NOTICE:  This will NOT be an in-person meeting at the Eugene Science Center. This will be a ZOOM meeting. If you are not already on the EAS email list you may sign up on the EAS website, eugeneastro.org. You do not have to be a member to be on the email list.

“Faster and fainter: drawings with a 30 inch telescope”, takes us on a journey to galaxies torn apart as seen through clouds of Milky Way galactic cirrus. Mel’s drawings record observations long thought to be impossible, yet seen by William and Caroline Herschel 200 years ago. Mel will also talk about his latest telescopes, the 30 inch and 16 inch. And Mel will describe a new way to understand how telescopes work, an understanding not that dissimilar from the Herschels.

Mel Bartels’ articles about telescope making and observations have appeared in Sky and Telescope including the recent December 2022 issue. He has appeared as a guest speaker at astronomy conferences. And his Telescope Walkabouts are a highlight at the Oregon Star Party. Now retired, Mel began as a jazz and classical trumpet player, then segued into software development and ultimately management. More recently Mel began working on thin highly curved meniscus mirrors for very fast telescopes. But Mel is not just a telescope builder, he is an observer as well. He uses his short focus telescopes to observe very faint objects. And he records his observations by sketching them on paper.