Wow. What an incredibly influential personality in modern amateur astronomy and commercial telescsope design. I feel privelidged to have been active in the hobby, and aware of the "tectonic" changes Mr. Johnson was responsible for, at the time. Anyone else remember the Celestron ads featuring the likes of (and testimonials of) Werner Von Braun, and Leonard Nimoy? OMG! Alas, I was late coming to the table and recognizing the true value of the SCT. But today I am proud to be an owner of 2 Celestron telescopes, both of which have a definite place in my "arsenal". Ad Astra, Mr. Johnson, and Thank You! Thanks for posting that, Erik. On Tue, Mar 13, 2012 at 5:01 PM, <erikhansen@thebluezone.net> wrote:

Celestron Founder and Schmit-Cass designer Tom Johnson has passed.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/home/Tom-Johnson-xxxx1502012-142534025.h...