Meetings

Presenter: Richard Berry

I’ll talk about astronomy from the 1960s to the present, focusing on the last decade or so as telescopes have gotten smarter and smarter. I’ve been working with Celestron for about three years as a beta tester, operating the Origin Telescope and reporting back to Celestron’s programmers on bugs we find in the Origin core software as well as in the iPhone and Android apps—what works, what doesn’t, and how this or that feature could be improved. Hopefully, all bugs are caught before update code goes live to Origin owners out in the field.

Richard Berry Bio

I’ve been involved in astronomy since I was 13, beginning around 1962, working with cameras, film, telescopes, sensors, and software. Academically, I hold a BA from the University of Virginia and an MSc from York University. My early career involved a variety of technical programs, most of them involving optical devices of one kind or another. I later switched careers, spending 16 years as Editor and Editor-in-Chief of ASTRONOMY magazine, as well as Editor of Telescope Making, a quarterly journal for amateur telescope makers (ATMs).

Since 1991, I’ve written numerous books on telescopes, software, observing, imaging, photometry, and related subjects. More recently, I’ve served on the Board of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), including a two-year term as President.