Al Paslow Astronomy Collection

Images and events of personal interest.

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Jupiter :

Jupiter

Updated: Oct 15, 2012 10:23am PST

Neil Armstrong : Neil Armstrong is gone now. I've decided to post some images that will would be nice to remember him by.

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong is gone now. I've decided to post some images that will ...

Updated: Aug 31, 2012 4:19am PST

12 inch Dynascope - from the 1950's : I've decided to post images of a real classic telescope. This telescope until recently was located in the Greensburg-Salem School district, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It has since been retired, due to mechanical problems, with the equatorial mount and the fact it is a rather large instrument that needed to be moved in and out doors to be used! This Dynascope is rather unique because the fact it is a 12 inch scope, and not a 12.5 incher which means this is an early instrument. The serial number is # 478 and is the very lowest I have ever seen! The best bet is this telescope was a late 1950's or very early 1960's vintage. - Al

12 inch Dynascope - from the 1950's

I've decided to post images of a real classic telescope. This telescop ...

Updated: Feb 28, 2012 5:01pm PST

10 inch Refractor Renovation : The 10 inch D&G refractor was in need of some renovations. Please note: Amateur Astronomers of Pittsburgh own this telescope. I found issues with this telescope mount which was purchased new from Joe Nastasi at Parrallax Instruments. Joe did not fix theses issues and I continued an investigation on this matter. The organization spent $ 25,000 on this Parrallax HD 300 mount which is junk. Joe does not appear to be a man of his word to support his product. However the Amateur Astonomers of Pittsburgh decieded to have me expelled from the organization in my attempts to help them fix the problems encountered!! I do not support their organization any longer due to the politics of Tom Reiland of the AAAP.org or members of the organization who do not understand nor believe in the fairness that the telescopes & their appropiate mountings should work to a professional standard or be brought up to standard. Remember we spent 25K on this and it should work properly!! - Al Paslow

10 inch Refractor Renovation

The 10 inch D&G refractor was in need of some renovations. Please n ...

Updated: Feb 25, 2012 4:12am PST

Allegheny Observatory 2011 : Here are a few images taken during Open House September 30, 2011.

Allegheny Observatory 2011

Here are a few images taken during Open House September 30, 2011.

Updated: Oct 01, 2011 12:44pm PST

Telescope eyepieces & accessories : Pictures and videos of eyepieces, classic and modern as well as other accessories. In this review we also attempt to date when various popular eyepieces were produced. Some are considerably older than you may think! - Al Paslow - Brandon eyepiece user & believer since 1970. Important - Click on any image to enlarge then click on the final size at the top of the page on the left. You can enlarge all the old advertisements to full size by hitting the "O" after the first click!

Telescope eyepieces & accessories

Pictures and videos of eyepieces, classic and modern as well as other ...

Updated: Aug 28, 2011 12:06pm PST

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Moon Bounce attempt at Mingo

April 9, 2011 - The Wireless Association of the South Hills set up po ...

Updated: Apr 09, 2011 10:11pm PST

20 inch Tectron : Here is a 20 inch Tectron instrument I have purchased from a local observer who bought the telescope new in1989. It features a Pyrex Galaxy Optics primary mirror. Images were taken in November 2010. Here's some information - actual fl. = 99.4 inches. Interferometric information 0.931 Strehl Ratio.

20 inch Tectron

Here is a 20 inch Tectron instrument I have purchased from a local obs ...

Updated: Apr 05, 2011 3:27pm PST

Judith A. Resnik : This is on the CMU Campus in Pittsburgh. The picture was taken on the 25 anniversary. The copy reads : "THIS TAU BETA PI BENT IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF JUDITH A. RESNIK CARNEGIE MELLON ALUMNA E'70 AND TAU BETA PI MEMBER AN ASTRONAUT ON THE TRAGIC FLIGHT OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE "CHALLENGER" ON JANUARY 28, 1986 SHE WAS AN OUTSTANDING ENGINEER WHO LIVED AS SHE DIED: REACHING FOR THE SKY"

Judith A. Resnik

This is on the CMU Campus in Pittsburgh. The picture was taken on the ...

Updated: Jan 29, 2011 8:06am PST

Moon Images : This page will continue to grow when more images become available. Most taken with a 10 inch F-12 refractor telescope and a Nikon 990 single shot camera. No stacking!! Vast improvements in imaging have occured in recent times due to web cameras, which can record a short "movie" of the moon or a planet. Then hundreds of individual frames of this movie can be stacked one upon the other, taking advantage of fleeting seconds of good seeing and computer enhancements. Some pictures are as easy as simply hand holding a digital camera to the eyepiece of the telescope and "snapping" the picture. (That is pretty much what was done with the first image shown here.) Of course steady air and a vibration free set-up is a must for the very best images.

