About this BLOG
There ARE clear nights here at 45 degrees north, 123 degrees west, in the cloudy state of Oregon, USA, to my amazement.
Oregon is my home now as I am taking care of my wife Ellen, who has Parkinson’s (see https://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/what-is-parkinsons ). There isn’t much time available to go to the Arizona house I built specifically for doing astronomy under the quality dark skies there. (I document that Arizona property’s development elsewhere in this blog.)
How do I keep hacking around at astronomy, though? When life offers lemons, make lemonade. So starting with my Canon DSLR, I needed a telescope and mount-tripod.
With telescopes you can have good, affordable, or big, pick two. I’ve always wanted an apochromatic refractor, so I bought one that is both good and affordable, but a mere 71 mm (2.8 inches) aperture.
A small telescope tube needs but a wisp of a mount, and the one I chose has duel axis motors and computer control, yet the tripod, mount, and optical tube together can be carried in one hand.
Fortunately for me our property in the woods has a substantial clearing that affords viewing north of declination -20 degrees.
The question for now becomes: how much astronomy can a body do with a small refractor and DSLR camera from the cloudiest goddamn place in the lower 48? Let’s find out.
I call my amateur astronomy bag White Oak Observatory, after the abundant Oregon white oaks around here.
— Jim Bruton, November, 2026
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