Hello Friend,

Tom Johnson, one of the original founders of Celestron International, passed away this week.
He was the man who actually found a way to manufacture on  production basis, one of the most loved
telescopes used by amateur astronomers the world over, the Schmidt-Cassegrain (SCT or CAT) telescope.

When you think of the contributions to amateur astronomy over the years, certainly this has to be one
of the finest.  Many of you can remember when you got your first Orange Coloured Celestron 8 telescope
in the 1970's. I know folks who saved and waited for the day when their Celestron 8 would arrive, in all it's
Orange glory. Imagine, owning an 8 inch telescope, portable, with an AC electronic drive, that did not weigh
more than 30lbs.  At the time, they cost around a $1000.  (real dough back in those days! :) 
The original Celestron 8's were manufactured with a Sand Cast fork arm system.  Then lighter weight metals such
as steel, and aluminum were added to the manufacturing process over the years

Originally, the telescope was sold with only a wedge; the tripod came a bit later, and so you would have
to set it up on a table or picnic table.

I can recall several customers and friends who owned Celestron 8's and here are a few stories I will share with you.

First was my friend Richard, who really had a great knowledge of optics, and was thrilled to be getting his first
C8. When it arrived, he was so excited to set it up and use it; He took it outside and set it up on a picnic table.
It was a windy day, and as he went in, the wind blew the telescope over  smashed the corrector plate.
Man, that was tragic!!  The telescope went back to Celestron and was repaired or replaced. I am not sure which,
and at a cost of course.. Lesson learnt! 

Another fellow, from Hamilton, Barry was a very dedicated Astrophotographer, and produced some remarkable
astrophoto's with his Celestron 8. It wasn;t easy back then! No autoguiders...you had to do it all manually.
Your eyelash could get stuck to the guiding reticle eyepiece, on a cold winter night. People like Barry were very
dedicated to their craft, and as a result he produced amazing results. 
Then, somehow he discovered the world of Tattoo's, and things changed (ie he ran out of space on his body to put tattoo's).
Hey, Barry was ahead of the curve with most things! Astrophotography and tattoo's being only two that I know about...

Then there was my friend Danny, swore that his Celestron had the best optics in the world; It was a "collectors item" he would say,
and actually is still saying that today. I recall we would spend hours in my backyard in Toronto, observing till the wee
hours in the morning, trying out new eyepieces (the erfle eyepiece design was all the rage back then!).
Those were fun times indeed!

Sadly, another Celestron 8 turned up in our shop for repair service. Apparently, when an unnamed customer's former wife decided
that she had enough of him and his telescope, she threw the C8 across the living room. Fortunately, we were able to repair
the damage, (only to the telescope though!)  and he was able to enjoy his Celestron again.
Interestingly, the case the scope came in, had a label on it that warned of "High Radioactivity", put on to scare
off would be thieves. Guess this guy's ex couldn't read!

The Orange C8 certainly achieved a legendary status in it's time! The primary mirrors were hand finished and tested.
Today, most optics of similar ilk by Celestron and Meade are produced by programmed CNC machines for consistent
high quality.

Tom eventually sold off his interest in Celestron, however he acted as a consultant on an ongoing basis to the Company.
We salute Tom, and thank him for his great contribution to this hobby of hours.

Yours Sincerely,

Ray Khan

website: www.khanscope.com

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