can imagine how their faces just lit up with excitement!  These youngsters were really curious about the objects they were viewing and started asking me questions such as “what type of lava is present on Jupiter’s moon Io?” and “why is there a ring around the Moon tonight, and why can’t we always see a ring around the Moon?”   I was impressed with their curiosity, especially for 8 year olds.  Crispy pizza and beverages were served that made it a great evening of observing, despite the oncoming cloud coverage.  A lunar halo appeared around the Moon and was a fitting end to a somewhat compromised night of observing. 

Before I packed up and headed home, I presented an autographed audio book CD of Paul Fig’s “Frequenaut” story to Abel.  Now he’ll have a wonderful, new and exciting science fiction story to read in his spare time when he’s not too busy practicing the piano, violin or playing in basketball games.  I’m happy to report that Abel’s father, Jimmy, informed me that Abel is off medication, and the leukemia is now in remission.  Abel is looking great these days, and Celestron wishes this future space explorer continued good health and many clear nights of observing under the stars. 

After making my first trek to Palomar Observatory two weeks ago, I found myself  heading back up the mountain once again, as an invited guest of Palomar Observatory’s Public Affairs Coordinator, Scott Kardel.  Scott invited me, along with four Celestron Representatives, to watch the advanced screening of Todd and Robin Mason’s award winning documentary film “The Journey to Palomar.”  Accompanying me to watch this film included Celestron’s Derek Wallentinsen, Tech Support Representative; Mark Vescera, Tech Support Representative; Corey Lee, Vice-President of Engineering and Jason Fournier, Product Development Manager. 

We arrived at Palomar Observatory just after noon and were brought to the main telescope level where hors d’oeuvres were served to the guests.  Our seats were almost directly beneath the “star” of the film - the 200″ Hale Telescope.  We literally gasped in amazement as we were dwarfed by the telescope’s sheer size and solid, well engineered structure.  A projection screen was mounted directly in front of us, which turned the observatory into a temporary movie theater.  I couldn’t help but draw comparisons with our seating arrangements with the famous black and white photograph showing guests seated beneath the 200″ Hale Telescope during the opening ceremony many decades ago.

For more than five years, the filmmakers, Todd and Robin Mason, researched the history of Palomar Observatory, the life of George Ellery Hale, and the goals he fulfilled which created some of the world’s best known observatories - The Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, Mount Wilson Observatory in California and the 200″ Hale Telescope on Mount Palomar, California.  “The Journey to Palomar” also covered the creation of the 200″ mirror, from its beginnings in Corning, NY, to its cross country train ride out west, to finally reaching its destination at Mount Palomar and everything else inbetween.   Without giving away too much information, this film is very thorough and very informative.  Palomar fans will no doubt be in for special treat when this film is broadcast nationwide on PBS during the week of November 10, 2008.  Please check local listing for airings in your respective area. 

After the screening concluded, guests showed their approval of the film with a loud applause and watched as the dome opened on cue.  It’s as if George Ellery Hale’s spirit was controlling the telescope and was voicing his own personal approval towards the film.  A question and answer session with the filmmakers then took place immediately followed by a short presentation of the future 30 Meter Telescope project.  I’m sure George Ellery Hale would’ve been proud to see how far telescope technology has evolved since his era. 

Proceeds for “The Journey to Palomar” will benefit the observatory’s up-and-coming Public Outreach Facility, which will provide a venue for outreach projects and telescope viewing for the general public.  Before we departed, we presented a NexStar 130 SLT to Scott Kardel and Palomar Observatory, which we feel will help them get a good start towards educating and inspiring the public, especially children, with astronomy awareness.  Celestron would like to thank Scott Kardel, the staff at Palomar Observatory and Todd and Robin Mason for allowing us to be a part of the advanced screening of “The Journey to Palomar.”  We give it a big thumbs up and highly recommend the film to anyone interested with the history of Palomar Observatory.

For many astronomy enthusiasts growing up in the 1940s through the early 1990s, the 200″ Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, located just north of San Diego, California, represented the crème de la crème of astronomical telescopes.  Since my early childhood, I would always see photos of this magnificent piece of optical and mechanical engineering marvel throughout my astronomy books.  I always wished that someday I would get the chance to see this telescope in person. Little did I realize that the Hale Telescope was practically in my own backyard - only a 2.5 hour drive south from Los Angeles.  Fast forward to 2008.  Now as an adult, the chance of a lifetime to see the 200″ Hale Telescope was about to come true thanks to Scott Kardel, Public Affairs Coordinator with Palomar Observatory. 

