Cat Coffin

Our cats are getting older, but they are not all that old yet.  But I decided to make two coffins, just so I would have them already made when the time comes.  Right?  Just kidding!

I am actually building a carrying case for a new, old telescope.  A person who was in the astronomy club long before I joined in 1988, had bought the parts to build this 5" refractor back in the 1970's.  The parts came from a company in Lynbrook, Long Island called Jaegers.  They were a parts company that sold by mail order, but if you lived on Long Island you could drive down there and buy the parts in person.  So many amateur astronomers built their own refracting telescopes from their parts, because back then, commercially made refractors were way beyond the ability of amateurs to buy.   The builder of this scope is no longer active in astronomy, so he gave this telescope and two others to members of the club who wanted them! So this scope is battered and scratched and has been well used.  The lens is in great shape, however and I cleaned it and the scope gives nice images.  I love that although this scope does not have the value of an antique telescope, it is still a part of amateur astronomy's history, and I am thrilled to own it for the time being.  And I treasure that this scope is well used and shows it!

If you click on this photograph, you can see the scratches and scrapes on the orange tube that make this telescope beautiful to me.  I can't wait to take this to Vermont this summer and use it under dark skies to scan the Milky Way.  That will be a sight to see with this instrument.