AstronomyOutreach network - AstronomyPeople

Introduction to AstronomyOutreach network

Mike Fuller is a 33 year old amateur astronomer/astrophotographer. By profession, he is a computer programmer and systems analyst working primarily in database oriented environments. Mike's married has 3 children, and lives in San Antonio, Texas, just outside the main bulk of the city.

Mike has been involved in astronomy as an amateur since about age 3-4, when he started reading. He read books about the subject constantly as a child, fascinated by the pictures provided by the Mt. Wilson and Palomar scopes. At age 7 Mike got his first telescope, and glimpsed Saturn's rings through it - and from that point on, he was hooked. This particular scope opened the world of planets and star fields (along with his dad's 7x50 binos), but most deep sky objects were beyond it's reach. He owned various department-store "toy" type scopes until his teenage years, when he received his first *real* instrument - a Meade Model 230 (which he still has). It was through this telescope that he first viewed the Andromeda galaxy (M31) as well as a wealth of riveting detail in other objects.

Then life happened. For a while his interest in astronomy remained purely academic and he had little or no opportunity to observe. A couple of years ago, he was able to get reactivated in the observing arena and acquire a larger aperture instrument. Mike almost immediately began work in CCD imaging, eventually working up to what he uses now. He has been active in the astronomical community both locally and nationally. The ability to do CCD imaging on computer fulfills Mike even beyond his wildest childhood dreams. Mike has grown up in the technological age and watched things scale - and from there comes his education (though he did attend University of Phoenix).

Mike is currently an active member of the following organizations: The San Antonio Astronomical Association (SAAA) in San Antonio, Texas; the Planetary Society; and the International Dark-sky Association. He occasionally attends activities with the Austin Astronomical Society (AAS) and Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society (JSCAS) as well. Most recently he has been involved in the COSMOS-1 project as part of the planetary society, and was an influential factor in the recent congressional approval of funds for the Pluto-Kuiper belt mission. Mike regularly participate in community outreach as well as governmental-influencing activities geared towards the advancement of astronomical science.

Mike Fuller has a number of articles and images that have been published in a variety of places, including the Philastropher (the SAAA newsletter), the Sidereal Times (newsletter of the Austin Astronomical Society), and Astronomy Magazine. His latest work is always on public display at Analytical Scientific, a science product retailer here in San Antonio. Postcards and prints of his work are also for sale there as well as on his website. He is currently working on a book on the subject of CCD imaging, geared to the amateur astronomer, designed to act as a practical guide for use - as opposed to providing so much scientific detail as other books on the subject do.

Mike lectures, and has done so in the South Texas area (San Antonio and Austin) on various subjects ranging from general astronomy to CCD image processing specifics. He has been invited (and accepted) four such engagements in the last year. Some of his presentations are available for viewing on his website as well. Fuller is also a frequent participant on MAPUG (Meade Advanced Products User's Group) and makes his experience and learning available to all who ask, whether local or long distance. Mike regularly teaches astronomy on an informal basis as well, helping other amateurs master skills and understand astronomical concepts.

The equipment Fuller currently uses to do his imaging consists of: Meade 12" LX200, Meade Pictor 416XTE with 616 Color Filter Wheel, a Compaq Armada 1750 notebook computer, and various other accessories include f/6.3 Focal reducer, Taurus Tracker III, Meade Superwedge, etc. He uses a combination of Maxim DL/CCD and Mira AP for image acquisition and processing.

Most of Mike's imaging is done at home, in his own light-polluted backyard, where his scope resides on a home-constructed pier, in the middle of his observatory. Periodically he goes with family or a group of observers out to west Texas for some really dark sky - his favorite haunt is Fort McKavett, TX (this is also where the Johnson Space Center Astro Society has their semiannual shindig).