If you start out with a little telescope observing the stars and you keep at it over the years, as I have, it's kind of a dream to one day have an observatory where you can always go and use the telescope conveniently.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I live out here in Malibu, where I can see the stars. So I want to get a really nice telescope so I can look at the stars a little bit more.
I have a fine lot of telescopes. I have one with which I can see the Mountains in the Moon.
I was interested in telescopes and the way they worked because I had an intense desire to see what things looked like, so I learned how to use telescopes and find things in the sky.
We are now able to put our minds in other places in the universe with the use of telescopes. That is very exciting.
At the age of eight, I bought my first telescope and would spend hours gazing at the moon and stars. I remember thinking what it must have been like when man first realized that we were only a very small part of the overall picture.
My parents gave me a small telescope, then I built my own, and one thing led to another. So that's how I ended up going from being a hobby astronomer to a professional astronomer.
This sight... is by far the noblest astronomy affords.
For a long time, we've worked on detecting planets with whatever was at hand, making use of existing small telescopes or even amateur telescopes. It's time to move on to the next stage.
I'm such a long-term investor, I've never really let go and celebrated what I did with the Hubble telescope.
I'd like a telescope, but I probably wouldn't look at the stars that often. I'd definitely be looking into people's flats most of the time.