Moon Images

This page will continue to grow when more images become available. Mos ...

Updated: Jan 05, 2011 6:17pm PST

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Mingo Last Star Party 2010

Saturday evening Oct 23, 2010 was the last public star party for the ...

Updated: Oct 24, 2010 7:21am PST

Stellafane 2010 : I made the trip to Stellafane in Springfield VT to attand the 2010 Springfield Telescope Makers Convention. It was a great and informative adventure. Here's some images.

Stellafane 2010

I made the trip to Stellafane in Springfield VT to attand the 2010 Spr ...

Updated: Aug 15, 2010 7:22am PST

VW Syncros, Morgantown, WV :

VW Syncros, Morgantown, WV

Updated: Jul 10, 2010 10:30pm PST

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2009 to June 2010

Updated: Jun 17, 2010 2:12pm PST

Snow, Pittsburgh Feb. 6, 2010 : this is our around 18" of snow. taken from Pittsburgh's South Side. David L. Smith Photography.

Snow, Pittsburgh Feb. 6, 2010

this is our around 18" of snow. taken from Pittsburgh's South Side. Da ...

Updated: Feb 06, 2010 2:42pm PST

Christmas 2009 : Christmas at our house. Family members in from from Wisconsin too!

Christmas 2009

Christmas at our house. Family members in from from Wisconsin too!

Updated: Dec 30, 2009 3:23pm PST

Dominican Republic Astro Images : Recently, our goods friends in the Dominican republic have sent us some beautiful images by Astro-Imager Maurice De Castro. Maurice uses an Orion 190 mm Newtonian Maksutov instrument. Eric Ramos reports: What I´m not sure of yet is if it is a full color shot or if it is a filtered and color assigned shot. I say this because he is practicing a lot with the "Hubble" method of assigning Halpha (red)- Olll and Olll filters blue and green I believe.... In any case they are beautiful!!

Dominican Republic Astro Images

Recently, our goods friends in the Dominican republic have sent us som ...

Updated: Aug 26, 2009 4:50pm PST

CARS : Stormie makes a visit to what used to be Yenko Chevrolet home of the famous Yenko Camero, near Cannonsburg, PA on Rt# 19. Now owned by Sun Chevrolet. She checks out the New Generation Cameo as well as the Corvette ZO6, rated a 505 horse power!

CARS

Stormie makes a visit to what used to be Yenko Chevrolet home of the f ...

Updated: Jul 12, 2009 7:56pm PST

Other Telescopes & Optics : I have owned, made and acquired various instruments over time. I've made the optics to a number of reflector telescopes over the past 35 plus years. Most of the homemade telescopes were given away or sold for a very reasonable cost. I don't have many pictures of the old instruments. At this time I own several Jaegers refractors, a Cave and a large Star-Liner and the neat little Palomar Jr. They are listed under seperate Galleries. I have other homemade instruments in various stages of completion and some that are in use. The largest project is a 16 inch f-5 f-20 Newtonian Cassegrain I have been building for more than 15 years. The optics are done, but everything is so expensive it still will be a number of years till the telscope is finished to my satisfaction. This Gallery will show some optical testing equipment, the old folded Buchroeder off axis mirror, a Horace Dall spherometer, etc. Also you can see other telescopes I use on occassion and they are interesting to see too. More to follow!!

Other Telescopes & Optics

I have owned, made and acquired various instruments over time. I've ma ...

Updated: Mar 07, 2009 2:45pm PST

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Fork Mount for 24" R/C Telescope, Mingo Creek Observatory

This telescope belongs to the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pitts ...

Updated: Jul 12, 2008 5:40am PST

Comet Holmes : One of the strangest Comets ever seen. Increase in brilliance of 500,000 times in a matter of hours.

Comet Holmes

One of the strangest Comets ever seen. Increase in brilliance of 500,0 ...

Updated: Oct 29, 2007 6:38pm PST

McDonald's Museum : During Memorial Day Weekend , 2007 I stumbled accross this huge McDonald's Restaurant and Museum, located along Rt # 30 about 2 min. off the PA Turnpike near Irwin, PA. The place is fantastic, with at least a 2 story tall play room for children. I have to say this place is the biggest MacDonald's I ever saw. It was founded by Jim Deligatti who invented the Big Mac sandwich. Perhaps more correctly it is a "Big Mac" Museum. Jim founded the Big Mac because he believed America was ready for a larger hamburger. He developed the 5 ingrediant "special sauce" which stands secret to this day. When the burger first came out McDonald's Officials felt it was too messy, so Jim added a "middle bun" to stabalize the burger. The rest is history !!! All images by Al Paslow. .................................................................. Click on any image to enlarge.

