This month, we had the privilege of interviewing Robb Chapman and members of the South Plains Astronomical Society, of Lubbock Texas. One of their members, David Tronrud, donated two of his own Stellarvue refractors to the club, an SVX102T and an SVX152T. The following will cover this generous act and what it meant to the club. It will also dive into the club’s history and background, as well as the work they do in the community.

First, we wanted to hear about the situation that unfolded regarding the two Stellarvue Telescopes that were donated to the club. Robb proceeded to share the story with us. “David Tronrud, a long-time member of the South Plains Astronomy Club, got hooked on the stars as a kid when he got to look at Jupiter and other celestial wonders through the big telescope at Lick Observatory. His astronomy habit grew only more severe with watching sci-fi films such as War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide. Several years ago, he purchased two Stellarvue refractors: a six-inch for viewing in his backyard and a four-inch for traveling to remote locations. After using these as his personal telescopes for some years, he generously donated them to the club in 2023, in the hope of helping to spark an interest in astronomy among people attending the club’s star parties. While the club has several sizable and high-quality telescopes among its members, the addition of these two refractors has been a significant boon both to our members-only outings to dark-sky sites and to our public outreach events. They are beautifully engineered instruments that provide superb views that rival or surpass those of larger reflectors. They are relatively more portable than large reflectors. Perhaps not insignificantly. Unlike Newtonian reflectors, they conform to the public’s expectations of what a telescope ought to look like!”

Next, we were curious to know if this was the first time the club had heard of Stellarvue Telescopes. Robb said that “Many or most of the club’s members have been aware of Stellarvue Telescopes for at least 10 years or so. As Sky and Telescope readers and members of various chat rooms, many of us keep abreast of manufacturers and service providers in the field, not to mention coveting high-end equipment we have to save up for. We are very happy to have the use of these scopes. The SVX102T in particular has proven to be very useful for public outreach events because it is so lightweight, portable and easy to set up. At our January public star party (a “sidewalk astronomy” event held in the middle of the city under urban lights) it provided excellent high-contrast views of Jupiter that enthralled visitors.”

“As current keeper of the club’s shared equipment, I took upon myself the duty of trying out the 102mm in dark skies during a recent trip to Death Valley. Understand that I took this on purely for the benefit of the club membership in order to report on the capabilities of this instrument. This scope gives fantastic wide AFOV views of deep sky objects like the Rosette Nebula but does equally well when higher magnification is called for, e.g. Hubble’s Variable Nebula. Stars are crisp sharp points to the edge of the wide fields and the image contrast is wonderful. Faint clusters like Carolyn’s Rose that don’t usually do so well in small scopes gradually emerge as hundreds of tiny, clearly delineated stars. Observing with this scope is truly a pleasure. In early March several of the more die-hard club members took a two hour drive out to a

remote area to view comet 12P Pons-Brooks. On this occasion we took out the SVX152T to try it out under dark skies. In a four-hour observing session, we put the scope through its paces picking out increasingly difficult deep-sky objects, and the scope did not disappoint! Thor’s Helmet in particular looked incredible. What was interesting was to compare views of the same object through the 6” refractor with those through Dobsonians and SCTs up to twice its diameter. We generally agreed that even though they seem to show stars and details of nearly identical faintness, there is something more vibrant and aesthetically pleasing about the view through the refractor, possibly having to do with better contrast and the apparent darkness of the background sky. This was something many of us had read about but it was interesting to experience it first-hand.”

Another question we had for Robb was how he got involved with the club. He told us the following. “I am a retired IT specialist and an amateur astronomer since my boyhood in the 60’s. I have built several reflectors in my life, including grinding my own mirrors as a teenager. For much of my adult life I had to forgo my hobby due to the demands of raising a family and the horribly humid and light-polluted skies in Atlanta. On retiring to west Texas 10 years ago I joined SPAC, rebuilt my 10” Newtonian, and started enjoying the dry, dark, transparent skies that are to be had within an hour’s drive here.”

Robb went on to tell us more about the club and the sort of work it does in the community. “South Plains Astronomy Club is for astronomy hobbyists at any level of knowledge and experience – all are welcome. We have an informal but long-standing relationship with the physics and astronomy departments of Texas Tech University here in Lubbock: we occasionally use the university’s observatory grounds, sometimes have guest presentations by faculty members, and occasionally host observing sessions for students. Our membership meets monthly to organize activities and hear a presentation, usually by one of our members. We hold dark sky observing parties for members and invited guests where we seek out objects of interest and compare the capabilities of our equipment. We also have a very active public outreach component where we set up in an easily accessible location and invite the public to view the sights through our telescopes, and we present educational programs for area schools, scout groups, etc. Most of our members are visual observers but we have a couple of very dedicated astro-photographers. Most of us own one or a few small to moderate-sized scopes, that we use in our backyards or out at dark-sky sites that can be reached in an hour or two."

