On Not Doing O Level Astronomy

Of course, for me, sitting out late at night on our balcony, looking at the night sky, what I really wanted was to do "O Level" Astronomy.

I can remember reading books by Patrick Moore and others about how to grind your own mirror and mount it as a reflector (one of the typical ‘O’ Level projects, I think, taking several months). It sounded really interesting (and I’d end up with a better, cooler telescope).

But I got sidetracked by all sorts of stuff – not least the American spaceflights (this was the time of Apollo moon landings, and I've posted in the past about memories of watching Apollo 17 live.  And I also recall going to see the Moon rock on display in South Kensington (in the then Geological Museum, now the Earth Galleries of the Natural History Museum)).

But also, just stuff, books and TV (the Monty Python series were being broadcast for the first time) and stuff.

So I never did grind my mirror or build my own telescope.  And I don’t really regret it – it might have been quite hard to do (especially in our small flat).

And really, I suspect I just liked the romantic pictures…

(These aren't my photos - they were taken by eldest when he did his Astronomy GCSE at the Royal Observatory.  And I was quite right - it was actually a hard exam to do.  So I'm quite happy, now, sitting back and being the passive consumer...).