Steve Kufeld passed away
Ed Erbeck
I received a post on a list serv, and a FAX informing me (well now
all of us) that Steve Kufeld (maker of the Telrad Finder) passed away
Monday of a sudden brief illness.
'Bout all I can say is "Bye Steve - We'll miss ya"
The FAX also noted that production of the Telrad will continue (just
added that 'cause I know some will want to know - but at the moment it
dosen't seen that important)
--
Ed Erbeck Jr. (Owner Crazy Ed Optical)
e-mail E...@crazyedoptical.com
On Line Catalog http://www.crazyedoptical.com
Phone/Fax 408-364-0944
David Mark North
Last weekend, the San Jose Astronomical Society had the good fortune to
be this year's first club to hold the Friday and Saturday star party at
Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. I can't say enough about the
terrific job the Rangers are doing to organize this; it was first cabin
all the way. Though the site is still under construction, it is already
very functional and will be magnificent when completed. Obviously,
someone with astronomical experience had some input.
But on to the show, which was fantastic. The skies were
extraordinarily dark, and the seeing (though soft at first) progressed
to very sub arcsecond by the end of each night. Both nights followed the
same pattern, save that Saturday was even better than Friday, which I
would not have believed possible on Friday.
There were lots of "standard candle" kinds of things that could be
reported, such as being able to spot the brighter members of Stephan's
Quintet in an AP six inch. But that's not what left the strongest
impression on me.
It was blackness.
The first clue this would be the case was the Pipe Nebula. Every
time I would look in that direction, it would distract me... and for a
while I couldn't figure out why. Then I got it: it was like seeing my
blind spot take shape in the sky. It was triggering some kind of reflex,
being so black against the semmingly bright milky way (it was possible
to hold your hand near the ground and see a distinct shadow).
The same theme carried forward into M8, where we were able to see
Bok globules in the 12.5 -- or M16, which usually is a nondescript smear
in my scope. There, it showed a wealth of filaments, blobs and all
manner of gradations of light and tone. The sky took on the nom de plume
"Aperture Helper" as the joke du jour, but it was very true.
Particularly striking was B86, like a dark lake rimmed by faint fire.
The Pelican and North American nebulae were cleanly defined, and
the Veil was an easy target in binoculars... but for the first time ever
I was able to make out filamentary structure in the middle portions. The
brighter
portions were breathtaking to the visitors.
M81 looked like a miniature M31, bright and dusty, and was a real
crowd pleaser, so easily seen in detail.
But in some ways the most spectacular object was, of all things,
M11... which I only looked at grudgingly because it was so bright. But
oberver after observer kept making noises about it, and finally I took a
look.
Wham. Down for the count.
That's where the other silly joke of the trip came into play: the
3D Option Got Turned On Big Time. Between the exceptionally black
background and the very fine seeing, the broad difference of magnitudes
in the stars lent the illusion that the bright ones were in front of the
dimmer, with an eternal darkness behind. It literally looked as if it
extended from the eyepiece to infinity.
Still, I spent more time simply scanning the bright areas and
digging up the wealth of dark nebulae, seen so starkly in such a perfect
sky. It made me understand so much more thoroughly the fascination
Barnard must have
had with these holes in the sky; seen in their own realm, they become an
almost zen truth where darkness defines the light more perfectly than
the light can itself.
When the moon finally came up around 2:30 saturday morning, the glass
all aimed at Jupiter (we'd all saved it for just this time) and in yet
another revelation, the sky sat still for us and we could see (in just
about everything from six inches on up) the myriad colored bands in the
south polar region. The color in the NEB was just amazing in my 12.5
inch, foaming from festoon to the burgeoning Great Kinda Red Spot.
Time to shut down, and nothing left but memories... which are all
we have anyway.
Carl Christensen
Ed Erbeck <e...@crazyedoptical.com> wrote:
>I received a post on a list serv, and a FAX informing me (well now
>all of us) that Steve Kufeld (maker of the Telrad Finder) passed away
>Monday of a sudden brief illness.
> 'Bout all I can say is "Bye Steve - We'll miss ya"
That's a shame. He'll be remembered fondly by every astronomer using a
Telrad and actually finding something (I know it was a revelation to me)!