McDonald's Museum

During Memorial Day Weekend , 2007 I stumbled accross this huge McDona ...

Updated: Sep 02, 2007 8:23pm PST

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John Dobson - Science Center & Mingo

John Dobson on April 1, 2006 attended Astronomy Day at the Carnegie Sc ...

Updated: Jul 16, 2007 5:31pm PST

Ice Crystals : The winter weather has been quite harsh over the past several days during the week of Valentines Day 2007. Having both rain and snow you can see the ice in the trees. I imaged the sunlight relecting and refracting off the branches on the morning of Feb 15, 2007. Click on any picture to enlarge it.

Ice Crystals

The winter weather has been quite harsh over the past several days dur ...

Updated: May 02, 2007 8:28pm PST

Paul F. Campbell's Sunsets , clouds and wildlife photos : This is a collection of Sunsets, clouds and wildlife from my home in Washington Pa,and other places.

Paul F. Campbell's Sunsets , clouds and wildlife photos

This is a collection of Sunsets, clouds and wildlife from my home in W ...

Updated: Apr 23, 2007 5:56pm PST

4.25 Reflectors : Light and small, easy to take on a trip this is a very nice size instrument to own. Sure, there isn't a lot of light grasp here but there are a number of advantages.Cool down time is as little as 10 to 15 minuets with as miuch as a 50 degree tempeture diffrence! That means you can pull your little scope out of a 70 degree house and observe in 20 degree weather within almost no time flat!

4.25 Reflectors

Light and small, easy to take on a trip this is a very nice size instr ...

Updated: Apr 03, 2007 2:50am PST

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Mingo Observatory

Images of Mingo Creek Park Observatory.

Updated: Mar 26, 2007 6:14pm PST

Astro Images by Dan McKeel : Friend and fellow member of the AAAP, - Daniel McKeel of Upper St Clair, PA sends very interesting imges to me from time to time. Many are quite beautiful. Recently I have only started posting Dans work on this site. Dan uses a Cannon Digital Rebel, with a variety of instuments. A 12 inch Meade LX 200 is his latest "driving force". Dan has owned a number of telescopes over the years, including a 6 inch f-15 Jaegers Refractor. Take a look and enjoy....!

Astro Images by Dan McKeel

Friend and fellow member of the AAAP, - Daniel McKeel of Upper St Cla ...

Updated: Mar 21, 2007 6:08pm PST

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Mingo Observatory Telescopes

Updated: Nov 21, 2006 4:31pm PST

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John Dobson's Visit

On March 29, 2006 - The famous John Dobson arrived in Pittsburgh, PA f ...

Updated: Nov 18, 2006 3:32pm PST

Woodland Hills School Dist. Refractor : This 9 inch refractor was made by C. E. Mackett & Co Mfrs & Opticians in Brighton England and has been housed in the Woodland Hills High School in Churchill Boro., near Pittsburgh, PA. Much of the instrument is good condition. It yeilds sharp contrasty images as reported by Jayson Kowinsky who teaches astronomy. Dave Smith & I were able to document this instrument on Nov 10, 2006. Dave Smith's shots are #109-#137 For more about the history of this telescope see: http://telescopium.org/Woodland_Hills_Refractor.html

Woodland Hills School Dist. Refractor

This 9 inch refractor was made by C. E. Mackett & Co Mfrs & Opticians ...

Updated: Nov 12, 2006 2:21am PST

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Mingo Star Parties July 21 & 22 2006

The weekend star parties of friday and saturday were a great success! ...

Updated: Jul 23, 2006 4:46am PST

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Dave Smith's photos of the 24" R/C Dedication June 24, 2006

Mingo Creek Park Observatory Summer Fest. These are photos of the Amat ...

Updated: Jun 30, 2006 12:05pm PST

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Dave's Photos of Girl Scouts At Mingo Observatory

These are images taken by David L. Smith of the Girl Scouts and Browni ...

Updated: Jun 29, 2006 11:37pm PST

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Mingo 24 inch Telescope Dedication

Official Dedication of the 24 inch RC Telescope at Mingo Creek Observa ...

Updated: Jun 25, 2006 1:57pm PST

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Delivery of Mingo 24" RC telescope

These photos were taken June 1 & June 2, 2006 at the Amateur Astronome ...