My observing buddies - John McFee of the Doobie Brothers and Carlos Rios of Stevie Nicks’ band, accompanied me on our journey to Palomar.  Like me, they too, grew up in awe of “the telescope of all telescopes” and would be fulfilling their boyhood dreams as well.  After a short visit to the Eagle Gold Mine and a quick stop for some apple pie in the historic town of Julian, we were on our way up the winding road to Palomar Mountain.  Located at an elevation of 5,600 feet above sea level, the massive white observatory dome is high enough to be above most of the marine layer and light pollution, although skyglow is always a growing concern.  The Palomar Observatory is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology, where astronomical research is conducted throughout most of the year by professional astronomers, reseachers, post-doctoral graduates and nongraduate students.  We met up with Scott Kardel and Palomar Docent, Jim Mettler, and after introductions and a storied history lesson, we entered into the most sacred grounds of the Palomar Observatory. 

To our surprise, we were greeted by massive steel foundations which anchored the telescope’s support structures instead of the huge telescope itself.  We quickly learned that the telescope was actually a couple of levels above us, as we had entered the dome from the ground level.  A quick elevator ride up brought us to a dimly lit corridor which led us to the main floor of the observatory.  As we entered the room, a darken silhouetted image of the telescope was barely visible.  Inside the dome is kept dark and must always have a set temperature to alleviate any heat buildup.  With one turn of a switch, a few lights came on, and there it was - the 200″ Hale Telescope in all its glory!  It looked exactly like the pictures showed from all my astronomy books, but of course, the telescope was much more impressive and massive looking in person.  As Scott and Jim looked on, Carlos, John and I were just gasping in amazement while looking at the telescope’s infamous arms and horseshoe.  The experience was just surreal with shear amazement that words alone cannot bring out our uttermost feelings.  Scott began to describe the delicate and painstaking task of re-aluminizing the 200″ mirror, which is due up shortly.  He also informed us how the telescope is fitted with Adaptive Optics to remove atmospheric distortion to render sharper images.  Imagine the possibilities of having a similar system for a commercial telescopes someday!  As dusk settled in, the observatory dome began to open.  Professional Astronomers would soon be hard at work analyzing and compiling data for their research studies.  It was quite fascinating to witness the dome turn, which made it seem as if the telescope itself was rotating on its azimuth axis.  Scott then took us inside one of the supporting arms of the telescope, which housed a spectrograph instrument.  As a child,  I thought the “arm” was the telescope itself, as many people still believes to this day.  After taking a lot of photos, we were then invited to walk the “cat walk” outside the dome, which gave us breathtaking views of the surrounding mountainsides.  Palomar Observatory’s “other” telescope were visible nearby, which included the 48″ Samuel Oschin Telescope and the Testbed Interferometer, to name a few.  By then the Milky Way was plainly visible despite the light glow from neighboring cities below.  We then visited the telescope control center, and how nostalgic it was to see some of the old equipment still there that were used by past astronomers long ago.  Of course, today’s astronomers uses modern day computers, but it was still great to see the old technology mixed in with the new.   The Astronomers on duty were already busily at work, so we made sure not to disturb them while we were now in their “office,” although everyone was very nice and friendly towards us.

The next stop was a visit to the Samuel Oschin Schmidt Telescope located just a short drive away.  This telescope actually uses a 48″ corrector plate and a 72″ primary mirror to scan and survey the northern sky with its wide angled views and is operated robotically.  Scott brought out a couple of old photographic plates taken through the telescope of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and a deep sky image of a galaxy grouping.  One word to sum up the images - amazing!  What’s even more amazing was the small, thin lines (best seen under a magnifying glass)  which represented hundreds upon hundreds of additional galaxies beyond our Milky Way!  At the time we visited the Samuel Oschin Schmidt Telescope, the primary mirror was already removed for recoating, so just the empty telescope housing remained upright.  It hard to imagine that we were standing right next to the same telescope that countless asteroids, comets, supernova and Kuiper Belt objects were discovered with.  I could just picture Edwin Hubble himself, pipe and all, peering through the 10″ refractor guide scope mounted onto the 48″ Telescope, just like in the famous photograph of him.

With one more short drive down the road, Scott and Jim took us to their new up and coming Public Outreach Facility.  Once a schoolground, this facility will be used for outreach projects and public star parties.  The spacious playground will provide ample space for the general public to look through telescopes at the night sky.  In fact, Scott informed us that the 10″ refractor currently attached to the 48″ Telescope, will no longer be needed for guiding, so it will be mounted for public use.  Now guests will be able to peer into the heavens with the same telescope that Edwin Hubble used long ago.  Very cool.  As our tour began to wind down, Jim brought out a computerized telescope to give us a taste of the Palomar skies.  Objects observed included the Ring Nebula (M57), the Dumbbell nebula (M27), a couple of nice globular clusters, including the Hercules Cluster (M13), (M92), (M15), Albireo (a double star) and the Double Cluster (NGC 864) and (NGC 884).  On a side note, 2 original orange tube C8 telescopes were recently donated by a local community college and will be used for the observatory’s Public Outreach Programs.

We would like to sincerely thank Scott Kardel and Jim Mettler for providing us with the great indepth history lesson of Palomar Observatory and an awesome behind the scenes tour of the magnificent 200″ Hale Telescope, 48″ Samuel Oschin Telescope and the new upcoming Public Outreach Facility.  You certainly made our day and helped to fulfill our lifelong ambitions to make the pilgrimage up to the Palomar Observatory.  For more information regarding the Palomar Observatory and to learn more about their upcoming Public Outreach Facility, please visit their website at: http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/.

