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Contact information
e-mail
reeves10@swbell.net
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website
http://www.robertreeves.com
.
Locator
Map
http://www.frappr.com/apppublic
Level of accuracy: city of San Antonio,
Texas, USA
Biography
My name is Robert Reeves and I live in San Antonio, Texas. I was born in
this city in 1946 but traveled extensively until 1970 when I finally
resettled back in San Antonio. In addition to the regular 9-to5 job
which helps support my family, Mary and Jeffrey, I am a magazine and book
author. For ten years, I also used to teach astronomy for both the
Northeast Independent School District and the Alamo Community College
District here in San Antonio.
I have written over a hundred articles for Astronomy Magazine, The
Astrograph, The Reflector, Amateur Astronomy Magazine, and the defunct
Deep Sky and Deep Sky Journal Magazines. I have also written 20
encyclopedia articles about space exploration and co-authored the book The
Conquest of Space with Fritz Bronner. In 1994 my book The Superpower Space
Race, subtitled “An Explosive Rivalry Through the Solar System” was
published by Plenum Publishing in New York. In May of 2000, my next book,
Wide-Field Astrophotography, was published by Willmann-Bell. My current
project is the book Digital Astrophotography, soon to be published
by Willmann-Bell. Other works in progress include a future book on the
exploration of Mars, and an ongoing series of biographies about amateur
astronomers published as the “Star People” column in Amateur Astronomy
Magazine.
My interest
in astronomy had its roots in my attraction to space exploration, a topic
I have pursued since 1955. Astrophotography has been a passion of mine
for since 1960. Wide-field piggy-back photography and lunar and planetary
photography through the telescope occupied me until 1977. That year I
obtained an 8-inch Celestron Schmidt Camera. For several years I
experimented (less than successfully) on how to mount the Schmidt in order
to use it to its fullest
potential. Then, an old high school classmate of mine, David McDavid,
invited me to use his newly completed D. Nelson Limber Observatory located
in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio. For several years, I was
given virtual free reign to use Limber Observatory as I pleased. The
Celestron-14 telescope installed under the observatory's 4-meter dome was
a natural match for my 8-inch
Schmidt camera. Color photography with hypersensitized Ektachrome
emulsions, and black and white work with 103a spectroscopic films and
hypersensitized TP-2415 occupied my observing agenda.
In 1984, the
D. Nelson Limber Observatory was upgraded with a DFM Engineering
computer-controlled .4-meter Cassegrain telescope and restructured for a
comprehensive program of observing B(e) stars with a photometer and
polarimeter. Since my Schmidt camera was incompatible with this new
instrument, I embarked on the construction of my own observatory, the Von
Braun Photographic Station, which became operational in 1986. In late
2003, after a long and productive life, the observatory building was
severely damaged by storms and was dismantled. I now leave my telescope
mount on the observatory’s concrete
slab and observe in the open.
At
about the same time the observatory was damaged, I crossed over to the
“dark side” and began to extensively use digital cameras for
astrophotography. Now, in spite of owning 10 film cameras, including the
8-inch Schmidt astrograph, all my
celestial imaging is done through digital means.
As
soon as the ink was dry on the manuscript for the book Digital
Astrophotography, I started my third book on celestial photography. At
this
point, I’ll hold the topic close to the vest, but theme follows the
amazing shift in astrophotography from film to electronic imaging. While
I find it
enjoyable to write articles and books about astrophotography, I do lament
that the poor weather here in south Texas allows me more time to write
about astrophotography than to
actually DO astrophotography.
Areas of interest
wide-field astrophotography with a Schmidt camera
Astronomy publications
Magazines
Astronomy, The Astrograph, The Reflector, Amateur Astronomy, Deep Sky
and Deep Sky Journal
Encyclopedias
20 encyclopedia articles about space
Books
The Conquest of Space with Fritz Bronner
The Superpower Space Race, 1994
Wide-Field Astrophotography, 2000
Observing site
The “Von Braun Photographic
Station” near Vanderpool, Texas.
Altitude: 2200 feet
Astronomical Equipment
Telescopes/mounts
Classic Celestron 8-inch f/1.5 Schmidt camera with dry nitrogen purge.
Mounted on a C-11 fork mount.
Celestron 8-inch SCT
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