About Knuck

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."  
From The Old Astronomer to His Pupil by Sarah Williams

In another realm I am known as Knucklhead Astronomer.   That handle frequently gets shortened to just “Knuck.”  Observing Reports by Knuck are just that: the reports that I record while observing with my telescope, an Obsession 18 classic.  The reports are .pdfs of the actual notes I make in the field.

The telescope  is a 18″ aperture, f 4.5 fast Newtonian design on a Dobsonian mount.  It is equipped with a Telrad, an AT66 finder scope and an Argo Navis object locating computer.

Magnification, or power, is determined both by the telescope focal length and the focal length of the eyepiece.  With the eyepieces I currently use, I can obtain powers from 64 x  to 342x.  I also use various filters to bring different wavelengths of light into higher contrast.

I am able to see things like nebulas, globular clusters and open clusters in our own Milkyway Galaxy as well as other galaxies.  Within the Solar System I have viewed the Moon and all of the other planets.  I used to have to say: “except Pluto.”  But, the IAU demoted Pluto and it’s not a planet anymore.  Damn shame, I say.

Here is a photo of me and my telescope.