This is a 12.5” Newtonian/Cassegrain telescope pictured here as a Newtonian. I use this scope solely for the PHYS 105 class at Dedication Point, which is in the Birds of Prey sanctuary, about 14 miles south of Kuna. In order to see the night sky at its best, one must get out of town and away from city lights. I use my own telescope mostly because it is larger than the university scopes. As shown in this picture, the scope weighs 300 lbs. Annie, the astro dog, guards the telescope from birds of prey and other dangerous four legged creatures...rabbits.

This is a picture of the same telescope (with the dog) taken Dedication Point, south of Kuna, during the summer of 2010. Here the scope is configured as a Classical Cassegrain. It has an 18" pier extension, a larger view finder mounted near the rear of the tube assembly (an 80mm refractor), an observing focuser mounted at the rear of the telescope, electronic slow motion controls to handle the 25 foot effective focal length and added counter weights. As a Cassegrain, the scope weighs 350 lbs.       Newtonian/Cassegrain telescopes were common in the astronomical community in the early half of the 20th century. Since then, they have fallen out of favor in the amateur market. This is literally two telescopes in one and each has their advantages. I am at a loss to explain why there are not more of these type of telescopes in the market. This telescope won a precision optics award at the Riverside Telescope Maker's Conference near Riverside CA in 1989. This is another reason I prefer this scope in my astronomy class.

This is a specialized solar, "hydrogen/alpha" telescope that is used in both classes. The technology used in this scope didn't exist just a few years ago. This observation lab is done on campus during the regular scheduled time. The scope shown here is set up on the parking garage near Capitol Blvd. All the observation labs require you leave your academic brains at home. Come and enjoy. Have fun learning. Bring your spouse or a friend with you.

These students are doing their lunar observation in the PHYS 104 lab with a 6" refractor. This was a small class and I decided to do this lab on the top of the Brady parking garage during the fall semester 2009, which I’ve continued since. Some students stayed late. The moon and Saturn looked impressive that evening. We even checked out some binary stars. (City lights aren’t as much as a hindrance for brighter solar system objects such as the major planets and the moon.)