Product Catalog
Observatories survey the sky.
Computers analyze the data.
Scientists sleep.
Meanwhile, some guy named Wolfgang discovers
a supernova in his backyard.
Wolfgang’s discovery kit: The fast focal
ratio and solid equatorial mount of the
8" LXD75 Schmidt-Newtonian make it the
perfect companion to Meade’s Deep S ky
I m a g e r . To g e t h e r t h e y m a k e a s t ro pho-
tography (and discovery) easier.
We’re not saying everyone who buys a new LXD75
™
telescope and a Deep Sky Imager
™
will
discover a supernova their first few weeks out. But that’s exactly what happened to first-time
astrophotographer Wolfgang Kloehr. Here’s his story. I owned a small telescope for a long
time. But I didn’t go out very often. From time to time I wondered how much it would cost to get
into astrophotography. Then in May 2005, I discovered the 8" LXD75 Schmidt-Newtonian and Deep
Sky Imager at a small shop in Wurtzburg, Germany. I bought them and started taking pictures.
Five weeks later, on June 27th, 2005, I was comparing some photos of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)
with ones I had taken earlier when I saw a small bright spot that wasn’t there before. I checked all
the usual sources for minor planets, supernovas, variable stars, or any explanation of a bright object
in M51. There was nothing. Could this be a star exploding in a distant galaxy? I had to nd out. For
the next few nights I fought cloudy skies to conrm the discovery.
My rst ever dispatch to Dan Green at CBAT (Central Bureau For Astronomical Telegrams) went as
well as could be expected. Mr Green patiently explained that I needed to provide better coordinates
and more positive conrmation photos. I was new to this.
When the weather went from bad to worse, I gured my chance for a rst discovery was gone.
Someone was bound to have seen this bright new thing by now. On June 30th, the sky cleared just
long enough to get another photo. I submitted it and got an immediate email response.
The heading announced a new supernova (SN 2005cs in M51). Two independent sources in the U.S.
and Japan had conrmed the discovery. Was I the ocial discoverer? Was my name included in a
long list of discoverers? Did I even make the list at all? I found the supernova on the International
Astronomical Union bulletin and scrolled to the column “Discoverer.” There was only one name:
Wolfgang Kloehr.