AMATEUR ASTRONOMER HAS TELESCOPE TALENT : GERALD HASSON'S SUGGESTED BOOKS ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TELESCOPE:.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Gerald Hasson will always remember making his first telescope - a modest $12 instrument built with scrap wood, a 6-inch mirror and old water pipe.

``It was crude,'' recalls Hasson, who was 14 years old at the time. ``But I couldn't afford a telescope in high school, so I made one.''

More than 70 hand-made telescopes later, the retired Rockwell industrial engineer now considers himself an ``advanced amateur telescope maker.''

Using his garage as a make-shift studio, Hasson recently built a 7-foot-tall portable Dobsonian - an intricate, 200-pound scope made with maple wood, an 18-inch mirror and stable, maneuverable parts.

Its cost from start to finish? About $2,500.

``It's a joy to view with,'' said Hasson of his scope's powerful ability to see inside craters on the moon.

Since boyhood, he has made dozens of telescopes, from German Equatorials to English fork mounts. Still, the astronomy enthusiast calls his talent ``just a hobby.''

Once he finishes building a telescope, Hasson will use, modify or throw it away. If he sells one, it's only to buy more parts to make a new telescope.

``I like building them the most,'' said Hasson, 55. ``When I'm later looking through it at the sky, there's a lot of satisfaction knowing I made it myself.''

Raised on a farm in Oregon, Hasson became mesmerized with the moon and stars as a child.

With no light pollution to destroy the night sky's natural beauty, Hasson relished each constellation, shooting star and celestial body his naked eyes could see.

``I loved the vastness of it all,'' Hasson remembers. ``I've been fascinated for as long as I can remember.''

After moving to California in 1954, the starry-eyed teen joined the astronomy club soon after enrolling at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. He went on to El Camino College in Torrance, where he took astronomy classes and met his future wife, Gloria.

During college, Hasson also voluntarily worked on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration project to help discover a mechanical device that could detect gas escaping from volcanoes on the moon.

Though his love for astronomy persisted, Hasson ended up earning a bachelor of science degree in business.

``I wanted to be an astronomer,'' he admits. ``But I was never really good in math.''

The Hassons moved to Simi Valley in 1971, and joined the Ventura County Astronomical Society in 1989.

As members of the nonprofit organization, the couple attend monthly meetings and ``star parties,'' where they talk shop with fellow astronomy buffs. Club members also take field trips to Charles Temple, Mount Wilson and Big Bear observatories.

Though Gloria enjoys stargazing at her husband's side, she never adopted his favorite hobby.

``I just get a thrill from taking out my telescope and looking through the eyepiece,'' Gloria Hasson said. ``There's so much we don't know about our universe. I like seeing what's out there.''

``Build Your Own Telescope,'' by Richard Berry

``All About Telescopes,'' by Sam Brown

For telescope supplies, call Orion at [phone]

The Ventura County Astronomical Society meets the third Friday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Math and Science Building, Room 202, at Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Park Drive.

For more information or to contact Gerald Hasson, call Starline at [phone]. Information is also available on the Web page at http://www.serve.net/vcas.html or via e-mail at vcaslaol.com

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Box: (Ran in Conejo edition only) Gerald Hasson's suggested books on how to make your own telescope: (See text)

Photo: (1--Color only in Simi edition) Gerald Hasson of Simi Valley shows off two of the Dobsonian telescopes he built from scratch.

(2--Ran in Conejo edition only--Color) Reflected in an 18-inch mirror, Gerald Hasson looks through the eyepiece of one of the more than 70 telecopes he has handcrafted.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News