From galaxies to protists

What is your microscopy history? What are your interests? What equipment do you use?
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annoluce
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:22 am

From galaxies to protists

#1 Post by annoluce » Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:28 am

Dear microbe hunters,
I'm a newcomer in this fantastic world of microscopy. I live in Rome, Italy.
I'm a veteran deep sky watcher, and I decided to buy an used Leitz Laborlux S to fuel my former childhood microscopy passion.
I watch the sky since I was 13 years old. As a gift my father at that times gave me a toy microscope and a toy telescope. Those days! I was so happy. The toys could barely show some fuzzy images, but I was so excited from discovery.
Actually, I imagined to see things that I could not see at all. Power of a child's imagination.
Then somehow, don't know why, the passion for astronomy got through; the microscopy one did not.
I ended up watching the sky for 35 years as I'm 48 yo now. The toy microscope was abandoned to dust and I still keep it now as a treasure in memory of my father.
Recently I thought to myself: what shall I do during the horrible bad weather days, or between a new moon and the other? Why not recovering my old microscopy hobby?
Said and done, I found a Leitz Laborlux S on second hand market and I bought it.
I put everything I could find under the lenses. As probably most of you guys, I stole onions and tomatos and milk and whatever I could from the kitchen and threw it on under the glass (my wife screaming!!).
But I felt completely stunned by the variety of the water pond life. Absolutely amazing and mind blogging. I could spend hours watching protist live, move, eat, give birth, die.
I'm astounded by being capable of jumping from microns to million or billion of light years, orders of magnitude covered with a blink of my eyes.
From a micron sized protozoa to distant, clashing galaxies: this is a wonderful universe.

I thank you all for the friendship, the (many) answers I will need, and the information you will share with me.

Max

billbillt
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:01 pm

Re: From galaxies to protists

#2 Post by billbillt » Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:18 pm

Welcome, Max...

BillT

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janvangastel
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Location: Huizen, Netherlands
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Re: From galaxies to protists

#3 Post by janvangastel » Tue Mar 26, 2019 7:31 am

Welcome Max. I am also an amateur astronomer and telescope maker and new in microscopy.

nboyer
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 2:33 am
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: From galaxies to protists

#4 Post by nboyer » Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:01 pm

From one newbie to another, welcome. Much like you, I also recently joined this forum, also have similar hobbies, also rekindling my interests in microscopy from my days of high school. I would argue that the vast majority of the population have no idea of life that exists, because they cannot readily see it. Fascinating is the world of microscopy, a shame that many cannot put down their cell phones to enjoy this wonderful hobby. Cheers! -Norm
annoluce wrote:Dear microbe hunters,
I'm a newcomer in this fantastic world of microscopy. I live in Rome, Italy.
I'm a veteran deep sky watcher, and I decided to buy an used Leitz Laborlux S to fuel my former childhood microscopy passion.
I watch the sky since I was 13 years old. As a gift my father at that times gave me a toy microscope and a toy telescope. Those days! I was so happy. The toys could barely show some fuzzy images, but I was so excited from discovery.
Actually, I imagined to see things that I could not see at all. Power of a child's imagination.
Then somehow, don't know why, the passion for astronomy got through; the microscopy one did not.
I ended up watching the sky for 35 years as I'm 48 yo now. The toy microscope was abandoned to dust and I still keep it now as a treasure in memory of my father.
Recently I thought to myself: what shall I do during the horrible bad weather days, or between a new moon and the other? Why not recovering my old microscopy hobby?
Said and done, I found a Leitz Laborlux S on second hand market and I bought it.
I put everything I could find under the lenses. As probably most of you guys, I stole onions and tomatos and milk and whatever I could from the kitchen and threw it on under the glass (my wife screaming!!).
But I felt completely stunned by the variety of the water pond life. Absolutely amazing and mind blogging. I could spend hours watching protist live, move, eat, give birth, die.
I'm astounded by being capable of jumping from microns to million or billion of light years, orders of magnitude covered with a blink of my eyes.
From a micron sized protozoa to distant, clashing galaxies: this is a wonderful universe.

I thank you all for the friendship, the (many) answers I will need, and the information you will share with me.

Max
Olympus CX22 LED
Zeiss Axiovert 25

JMK
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:09 am

Re: From galaxies to protists

#5 Post by JMK » Wed Mar 27, 2019 12:50 pm

Max,
Welcome! Like you, I share both avocations. Cloudy nights = Microscope and Clear Nights = Telescope
Sunday night was exceptionally clear ... I was fine focusing on M37, the stunning open cluster in Auriga which, slightly defocused, was strikingly similar in the eyepiece to a colony of Pediastrum, sans the chlorophyll.

All the best John

annoluce
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:22 am

Re: From galaxies to protists

#6 Post by annoluce » Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:40 pm

JMK wrote:Max,
Welcome! Like you, I share both avocations. Cloudy nights = Microscope and Clear Nights = Telescope
Sunday night was exceptionally clear ... I was fine focusing on M37, the stunning open cluster in Auriga which, slightly defocused, was strikingly similar in the eyepiece to a colony of Pediastrum, sans the chlorophyll.

All the best John
!!! I definitely have to try! Next observation session I will point M37 and check myself!
I like very much pediastrum.

einman
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Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:03 am

Re: From galaxies to protists

#7 Post by einman » Sat Mar 30, 2019 2:25 pm

Welcome!

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coominya
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Location: Brisbane Aust

Re: From galaxies to protists

#8 Post by coominya » Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:23 pm

Welcome max, a great hobby to be sure, much easier to pursue than DSOs and no clouds lol.

annoluce
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:22 am

Re: From galaxies to protists

#9 Post by annoluce » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:51 am

Thanks and yes, definitely no clouds and no rain!
Those little water ponds friends are always available!! :lol:

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