About

Me

Syracuse, NY (43.0° N 76.2° W)

I was born in August of 1960 right near the beginning of the space race. By the time I was nine years old America had landed the first men on the moon and brought them back to earth safely. I can still remember to this day where I was when Neil Armstrong exited the lunar module and utter those now famous words; “…that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind…”. What a day! And since that day I have dreamed of going to the moon and beyond.

I think I got my very first telescope for Christmas when I was eight or nine years old. It was a small reflector telescope, not very sophisticated but it did the job. I can remember setting it up in our kitchen and looking out the back window at the moon. I wasn’t allowed outside after dark at that age and my parents didn’t seem to have the same curiosity about the moon that I did. Plus, it didn’t help that I lived in Syracuse, NY where the normal night time temperature in the winter was about 10 degrees. But there I was, fascinated by my view of the moon and a lifetime obsession was born.

Leesburg, VA (39.1156° N, 77.5639° W)

Presently I reside in Leesburg, VA. Dark skies are at a premium in this area so the moon, planets and mainly the brightest stars are my best targets for observing. Hence why I have chosen to take on the quest to view the Lunar 100.

The Lunar 100

The Lunar Program introduces amateur astronomers to that object in the sky that most of us take for granted, and which deep sky observers have come to loathe.

But even though deep sky observers search for dark skies (when the moon is down), this program gives them something to do when the moon is up. In other words, it gives us something to observe the rest of the month, and we all know that the sky is always clear when the moon is up.

More about the Lunar Observing Program can be found on the Astronomical League website.