Harm Dekker of Houston is a "backyard astronomer." When the evening sky clears, he will set up one of his two high-powered telescopes and stand in his yard, usually alone, to get a glimpse of planets, stars or galaxies millions of light years away.

But what he's looking for even more are people interested in atronomy. If he lived in a larger centre he could go to "star parties" where enthusiasts gather to compare equipment, talk about what works, and exchange ideas.

"I'd like to see what's out there," he tells me, "to see the quality of other people's equipment." After five years of researching, building and expanding on his own, Harm is looking for feedback.

It was five years ago when Tom Kozansky brought over a telescope and showed Harm a few things. He then bought some interesting books on the subject - one was called A Guide To Amateur Astronomy by (Canadian) Jack Newton and Philip Teece.

Harm had dabbled in photography but had no experience with "refractors" and "reflectors", it took two years before Harm decided to plunge ahead and invest in some equipment.