The PenOpticon

I first moved to Richmond Hill in 1972. As a 12-year-old who grew up with the Gemini and Apollo space programs, I was interested in science and astronomy and owned a small telescope and a subscription to Sky and Telescope.  In the pages of that magazine, the names such as Palomar, Mount Wilson, Yerkes and David Dunlap Observatory occurred frequently and resonated deeply. These were wonderful, inspiring, exotic places of science that generated deep intellectual attachments in thousands of young men and women.  I was thrilled to move to Richmond Hill, primarily because it was the home of David Dunlap Observatory

After attending one of the public lectures and seeing the 74-inch telescope for the first time on my 13th birthday, my friends and I made many trips to the DDO.  A few years later we moved to Weldrick Road and the observatory became a favorite place where I could walk, write and take photographs. Read the rest of this entry »