Our last day at Photokina started like any other day since we’ve been here in Cologne, Germany.  After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we were soon on the infamous Autobahn and our way to the Koelnmesse.  About half way into our drive, our rental Mercedes’ fuel pump decided to “go south,” leaving our driver without any means of accelerating the car.  Talk about bad luck and bad timing!  With throngs of Audis, BMWs, Mercedes and VWs passing us by, our driver somehow was able to navigate our injured car off the Autobahn and onto an emergency lane to get us all out of harm’s way.  Without doubt, that was a really tense moment, especially since other cars were zipping by us at 160 km per hour!  With a few phone calls and a 2 hour wait, a tow truck finally appeared to retrieve our car and gave us a ride to a local Mercedes Benz dealer.  A taxi was summoned, and we were soon on our way to the Koelnmesse, while a replacment car rental  - a Volvo, was exchanged for.  Lucikly, other members of our entourage were already at the show and had our booth up and running.  What a day to remember. 

With just a few more hours to go, Photokina 2008 will come to a close.  Reflecting back upon this past week here at the Koelnmesse, it’s been an unbelievable experience, especially for those of us who journeyed to Europe for the very first time.  Anyone interested in imaging, video, cameras, optics, etc, Photokina was definitely the place to be.  This trade show provided guests with a glimpse into the future of imaging applications and showcased innovative new products from exhibitors from all around the globe, including many from North America.  Photokina was certainly a real eye opener and provided a firsthand look at the huge market Celestron has in the eastern hemisphere.  Distributors, Dealers, Journalist, Media and everyday guests marveled at our latest products, including our newly announced CGEM mount, which made its debut at Photokina.  As Celestron continues to grow in the global marketplace, it’s quite inevitable more and more innovative new products will continue to be developed and become accessible for astronomy enthusiasts worldwide.  It’s too bad Photokina takes place every other year.  We’re already thinking ahead to have a greater booth presence for the next show.  Tonight, Baader Planetarium and Celestron staff members will have one last dinner together before we say our goodbyes and fly back home.  Hopefully, we’ll get one last look at the magnificent Cologne Cathedral before we go our separate ways.  Until the next Photokina in 2010, auf wiedersehen!  Einen schonen Tag allerseits!

With each passing day, attendance levels are really beginning to soar here at Photokina.  Guests to the Celestron booth have been increasing dramatically, as our CPC 1100 and new CGEM 1100 are now pointed at various targets throughout the exhibit hall for everyone to view.  Guests have been really enjoying the views through the CPC 1100 of people moving up and down the escalators, while others are remarking at the clarity of a string holding a sign as seen through the CGEM 1100. Guests eagerly waiting in line to peer through the telescopes are not uncommon to see.   Meanwhile, Celestron’s Sales Representatives have been meeting with clients and Distributors behind closed doors, while Celestron Representatives have been demonstrating and answering questions regarding the products on display. International Sales Coordinator, Anne Barton, which we dubbed “The Queen of Microscopes” can be seen sharing her knowledge of our very popular Hand Held Digital Microscope and LCD Digital Microscope for many hours at a time.  If anyone has any questions regarding microscopes, Anne is always ready to assist.  Assistant Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill, can be seen passing out Celestron’s famous orange Frisbees, hand warmers and orange star pens to our guests.  Michelle especially loves to hand out Frisbees to all the children, and their happy smiles say it all.  These items are very popular, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we run out of stock before Photokina ends.  We’ve also been extremely grateful to have Mr. Thomas Baader of Baader Planetarium and Baader Planetarium Representatives – Michael Risch and Jan Glockenthőr working beside us in the Celestron booth.  These talented gentlemen have been such a tremendous help by translating the German Language to English and by using their astronomical and Celestron product expertise to interact with guests.  Their customer service skills are impeccably first rate, and we are all very happy to have them as part of the Celestron family.  Famed European Astrophotographer, Sebastian Voltmer, of France, stopped by our booth today and presented a CD-ROM of some of his latest works.  Sebastian’s images are so good that they are featured on Celestron’s website and telescope catalog, not to mention on European TV as well.  It’s just amazing to see the finely detailed images he produces using a C8, C11, C14 and PlaneWave Instrument’s 12.5” CDK optical tubes.  The most remarkable images Sebastian showed us were almost identical images of Mars taken during the 2003 Opposition through his C14 and one by the Hubble Space Telescope.   Nearly every Martian features were accounted for, with the Hubble Space Telescope taking the nod for having just a tad bit better resolution, as any 1.5 billion dollar telescope operating in perfect seeing conditions should have.  In reality, the C14 really showed its true capabilities when in the hands of an expert imager like Sebastian.  More of his work can be found on his website at www.weltraum.com and our website at www.celestronimages.com.   More from Photokina to follow soon.