Updated: Jun 07, 2006 9:27am PST

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24 inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope

Wow!!Late on the evening of June 1, 2006 a rather large tube assembly ...

Updated: Jun 02, 2006 4:04am PST

Stormie Pictures :

Stormie Pictures

Updated: Dec 23, 2005 2:32am PST

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Mingo Girl Scouts Star Party Troop # 1216- Oct 8, 2005

Despite rainy weather we had a great time with Debra & Jim Snyder and ...

Updated: Oct 09, 2005 8:14am PST

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Mingo Observatory Summer 2005

Ever changing Mingo Observatory & Planetarium was due for more updates ...

Updated: Oct 09, 2005 8:13am PST

4.25 " Edmund Palomar Jr. Telescope : This telescope is a mint condition instrument made by Edmund Scientific Co with a label of Anchor Optical, which is a sister company of theirs. It is hard to believe how clean is! I obtained it from the midwest, wrapped in news papers dated Sept 1958, and in the original box!! The instructions for the telescope and various accessories are from Edmund. I carefully assembled it for the late afternoon pictures you see here. I put the rack & pinion on the tube and attached the counterweight and tripod legs to the small equatorial mount. I elected not to mount the mint black finderscope on to the tube for pictures for fear of scratching things. The instrument uses a 45 degree prism style mirror setup as a diagonal. The original glue has dislodged from the diagonals mounting plate with age and was not on the instrument for the pictures. It has since been safely reattached. In the year this telescope is assumed to be from ( 1958) I don't recall any direct reference of the instrument being called a Palomar Jr. in the instructions that we with the scope, but it was known as such in later years. I have several of these telescopes from later years under this name but this instrument is especially beautiful. Enjoy the images of a mint scope from a bygone era.

4.25 " Edmund Palomar Jr. Telescope

This telescope is a mint condition instrument made by Edmund Scientifi ...

Updated: Oct 05, 2005 6:46pm PST

Venus & Jupiter Sept 2005 :

Venus & Jupiter Sept 2005

Updated: Sep 06, 2005 6:43pm PST

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Mingo Observatory Dedication Aug 27, 2005

Updated: Aug 31, 2005 4:20pm PST

Astronomical Trip to the Dominican Republic : The images here tell a story of a trip my family and I enjoyed to the Dominican Republic. The whole idea started in June, when I received an e-mail by friend Eric Ramos, and was invited to be a guest and a speaker at an Astronomical event in the Dominican Republic August 5, and 6th. Eric told me of the gorgeous beaches and beautiful clear skies that were at this location at approximately 18 degrees latitude. The trip included a stay at a resort hotel and observations from the beach at night. Members of the Dominican Astronomical Society help organize and promote astronomy. This yearly gathering was held at the Portillo Resort at Samana in the town of Las Terrenas. This is a spacious resort, with a number of condominium style units on a private beach. A light pollution map of the Dominican Republic shows NO repeat NO light pollution in this section of the country. Skies are dark to the horizon, and the milky way is tremendous!! Here is our trip in pictures from the beginning.

Astronomical Trip to the Dominican Republic

The images here tell a story of a trip my family and I enjoyed to the ...

Updated: Aug 22, 2005 7:18pm PST

The Dominican Astronomical Society : During my trip to the Dominican Republic in August 2005 I met a number of individuals from the Dominican Astronomical Society. They were willing to share some images of star parties and Astro events with me, on cd rom. I enjoyed meeting the group and would like Miguel for preparing these images for all to appreciate.

The Dominican Astronomical Society

During my trip to the Dominican Republic in August 2005 I met a number ...

Updated: Aug 11, 2005 8:06am PST

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Wagman Obs Star Party - July 23, 2005

Saturday night the AAAP held a "Rising Moon"star party in celebration ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2005 8:07am PST

6 inch Jaegers Refractor Telescope : A 6 inch F-10 Refractor is an interesting telescope that I considered somewhat portable. Here are some images of this instrument and the moon.This telescope is owned by Al Paslow, of Bethel Park, PA 15102 Questions? Email me at : alpaslow@yahoo.com Also click on the Al-Paslow by > other to see more telescopes and observatory images.

6 inch Jaegers Refractor Telescope

A 6 inch F-10 Refractor is an interesting telescope that I considered ...

Updated: Jul 11, 2005 8:26pm PST

Carl Sagan's Porsche at the University of Arizona : I shot this image of Dr. Sagan's Porsche in the fall of 1977 while I was working at Steward Observatory... All images copyrighted 1998 by Al Paslow.

