A Night Watchman's Journey: Thoughts On 50 Years of Observing

Abstract

I was on the way to my ligh school French Oral exam in October 1965 when Idecided that I wanted to begin a search for comets. Although I began the search on December 17 that year , it was not until 1984- 19 years or 917 hours at the eyepiece later—that I discovered my first comet. Twenty-one finds later, Istill feel that comets are more than just targets to be catalogued. Thanks in part to one co-discoveries, Shoemaker-Levy,9, we know more about the role that comet collisions have played in the origin and evolution of life on this planet. With the evolution of Pan-StARRS, the future of visual comet finding will soon be relegated to the history of this important field of endeavor. I am still searching for comets both visually and with an automated CCD program. This talk will be about my observing carreer and how my childhood with the night sky led to a highly satisfying time under the night sky.