Christopher E. Spratt's Web Page

Welcome to my web site.

    This site once enabled me to share information related to amateur astronomy with others interested in such activities.  You will find descriptions of my equipment,  reviews of equipment  and a small selection of some of the non-astrometry images I've taken.

    In June 2003, I added a section devoted to birding (birdwatching) with images (to come) and some equipment reviews. Model railroading info (another passion) may appear later.

    I joined the AAVSO in May 1961, (observer code SC),  and to date have submitted nearly 33,000 variable star observations. Since the astrometry program at #642  was shut down (and I also moved),  I've started to concentrate more on variable star observing (there was an variable star observing hiatus for the first part of this decade). Rather than use my AP 600E and 9.25" SCT which takes too long to setup, I ordered a small Celestron 6" Nexstar SE GoTo Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescope. This new scope has proved to be is extremely portable and easy to setup. I've programmed the Nexstar's database to include 100 of the variables I observe on a regular basis. Now once the scope is aligned I can just "Goto" any object of interest.

  Minor Planet Centre Station #642 (Oak Bay, Victoria).

    MPC Station #642 (Oak Bay, Victoria), until it shut down in early 2005, was dedicated to the search, astrometry "followups" of Near Earth Objects (NEOs).

    NEOs are asteroids or comets that pose a potential collision hazard with Earth by virtue
    of their mass, velocity, and orbital paths through space.

    My objective at MPC Station #642 (Oak Bay, Victoria) was to:

• 1. Contribute to the better understanding of our solar system environment and evolution by studying the physical proporties of NEOs, main-belt asteroids, and cometary objects.

• 2. Assist in the accurate orbital determination of new NEO discoveries by making precision astrometric observations over a significant portion of their orbits.

• 3. Assist in the search for NEOs that may pose a possible threat to our civilization.

Some Astronomical Links:

• The International Dark Sky Association:
• The International Comet Quarterly (ICQ):
• SBIG:
• Project Pluto (Bill Gray's Guides 7 and  8):
• Cyanogen Productions:
• The Astronomer Magazine (TA):
• Software Bisque:
• The Minor Planet Observer:
• The Comet Observer (Charles Morris):
• The Birdforum:
• The AAVSO:
• Astro-Physics:
• The Latest Bright Supernovae:
• Dave Balam's (Canada Spacewatch) Page:
• The Minor Planet Centre:
• Herb Raab's Astrometrica (Shareware) Page:
• FMO Spacewatch Project:

Member of the RASC Member Home Pages Webring

This site is owned by Chris. Spratt.

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