"One of our members has built and operates a dedicated observatory on their ranch two hours’ drive out of town: the “Cat-Star Sky Ranch.” The Ranch is an astronomy site located near the small town of Guthrie in a region historically known as “The Big Empty.” Dominated by large cattle and horse ranches, this region is sparsely populated and largely devoid of sources of light pollution. Clear moonless nights are consistently characterized by Bortle 2 sky conditions. The Ranch is home to several observatories with a variety of telescopes belonging to SPAC members and others. A large roll-out observatory houses a custom-built 30” Dobsonian primarily used for visual observing. A 12’ dome houses a 24” PlaneWave CDK on an L-600 direct-drive mount set up for multispectral imaging. An 8’ dome houses a custom-built multi-lens/multi-camera wide-field imaging system. A roll-off observatory with four piers houses moderately sized reflectors and refractors used exclusively for imaging. These are remotely operated by astronomers residing in other parts of Texas. Future plans include the construction of a second multi-pier roll-off observatory to accommodate additional remotely operated imaging systems. The Ranch has hosted several dark sky observing events for SPAC, including annual Messier Marathons. Facilities include a ranch house where visiting astronomers can relax between observing sessions, warm up on cold nights, or spend the night. More information on Cat-Star Sky Ranch can be found at http://cat-star.org/CSSR/cssr-index.html.”

We then inquired about the club’s background and how it got started. Robb explained that “The South Plains Astronomy Club was founded in November 1959. At that first meeting a president, vice-president, and secretary were elected and the secretary agreed to contact some well-established clubs to obtain copies of their constitutions. The aims, purposes, and objectives of the club were established. In the early days the club would often meet at the West Texas Museum Planetarium on the Texas Tech College campus. There was far less light pollution in the city of Lubbock then - the Milky Way was visible on moonless nights from most locations in the city – and there was star gazing in the parking lot following the monthly meetings. The old planetarium had a simple concrete floor and metal folding chairs. In 1970 a new museum and planetarium were opened, and the astronomy club members were invited to the opening ceremonies, where Governor Preston Smith spoke. Over the years the club’s meeting place has changed – private homes, clubhouses, libraries, public schools, classrooms at Texas Tech, and The Garden and Arts Center. What has remained consistent is the dual focus on substantive activities for our serious hobbyists and more general activities for public consumption. Club members continue to help each other gain new skills and find new objects. We have been fortunate in being able to maintain a consistently good-humored, outgoing and welcoming Atmosphere.”

We wanted to hear about any special moments or memories that Robb had shared and witnessed with the club. He said that “the club has been holding monthly public star parties at city parks, with fairly modest attendance for years. We also hold scouting events and school outreach, to pay it forward and foster an interest in astronomy and related STEM topics. In 2019 our then-president organized larger-scale star parties at our local botanical garden, structured as a “walk” through the gardens from one telescope-and-object-of-interest to the next. These well-publicized events saw us garner attendances of one to two hundred people per a night. Unfortunately, COVID shut these events down. Then in 2022 a couple of club members attended a presentation on “sidewalk astronomy” at the Okie-Tex Star Party. This presentation recalled the legendary activities of John Dobson who used to set up his homemade telescopes on busy city sidewalks and invite passers-by to view the moon and planets right on the spot. Those of us that heard this talk were inspired to rethink our program. We hit upon the idea of conducting sidewalk astronomy at Lubbock’s First Friday Art Trail, a monthly outdoor event in the arts district that features art exhibits, gallery tours, live music and dance performances, and food trucks, usually with a few thousand people attending. There was some concern that trying to observe directly under streetlights in the middle of town would be all but useless, but the club voted to give it a try. The First Friday organizers were very receptive and allocated us a great location right in the main plaza near the primary visual arts center. That first night, the weather cooperated beautifully, and we showed the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and a few double stars to approximately one thousand people. Since then, we have been a regular presence at First Fridays during the months when the sun sets early enough to allow night sky viewing. These events act as a gateway to entice more people to attend our “darker-sky” star parties. Overall

This activity has radically increased the scale of our exposure to the public.”

Next, we asked what sorts of thoughts or feelings Robb gets when observing the night sky. He said, “for me (personally), observing the night sky is a way to connect with nature and feed my spiritual life. I find visual astronomy to be very calming and restorative. The vast distances and time scales involved at the cosmic level, compel thinking in terms that transcend the concerns of daily life. The annual cycle of the sun and the constellations and the even longer cycles of the planetary motions make one aware of one’s time on this planet as part of a large ongoing history. I find it endlessly fascinating to consider that all of the subtle and beautiful things to be seen out there are literally the origin and the ultimate destiny of our existence.”

Robb shared with us that for him personally, the most rewarding aspect of engaging with the public, "is when someone steps up to my scope and I am able to explain what we’re looking at, how to look at it and to encourage them to allow a little time for the fainter details to register, and then to hear them gasp and exclaim in delight. People are amazed at what can be seen through their own eyes, and it is immensely gratifying to provide them with this experience.”

To wrap things up with Robb, we asked him to give any insight or wisdom he could, to those who are pursuing astronomy as a hobby or career. He responded by saying, “our best advice for someone wishing to begin astronomy is to join an astronomy club before purchasing equipment. Learning from others will help beginners avoid mistakes and find what equipment will best fit their observing style. Another bit of advice we often give is to start with binoculars or a wide-field refractor because the wide field makes it easier to find objects and learn the sky. Young astronomers often love to lay out under the stars with binoculars discovering the hidden beauty up there.”

South Plains Astronomy Club – Observing Under The Dark West Texas Skies