Rex I. De Silva

(Updated 08 January 2018)

I have been interested in astronomy from a very early age and on reaching adulthood realised that, being a "hands-on" type of person, I would not be satisfied to merely read about the subject; I wanted to actually see the things I read about. Thus I started to peruse all the literature on astronomical instruments that I could lay my hands on. After a period of research I decided that my ideal telescope would be a four inch triplet apochromat on an equatorial mount. There was a fly-in-the-ointment though: the price. Even five decades ago apochromats were very expensive and my "Dream scope" would have cost the equivalent of 4 - 5,000 U.S. Dollars in today's money. This was completely out of my reach  so I did the next best thing, I bought what was affordable and on sale in Sri Lanka (this was decades before the age of personal computers and online buying). The achromatic refractor I bought was small but had good quality optics so I made a resolution that I would master and  push it to its limits. In doing so I am, on a small scale, emulating the great mid-20th century amateurs. My decision was, to some extent, influenced by the facts that Sri Lanka being in the equatorial zone is affected by two monsoons annually; this often results in cloudy skies and unsuitable conditions for astronomical observation, and the fact as Carl Sagan said (in Broca's Brain) "Scientists were expected to live lives of genteel poverty".  

Being a follower of the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) philosophy, the equipment I use is very basic and unsophisticated. My principal instrument is an excellent but very small (by astronomical standards) vintage ASAHI PENTAX 4.0 cm (1.6 inch) terrestrial refractor which I purchased in January 1968. I “improved” this instrument by lining the tube interior with black velvet, which together with the original glare stop, helps to enhance image contrast. I have added homemade accessories which include a retractable dew shield (lens hood) made from a tin can which once contained chicken soup, a lens cap made from the cover of a shoe polish tin and the eyepiece cap from the lid of a 35mm film canister. The telescope is mounted on a sturdy SLIK camera tripod, the legs of which are partly filled with nails to add weight and thereby increase stability. The telescope is mounted on an ORION slow motion attachment which is, in turn, attached to the tripod head. The tripod carrying handle is from an old briefcase; a snap swivel from a discarded dog leash holds the tripod steadying weight (an old UPS battery).

Although the telescope was not designed for astronomy, the optics are good enough for limited astronomical use and I have used it for five decades to record numerous lunar occultations, make daily estimates of the Wolf Sunspot Number (298 estimates in the year 2002),  determine the magnitudes of several dozen variable stars, observe four transits of Mercury and two transits of Venus,  observe several total and partial lunar eclipses, a few partial and one annular solar eclipse as well as other astronomical phenomena. (This telescope was also used by me for a thirteen-year study of seabird migration off the Sri Lankan coast as well as for a variety of other environmental and natural history studies).  

Observations were published in the peer-reviewed astronomical literature or submitted to the relevant coordinating authorities for analysis. For example lunar occultation timings were submitted to the United States Naval Observatory (USNO), Royal Greenwitch Observatory (RGO) and the International Lunar Occultations Centre (ILOC) for computation of the relevant O-Cs. In 1986 my observing site was registered by USNO and ILOC as Station SXT94.

                                                                   A giant sunspot                                    

                                                                                                     Transit of Venus 2012

            Giant Sunspot AR1944

                                                                                     Large Sunspot Group

                                                                                                    Near Earth Object (NEO)

                                                                                                              Asteroid Irene

I additionally use a SWIFT Audubon 8.5 x 44 binocular for viewing comets (15 to date), bright asteroids (Ceres, Vesta and Pallas) and the brighter Deep Sky Objects (DSOs). The image below shows my binoculars fitted with a homemade AstroBaader filter for solar viewing. I currently use the telescope in conjunction with a pocket digital camera (NIKON Coolpix L27) for eyepiece afocal photography of the Sun and Moon. In the past I used an old ASAHI PENTAX Spotmatic 35mm film camera to photograph the transits of Venus in June 2004 and June 2012. I also used that camera to photograph a triple conjunction of the Sun, Moon and Venus (to the best of my knowledge this is the only known image of such a phenomenon in existence). 

I use several freeware astronomical programs on my computer. These include Aberrator,Cartes du Ciel, Occult 4, Stellarium, Virtual Moon Atlas and and Winephem, among others.  I  also find SKY and TELESCOPE and ASTRONOMY magazines to be very useful sources of information.

