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Contact information
e-mail:
krbrasch@earthlink.net
telephone:
(928) 522-7061
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Biography
My interest in astronomy was kindled as a teenager in Montreal when I
joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada around the time of Sputnik
1. I quickly took to lunar
and planetary observing and joined the ALPO,
later serving as its Mars coordinator. Astrophotography was very
challenging in those days, but I got hooked on it by snapping
the moon and
planets with the horribly grainy films available at that time. It was off
to college
after that and then graduate school with little money or time
for telescopes, astronomy or
anything else deemed extra-curricular! After
earning my Ph.D. in 1972, I joined Queen's
University in Kingston, Canada
and began a rewarding research and teaching career in
cellular and
molecular biology.
I took up astrophotography in earnest again in 1980, while on sabbatical
as visiting scientist
at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte,
California. I purchased a classic
Celestron C-10, f/13 Schmidt-Cassegrain
and first experienced the clear skies of Mount
Pinos and other California
dark sites. I was totally hooked on astrophotography from then
on. My wife
Margaret, young daughter Madeleine and I moved to the United States in
1983
and shortly after I purchased a superb 1970s vintage C-14. Deep sky
photography had really come into its own by then as better films and
support equipment became available. Many
visits to the Texas Star Party, RTMC, Mount Pinos, the Mojave and Sierra Nevada
followed, and I met and
became friends with some of the best and most active amateur astronomers
around.
Over the years my work has appeared in Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, Sky
News and
numerous popular books. I have also translated several French
astronomy books into
English. While I do mostly administrative work at the
university now, I frequently lecture on
topics ranging from
astrophotography to life in the universe, at colleges, clubs and star
parties.
I experienced an astronomical "epiphany" of sorts in 1999 and 2000 when
Mike Mayerchak,
Terry Dickinson, Alan Dyer and I were guests at Siding
Spring Observatory in Australia.
The people, scenery and southern skies
were absolutely overwhelming and we came back
with some of our finest
images ever. Film based astrophotography is pretty much over now,
but
digital imaging has opened up an entirely new dimension which I intend to
pursue well
into my retirement years.
Areas of astrophotography interest
deep
sky
Astrophotography publications
Sky & Telescope, Astronomy,
Astronomy Technology Today,
Sky News and numerous popular books
Observing sites
Flagstaff, Arizona
x
In California
Mt. Pinos, Last Chance (near Red
Rock Canyon), Tarantula Rocks,
White Mountains
In Oklahoma
Okie-Tex Star Parties
In Texas
Texas Star Party near Ft. Davis, Texas
In Australia
Anglo-Australian (Siding Springs) Observatory
Astronomical Equipment
Telescopes
Celestron 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope
TeleVue 101 refractor
TMB-130 f/7 apo refractor
Mount
Losmandy Titan 50
Camera
Hutech modified
Canon 20D digital SLR
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