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RE: (IAAC) Introductions.

Wow, 
		Great Intro Mr. Montalvo
 . 
Roy 

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Celso Montalvo H. [SMTP:celsom-w@amauta.rcp.net.pe]
> Sent:	Thursday, February 12, 1998 18:52
> To:	netastrocatalog-announce@latrade.com
> Subject:	(IAAC) Introductions.
> 
> Hello friends:
> 
> It is good to hear about you and know about your development,
> equipment,
> observing sites and preferences. Maybe our friend Lew could find the
> way
> to save all these presentations so we can have any reference as there
> should be at least some hundred people awaiting to say something and
> to
> share their observations.
> 
> This time is my turn. I got interested in the heavens as far as I have
> memories: maybe started at four years old when I liked to sit alone at
> night in my backyard in Moquegua, south of Peru, looking the stars. I
> have some clear images of myself stared and overwhelmed by the sight
> of
> the Milky Way. In his youth my father traveled long distances by
> horse,
> riding by night and sometimes herding animals, so he knew how to find
> their way in the dark. I marveled at his stories about what
> represented
> the stars. As soon as I could I put my hands in an old pair of
> binoculars that belonged to my grandfather. This was a galilean type
> and
> was built and used in a war between Peru and Chile in 1880. At school
> I
> tried to build some telescopes but I never got enough quality. Only
> when
> I was at the University my mother bought me a 60 mm f/13.3 Asahi
> Telescope which is the only one I have now besides a good pair of
> 10x50
> Sakar binoculars. For almost 20 years I did not know of any other
> "crazy
> man" that liked to spend whole nights looking tha stars. I traveled
> alone to many different places (250 km the fartest) bringing my 10 kg
> telescope box until some two years ago when I read in Astronomy
> magazine
> about two other people in Lima, Peru, who wanted to meet other crazy
> men
> to share the hobby. Almost simultaneously, through Internet I knew of
> other more than 300 around the country interested in Astronomy.
> Presently I have a club of some 4 or five people that regularly meet
> each new moon to observe the stars. I am still fighting to have the
> cash
> enough to jump to an 8" schmidt Cassegrain but it is always some
> dollars
> away and never can put my hands on one. However I had countless
> pleasent
> nights with my 60 mm and I have two notebooks with the annotations and
> drawings of what I have seen. Surely they are not as interesting as
> what
> I read in the reports of what you have seen with greater apertures.
> 
> I like to see any kind of celestial object: I have reports on solar
> observations, planets, nebulae, galaxies, double stars, etc. but not
> variables [only recently I have had enough information to discern the
> light variations]. I prefer deep sky observing, but in any good night
> I
> try to see whatever is above my horizon. Any way, you cannot do much
> with 60 mm aperture.
> 
> All the recent nights in the center of Peru the sky is completely
> cloudy
> due to "El Nino", but I patiently await the clear and dark nights
> under
> the stars.
> 
> Saludos.
> -- 
> Celso Montalvo
> ELECONT INGENIERIA S. A.
> Lima-PERU
> 12o S; 77o W.