------
Carl Christensen
C/C++/VB/Web Consultant
Philadelphia, PA USA
E-mail: ca...@op.net Web: http://www.op.net/~carl
Jack Jones
Carl Christensen <ca...@op.net> wrote in article
<33be486a...@news.op.net>...
That is very sad. I met him at an RTMC two years ago, he only looked
about 50. He had a giant 4-foot long Telrad (that actually worked) on a
stand and a beat up old van. I talked to him for a while and bought my
first (and only) Telrad. I had to force him to autograph it.
--
"....I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote." - Melville
Jack Jones
jjo...@starlink.com
Kevin Alexander
I am very sorry to hear of Steve Kufeld's death. I was away from amateur
astronomy
from 1973 – 1996. When I rediscovered the joys of astronomy this year I
found that many interesting things had been invented in the interim. Dob
mounts, large thin mirrors, and the Telrad come most readily to mind.
To me the Telrad rapidly became my most beloved and most used accessory.
I am confident to say that by making it significantly easier to find sky
objects (the hardest thing to do for us newbies), Steve and his Telrad
did more to keep more beginners happy in this fascinating hobby than
anyone else. It is as significant an invention to astronomy as the Xerox
copier was to printing, the ratcheting socket wrench to mechanics. I
hope Steve and his family made a fortune from his invention, he deserved
every penny.
I will never outgrow my Telrad. The Telrad bulleye is a symbol
permanently imbedded in my consciousness. In itself it reminds me of
happy observing times.
I think as a tribute we should all switch our Telrads on for 24 hours at
an appropriate time. Maybe on Perseid night. Thank you Steve for your
ingenuity.
Kevin Alexander
Colorado
Jim Van Nuland
>From: Ed Erbeck <e...@crazyedoptical.com>
>Date: Thu, 03 Jul 1997 17:22:55 -0800
>Reply-To: e...@crazyedoptical.com
>[...] Steve Kufeld (maker of the Telrad Finder) passed away
>Monday of a sudden brief illness.
> 'Bout all I can say is "Bye Steve - We'll miss ya"
At the June 22 Board meeting, the Astronomical Association of Northern
California voted its annual awards. It seems appropriate here to
pre-announce that the commercial award had been voted to Steve for the
Telrad finder.
* SLMR 2.1a * Save some stars...kill a light.
__
| Internet: Jim.Van...@sjpc.org
| Fidonet: Jim Van Nuland 1:143/11
|
| A service of the San Jose IBM PC Club, running OS/2 Warp
t...@ediacara.org
The following text is the obituary for Steve Kufeld that
appeared in the July 4 Los Angeles Times, and was written
by Lou Chilton, a long time friend of Steve's and a long
past member of the LAAS. I knew steve for many years, he
was a major player in the construction of our own 31-inch
telescope, and a fixture at our Lockwood Valley star
parties. I was shocked by the news of his sudden death.
His mother and family are taking steps to preserve the
Telrad business, but anything beyond that I cannot say
at this time.
####
Steven Grant Kufeld, of Pine Mountain Club, California,
died unexpectedly at his home on June 30, 1997. Born
December 3, 1939, in Great Bend, Kansas to long time
residents Roland and Elverta Kufeld, he attended Kansas
State University, in Manhattan, obtaining a degree in
mechanical engineering. Steve moved to Huntington Beach,
California, in the early 1960's. He was a multi-talented
inventor who developed and marketed the Telrad, a popular
telescope siting device used worldwide by amateur and
professional astronomers. he was a valued long-time member
of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, and will be deeply
missed by his many friends and colleagues. Steve is survived
by his mother, brother, Roland (Karolyn) Kufeld, and two
nephews, of Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Services to be held at Bryant Christian Funeral Chapel,
Great Bend, Kansas, on July 7th, 2pm, with internment to
follow at Great Bend Cemetery
Contributions may be made in Steve's name to the First
United Methodist Church of Great Bend, Kansas.
####
Tim Thompson
President, Los Angeles Astronomical Society
Timothy.J...@jpl.nasa.gov
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