[The last renewal of this page: April 18, 1999]

I was interested in the Astronomy when I was 11 years old. One day, Dad gave me a telescope (Three sections telescoping, type Galileo, with 30m/m(1.22inches) object lens for ground use.) as a present, and that was a chance to get an interest in this field. The object lens was a set of a concave lens and a convex lens which absorb an aberration of the colors. I was happy with it, and started to observe the sun and clouds in daytime, and the moon at night everyday. I read many booksabout astronomical observation, and started to think to get tripod for the telescope. Using waste woods and junks, I made a tripod for it. I could not be satisfied with just doing sketches of the objects, and wanted to get pictures of the moon. But I was little, and had no money at all. I got remind that I had a camera called FujiPet using the 60mmX60mm roll film type for kids, which Dad gave me as a present. The camra was really primitive, and had fixed focus and fixed iris. It had two buttons, one for setting the shutter, and one for releasing the shutter. To advance the film a frame, I had to turn the nob carefully checking the peephole on the back of the body. After examing a lot, I decited to modify and build a new camera. I took it apart, and remove the lens and the shutter from the body. I attached the wooden box for a tea cup, which I asked Mom to give it to me, to the camera body instead of removed parts. Then made a hole the other side of the box, and set the shutter unit on the out side of the box at the hole, while setting a long focus lens which I had with me for a long time as a toy, on the inside of the box at the hole. Thus, I completed a long focus camera which should be set at the eyepiece of the telescope to get a picture of the moon.

This is "The 1st Astronomical Picture" which I ever took! It was when I was 12 years old, in the year 1964 in which the Tokyo Olympic Games was held.




[The 1st Aastronomical Picture : The Moon]

Dec.19,1964 at 19:00
D:30mm(1.22inches) Galileo, refraction type
telescope.(30-power)
F:110mm(4.5inches) F=25
Homebrew long focus camera.
Film:Fuji Nepoan SSS
Eexposure time:about 1/2second




I think I have done well considering my age at that time, and also considering that there was nothing useful in the market at that time. Fuji Film's NeopanSSS(ASA200) and Kodak Tri-X(ASA400) were only films available for this purpose, although a couple yers later, Agfa's Isopan Record (ASA800) came up in the market. So, I needed to make up the sencitivity by developing it myself with special method. As I had no money at all, I could not use a developing tank kit, which was getting popular at that time. I had to use developing pan at night when it got dark, picking up the both end of the film with both hands, one side up, the other side down, then the other side down and the other side up,above the developing pan. (I used Fuji Film's Pandor for the developing fluid) As it was my first experience, I did not keep the side with the chemical upward, so I got a lot of scratches on the film. Thus, I made a miserable first work.



When I got entered to the juniorhigh school, Dad bought a real astronomical telescope, as he understood how much I had been devoted to the astronomy. We went to the Dowell Optical Laboratory Inc., in Hongo, Tokyo, near the RedGate of the Tokyo University, and ask them to complete an order production for 80mm(3.3inches) diameter's reflection type(Newton type) telescope for us, wating for about a couple of hours. I never can forget about that day. Unfortunately, its mirror and the mechanism of mouting were not excellent, I had to be troubled with them and fight against with these faults for a long time, improving them. However, with this stuff I could observe the Moon, the Venus, the Jupiter, the Mars, the Saturn, and many other objects, sketching them and taking pictures of them.

The left picture is the telescope.



Unfortunately, its mirror and the mechanism of mouting were not excellent I had to be troubled with them and fight against with these faults for a long time, improving them. However, with this stuff I could observe the Moon, the Venus, the Jupiter, the Mars, the Saturn, and many other objects, sketching them and taking pictures of them. The picture at left is that telescope. As I observe the objects in the space every night, I felt it silly that in the human society on the earth, people got mad and quarreled with the little tiny problems. I felt a great Roman in the sapce far away from us everyday.










Nov.27,1965 A detailed sketch of the Moon(When I was 12years old) "Oniel Bridge area" near the Sea of danger.





















Aug.24,1967(When I was 15 years old) "The Saturn"

















Everynight as long as the sky is clear, I observed the Moon, Planets, and observed peoriodically the variable stars, nebulas and star clusters. Also, took many pictures of them. In that era, Nerima, Tokyo, where I used to live still maintain a clear and dark sky and abled to see many stars. The left picture was taken in the garden of my home. The nebula(M42) in Orion was clearly visible.





"Orion" March,16,1966 19:44
F:1.9 Exposure:20seconds Film:Kodak X-Pan Developing:Fuji Pandor 15minutes


After that, when the Apolo landed to the Moon surface, I could not keep excitement watching it through telescope, and little by little, I lost an interest in astronomical observations......

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Thus, this Forum was started, but.....

With influences of users of this Forum, without any conscious, I found myself getting interest in the Astronomy, back again. Afterall, this Forum got to be one of the most important Forum to which I put large portion of my free time these days.

In November 1998, when I challenged to observe the Leonid Meteor Shower was the chance I re-started the activity. In December, I purchaed old and used junk of telescope(5.5inch reflector) and used equaotrial mounting, and modified them to build a 5.5inch reflector with a 2.5inch refractor as a guidescope on the equatorial mounting. (Needed only Yen26,000/US$200!) This is definitely the moment in which I "came back".

I could not stop getting gooseflesh in all of my body when I first saw the Moon and the Jupiter with telescope after 30-year-absence. " Oh yeah! There was such a wonderful and emotional world!" I was fulfilled with a feeling that I could not believe myself beeing forgotten the fantastic world for more than 30 years!

There is no doubt that the Space/Astronomy is the most symbolic world in which we can find the origin of the human-life, "Seek the Roman"!



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