About First Light
The First Light Telescope conference began as the Alt-Az Conference in 2006. Our mission has been to develop technologies for the amateur telescope maker to enable large aperture, of about 1m, for amateur use or low-budget research use. To that end we’ve been quite successful and so now we want to branch out to the larger community.
Some of the past topics of interest have been thin, sub-F/3 meniscus mirrors, spray silvering, computerized alt-az drive systems, plate solving camera systems, and speckle interferometry. Last year we heard about ways to find good observing sites, novel hacks, team-oriented imaging campaigns, and had mirror testing demonstrations including low-budget interferometry. Join us as we broaden our “scope” to bring in even more variety.
Organizers
Rob Brown
After retiring from a long career in optics developing aviation head-up displays Rob has been full-time enjoying telescope making, using telescopes, thinking about telescopes, and sharing the views through telescopes. Rob is responsible for gathering speakers for the First Light Telescope conference. He also developed a new finder product, the QuInsight, and a high-performance visual spectroscope, Spectre, both of which are available on www.quinsightspectre.com.
Rob’s parents told him his first word was Moon, which he repeated endlessly on a night road trip from LA to Tucson. After 6 decades it’s only gotten worse.
Robert Asumendi
Binocular designer and co-owner of Analog Sky, Robert leverages 21st Century manufacturing methods like 3D printing and CNC cutting to bring new visual astronomical instruments to life. His designs are all kit-based to spread enthusiasm for telescope making across the globe.
Robert has a 30-year background in graphic design and audio/visual stuff, so he handles the conference tech logistics.