The reason I have described my minimalist approach to astronomy here is to correct the prevalent, but erroneous, impression that serious astronomical work can only be carried out with sophisticated equipment costing large sums of money. While this is certainly true for professional work, what is often overlooked is that there is a niche for studies which amateurs can carry out with relatively simple equipment. Remember that the best amateur telescope is not the largest, the most sophisticated, or the most expensive; the best telescope is the one that gets used most often.

                                                                      Waxing Moon

                                                                                                                      The International Space Station (ISS)

                                                                                        Triple conjunction of Sun, Moon and Venus (1986). I believe this image is unique. 
                                                           

Renowned astronomers of the past like Argelander, Beer and Madler, Fraunhofer, Peltier, Swift and Sri Lanka’s own Rev. Fr. W.T. Small did much of their pioneering work with relatively simple equipment.

            My prize meteorite

                         Meteorite showing macrochondrule

There are many who, to a greater or lesser degree, share my KISS approach to astronomy. I have been inspired by Alan Rifkin's 'Flash Astronomy'  concept, although my thinking differs somewhat. Some, however, will vehemently disagree with my approach to astronomy and I have no problem with that, as I firmly believe it's "Different strokes for different folks".         

So, whether you possess binoculars or are the fortunate owner of a large-aperture Light-bucket, I hope that this short note will encourage you to, at least occasionally, get away from the computer monitor and get behind the eyepiece. That is real astronomy.

A final quote:

"The aperture of the telescope is not the only thing to be taken into account. There is also the man at the small end". (Rev W.H. Steavenson).


Photographic note

My images are all single exposures; I do not use stacking software. ACDSee 15 and Photoshop CS 5 are used for processing.

                                                            

Postscript

Today: 08th January 2018, I complete my 50^th year as a recreational astronomer. As I embark on my 51^st year as an observer, it is appropriate to look back at the half century which has elapsed. I am fortunate to have been privileged to witness some important, rare and even unique astronomical events. 

Since I first started observing, astronomy has evolved from a pastime largely restricted to the cognoscenti to something that almost any interested layperson can participate in. This has been brought about largely by advances in computer science, digital imaging and optical technology. The downside is the progressive degradation of our skies brought about by atmospheric and light pollution. This has, to some extent, resulted in the computer monitor replacing the telescope eyepiece whereas, in my opinion, the two should complement one another.

I see myself essentially as a mid-twentieth century observer; in the sense that visual observing has always been my forte. I prefer the gestalt that comes from seeing things with my own eyes to anything that modern electronic magic can produce. Having said that, I have in the past few years become a solar photographer and observer, in part, because of the ever changing and very dynamic nature of the Sun and the fact that solar observation is not too seriously affected by our degraded atmospheric conditions.

I itemize below some of the more interesting phenomena I have  observed in my first 50 years.

•      More than 1,000 observations of the Sun/sunspots.
•      2 transits of Venus,
•      4 transits of Mercury,
•      15 comets,
•      150+ variable star estimates,
•      One annular eclipse
•      A couple of partial solar eclipses,
•      Numerous lunar eclipses,
•     Captured image of a triple conjunction of the Sun, Moon and Venus. I believe that this image is unique and the only one of its kind.
•      Several meteor showers
•     Asteroids Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Irene.
•      Numerous lunar and planetary observations.
•      Collected meteorites from the Sri Lankan jungles.
•     More than 200 lunar occultation timings for a joint study by the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) and U. S. Naval Observatory (USNO).
•      Supernova SN1987A.
•      Observed and photographed a (probably unknown) Near Earth Object (NEO). 

References __________________________________________

1. De Silva, R.I. 2003. Solar photospheric activity as observed in white light in 2002. Proc of the 59th Annual Session of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, Part 1, 501E1, 183 https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxyZXhpZGVzaWx2YXxneDoyYmQzNDY2MTY4YjMxNzUz

2. De Silva, R.I. 2009. A Naturalist looks at Comets     https://sites.google.com/site/cometsihaveobserved/a-naturalist-looks-at-comets 
   
3. De Silva, R.I.  2010. UFOs and Aliens - My views:  http://astrononsense.blogspot.com/ 

4. ILOC (published annually) Report of Lunar Occultation Observations - the Observations and their Reduction. International Lunar Occultations Centre, Geodesy and Geophysics Division, Hydrographic Dept. Tokyo.

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