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"OK, we're going to start with the moon, and then we'll travel to Mars."
This is the introduction Mike Hoffert '01 (M.S. computer science)
offers as he sets a tall ladder next to his huge telescope. Hoffert
puts an eye to the viewfinder and lets the visiting novices know
that what they'll be seeing is a "straight wall" on the moon's
surface-a sheer drop from one plain to another, hundreds of miles
long and several miles deep.
"Good," says Larry Dingle, one of Hoffert's fellow researchers. "I haven't seen that in a long time." That's probably because this group of enthusiastic amateur astronomers spends their weekends looking at the less-obvious of the sky's many charms in its quest to collect space data, and to experience what Hoffert describes as time travel. "The astronomical objects we see through the telescope are images from events that happened eons ago," he explains. "This sense of wonder motivates us to sit here through long, cold nights under tons of meticulously designed equipment." The equipment includes an 11-ton, 48-inch telescope that a group of 10 people, including Hoffert and Dingle, conjured up nearly 20 years ago. Located about 60 miles east of San Diego within the borders of the Manzanita Indian Reservation, their remote outpost is situated on a dirt road 5,000 feet above sea level. "During a whole weekend out here, if four cars pass by it's considered a traffic jam," notes Hoffert, who points to the horizon. "That's the Salton Sea." The Indians know Hoffert as Telescope Mike, and sometimes they come by to take a look at the constellations. "We have a terrific relationship with our hosts. We have provided an educational opportunity for the people who live here, and they've been great landlords."
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