Amateur Telescope Making in the Internet Age / The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series (PDF)

Although Clark was born in New Hampshire, he spent his early teen years in the New York City area. There he became acquainted with the Theodore Roosevelt Museum of Natural History and at the associated Hayden Planetarium, operated, at that time, by Newton and Margaret Mayhall. Their book Skyshooting provided his first introduction to the idea that someone with only moderate skills can build good scientific instruments. The three volumes of Amateur Telescope Making, edited by Albert G. Ingalls, completed the process of addiction. Clark received a B.S. degree in Mathematics from Stanford University. He then served in the U.S. Air Force at Strategic Air Command headquarters in Nebraska. After his discharge he did graduate work in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Maryland. After a few years spent in the Military Operations Research industry, he migrated to a university teaching position that lasted 33 years at the University of the District of Columbia. Throughout all this time he continued to be enamored by the process of building telescopes and actually built a few as time permitted. Since retirement he has allowed the addiction to occupy a large part of his enthusiasm, as is made evident by Figure 2.3. Clark now resides in Westminster, Maryland, where he has built a hilltop observatory and is active with the Westminster Astronomical Society.

From the reviews:

“The book is packed with help and advice; given pre-made optics, there’s advice on building a simple rich-field refractor through larger refractors and reflectors of various types, along with making all the essential parts and accessories, from tubes to mirror cells, focusers to spiders … . In summary, the book contains an eclectic mix of projects, from which the amateur telescope maker is likely to glean some perfectly good ideas.” (Peter Grego, Popular Astronomy, July-August, 2011)

“The book contains everything you need to consider when building a telescope from your own ‘scrap’; how to assess optics, design considerations and many wrinkles that assist the amateur telescope maker to meet and even exceed the engineering tolerances of commercial telescope manufacturers. This is a hugely useful book for anyone with a modicum of engineering skill … . If you have an old photocopier lens in the loft, or any unused lens looking for a noble purpose, this book is for you.” (Steve Ringwood, Astronomy Now, September, 2011)