A Personal Story
My path into astronomy didn’t start with expensive equipment or formal training. It started with a simple invitation.
While I was in high school, my science teacher, Dave Simpson, invited the class to come to his house one evening to observe the Mars opposition through his telescopes. I was the only student who showed up.
That night, he showed me Mars, Saturn, the double star Albireo, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Ring Nebula. Each object was impressive, but one moment stood above all the others.
When I saw the rings of Saturn for the first time, I remember thinking, “Wow — everybody has got to see this.”
That single experience planted a seed that never really went away.
The Architects of the Expanding Universe
Taken on January 29, 1931, this historic photograph shows Left to right: Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Walther Mayer, Walter S. Adams, Arthur S. King, and William W. Campbell standing on the bridge before the 100-inch Hooker Telescope. From this site came the observations that confirmed the expanding universe—uniting theory and observation and reshaping modern cosmology.
Standing on the Bridge of Discovery
Photographed on June 14, 2025, Dave Simpson (Left) and I (James Hutchinson Right) stand on the historic bridge in front of the 100-inch Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory. This vantage point overlooks one of the most important instruments in the history of astronomy—where humanity first grasped the true scale of the universe. Same Bridge. Same Telescope. Ninety-Four Years Apart. Two moments separated by nearly a century—connected by place, curiosity, and the pursuit of understanding the universe.
Coming Full Circle
Many years later, knowing my continued love for astronomy, Dave offered to sell me my first telescope — a 1970s Celestron orange tube C8 — for far less than its market value.
It was the very telescope I had first seen Saturn through all those years ago.
I still own that telescope today, and it remains one of the instruments we use for outreach events. There’s something special about watching someone see Saturn for the first time through the same optics that sparked my own curiosity decades earlier.
Passing the Telescope Forward
The classic orange-tube C8 in action during a public outreach event at the Victor Valley Museum on June 25, 2025, expertly operated by Kyle’s wife, Dy.
Why We Do Outreach
Telescope Guys exists because of moments like that — quiet, unexpected, and powerful. A single look through a telescope can change how someone sees the universe and their place in it.
Our goal isn’t just to show people objects in the sky. It’s to share that feeling of wonder, to create experiences that stick with people long after the telescope is packed away.
None of this would have happened without a teacher who was willing to open his door, share his time, and point a telescope skyward for one curious student.
In many ways, every outreach event we host is a small way of paying that forward.