Gene Zajac, Village Astronomer

Two working 1781 telescope replicas and two period costumed astronomers of that era will be at Perry’s Visitor Center for Historical weekend. The telescopes are 2/3 replicas of the telescope used by Sir William Herschel to discover Uranus in 1781. Visitors will be able to see how Sir William made his telescopes and how telescope mirrors were made. Kelly Jons and Gene Zajac will present their telescopes and demonstrate how a mirror was ground into the proper shape.

The scopes were made by Kelly and Gene–which includes the mirrors as well. The replicas earned the best craftsmanship award at the amateur telescope convention held in Stellaphane, Vermont! The period costumes were made by Pam Zajac. Come and ask questions about early astronomers and telescope making. They will be at the center from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. There will be other telescopes available to examine and to look at objects in the area during the daytime.