Not only is Holly immersed in optics at work and studying in her own time, to relax she still turns to optics! She has a telescope and enjoys the chance to gaze skyward. Here are some stunning photos she took recently on a clear night.
If you are interested in details here are the specs from Holly:
The telescope is an Astronz Dobsonian 6' Newtonian telescope.
I typically have bright wide-field views of deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae and at times the spiral structures of some galaxies. My view of the moon and planets are sharp, seeing the detail in the moon's craters to Saturn's rings and Jupiter's atmosphere.
The telescope has a 6 inch primary mirror located toward the bottom end of the barrel. The mirrors are made with optical quality BK7 glass, which is considerably better than the industry norm.
The telescope is easy to carry around. The tube is 9kg and 1100mm long (it just fits in my Swift). The plyboard base is a bit heavier at around 14kg.