We had traveled from Indiana for a five-night run on the telescope. This was only the start of our third night, but already we had developed a routine. The students would sit at the keyboards and operate the telescope and the camera. I suspected they knew that I didn't miss those days for a nanosecond. There is no question that modern observing is more comfortable, but it is also more efficient.
Automation allows telescopes and instruments to operate in a consistent manner.
CCDs make it possible to do projects that once required much larger telescopes, and good quality images can be obtained with much shorter exposure times. View from a hill. From his High Hill Observatory in Massachusetts and using his 17.5 inch reflector, amateur astronomer Gerald P. Dyck keeps vigil over a number of variable stars. A member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, Dyck collaborates with the author in their monitoring of eruptive stars. One of the goals for this trip to Arizona is to observe the early stages of a stellar eruption.