Carl Sagan's Porsche at the University of Arizona

I shot this image of Dr. Sagan's Porsche in the fall of 1977 while I w ...

Updated: Jul 02, 2005 10:30am PST

1958 Cave 10 inch f-7 Telescope : An unusual original Cave 10 inch f 7.2 Newtonian Telescope. E-mail me at alpaslow@yahoo.com This instrument still has original mirror coatings dated Aug 10, 1958 !

1958 Cave 10 inch f-7 Telescope

An unusual original Cave 10 inch f 7.2 Newtonian Telescope. E-mail me ...

Updated: Jul 02, 2005 7:40am PST

Venus & Mercury June 05 :

Venus & Mercury June 05

Updated: Jul 01, 2005 8:19pm PST

My Trip to Mars : I boarded my machine and made way for a journey to a mysterious place. Far way to some. I went to MARS. I was impressed to find an advance civilazation exists there. A civilization that can feed and care for its own. While I found no direct signs of canals I was greeted by a flying saucer and colorful aliens.

My Trip to Mars

I boarded my machine and made way for a journey to a mysterious place. ...

Updated: Jun 23, 2005 4:17pm PST

Puppies :

Puppies

Updated: May 31, 2005 7:15pm PST

Eric Ramos - Friend & Advanced Amateur in the Dominican Republic. : "My name is Eric Ramos, I'm 52, and live in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I'm married for 18 years and have 2 boys; 16 and 15, and a girl, 9. My wife is a Lawyer and I work in my studio as a recording engineer. As such I did manage my first grammy in the year 2000." This is how Eric introduced himself to me. Hi.This series of pictures is devoted to a remarkable individual named Eric Ramos. Eric has been an observer and amateur telescope maker for many years now. He has restored the beautiful Cave 8 inch Cassegrain pictured here. We have exchanged quite a few e-mails recently and are currently working on some telescope projects together. Every time I receive an e-mail from Eric I never know what I'll see next. The beautiful eclipse was such a pleasant surprise! I wish to share some of the images Eric has sent me and will continue to post more as they are received. I have placed excerpts of some of the e-mails with the images as I obtained them. Hence when viewing the image you can see what Eric describes to me in his own words. In some instances we talked about The AAAP Mingo Creek Observatory and the Planetarium. Eric has made specific references to the Mingo Planetaruim and compares our projector to the unit his club -La Sociedad Astronómica Dominicana uses . He is also pictured calibrating the projector on one of the images. .... Eric this site is devoted to you and your astronomical adventures. I hope you, your family and friends will enjoy !! - Al

Eric Ramos - Friend & Advanced Amateur in the Dominican Republic.

"My name is Eric Ramos, I'm 52, and live in Santo Domingo, Dominican R ...

Updated: May 16, 2005 4:37am PST

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Spring Mingo 2005 Images

Updated: May 15, 2005 6:41pm PST

Mingo - Star Party -- May 13, 2005 :

Mingo - Star Party -- May 13, 2005

Updated: May 13, 2005 11:27pm PST

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Mingo Obs update -4-10-05

Updated: Apr 19, 2005 6:07pm PST

My 14.25 inch Star-Liner Telescope : Large apeture and accurate drives make this instrument an ideal telescope for a home observatory.

My 14.25 inch Star-Liner Telescope

Large apeture and accurate drives make this instrument an ideal telesc ...

Updated: Mar 10, 2005 7:00pm PST

Winterhalter :

Winterhalter

Updated: Mar 03, 2005 6:27pm PST

Cave Telescopes :

Cave Telescopes

Updated: Feb 27, 2005 6:27pm PST

Cleveland Mount :

Cleveland Mount

Updated: Jan 30, 2005 4:01pm PST

18 inch Ritchey-Chretien at Unv. Florida : This instrument was made for Jim Jacobson of Coulter Optical Co in California by famed telescope maker Richard Brandt, later known from Brandt Lens Works in Arizona. Mr. Brandt and I worked together on various telescope projects in the mid to late 1980's. (See Sky & Telescope, July 1987 pg 70, Sept 1987, pg 315, etc.) Many years ago I traveled to The University of Florida at Gainsville to view this beautiful instrument. Those images are shown here. The young lady in the pictures is my wife Adele. To see the instrument as it looks today visit: http://astrho.astro.ufl.edu/AST_RHO_Home_Page.html

18 inch Ritchey-Chretien at Unv. Florida

This instrument was made for Jim Jacobson of Coulter Optical Co in Cal ...

Updated: Jan 04, 2005 8:01pm PST

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Mingo Planetarium

Updated: Dec 05, 2004 6:19pm PST

This site features some great images.