LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN IN GARAGE; MAN'S TELESCOPES STARRING WORLDWIDE.

Byline: David Greenberg Daily News Staff Writer

Jim Brunkella's upbringing during the space race of the 1950s and '60s has evolved into a passion for building handmade telescopes for those who still keep a watchful eye on the stars.

An optical engineer at Hughes Space and Communications, Brunkella spends his spare time designing and building instruments for customers all over the world who have $600 to $30,000 to spare and the patience to wait up to a year.

``This is like building a Ferrari,'' said Brunkella, 53, who works out of his Thousand Oaks garage. ``These are handmade one at a time. They're for people striving for the ultimate performance with a quality telescope.

``I get a lot of pleasure out of providing amateur astronomers with a quality telescope because I know what a joy it is to observe the sky.''

The seeds of Brunkella's obsession where planted in the 1950s, when America was consumed by its race with the Soviet Union to launch the first satellite into orbit.

The Russians won, sending the 184-pound Sputnik - far lighter than some of Brunkella's telescopes - into space on Oct. 4, 1957. He vividly recalls reading the articles in newspapers in Milwaukee, where he grew up.

Brunkella devoured astronomy books during his family's weekly visits to the local library.

For his eighth birthday, his parents bought him a $5 telescope with a 1-inch-diameter lens - capable of magnifying images seven times what the normal eye sees.

Standing outside in a springtime Milwaukee night, Brunkella spent two hours gazing at the moon.

``Astronomy is as close as I can get to God without going to church,'' he said.

Always wanting to learn more, Brunkella joined the Milwaukee Astronomical Society at age 11 and won his eighth-grade science fair that year for his mechanical model of a moon orbiting the Earth.

He spent his after-school and Sunday morning hours the following year delivering the Milwaukee Journal, saving $200 from the $10-a-week job for a 6-inch-diameter Newtonian telescope.

It relies on mirrors instead of lenses to reflect images, which can be magnified up to 500 times what the eye sees, and is the model he builds today.

A bachelor's degree in astrophysics and master's degrees in optical engineering and business administration opened him up to the possibilities of making star-gazing devices for other astronomers.

``God gave me a skill with my hands,'' Brunkella said. ``There is a real Zen for me to build telescopes. I'm constantly trying to re-engineer the product to make it better. Engineers are always trying to tinker - come up with new ideas the competition doesn't have.''

His first commissioned telescope was made for a woman he met at an astronomy conference at Big Bear Lake in 1992. The buyer named the telescope the ``Starsplitter,'' after a Robert Frost poem dealing with astronomy.

Since then, he has created five different models of telescopes, including the Starsplitter II, an offshoot of the original.

The models, featured three times in Astronomy magazine, range from 35 to 450 pounds and can magnify images 25 to 400 times the normal eye. He sells 10 to 40 a year.

Brunkella is currently working on a 36-inch-diameter piece that weighs 450 pounds and will sit in a homemade observatory being build by a resident of Woods Hole, Mass.

Oxnard College astronomy teacher Gary Goodman, who recently bought two 10-inch-diameter telescopes for about $1,000 each, said Brunkella's models are ideal for students who are unfamiliar with the field.

``You wouldn't want to get a piece of junk,'' Goodman said. ``It wouldn't last that long. His scopes are good for student use. They are durable, simple to use and they have good optics. You get the most telescope for your money.''

Other customers have come from Australia, Italy, Germany, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Austria, Japascn, Canada and Colombia.

Most urban residents choose the lighter models - some made with fiberboard truss frames instead of aluminum - for trips to rural areas.

``All the (city) lights pollute the sky,'' Brunkella said. ``Scopes need to be portable, easy to transport and quick to set up.''

With an eye on retirement, he said he looks forward to the time when he can dedicate his energy to his hobby, which will include attending more astronomy conferences.

``I'm always looking for new ideas for telescopes,'' Brunkella said. ``But my travel time is limited. You can get away only so many times a year.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color in Conejo Edition only) Jim Brunkella, 53, shows off his Starsplitter II, left, and Starsplitter Gem telescopes.

(2--Ran in Conejo Edition only) Jim Brunkella assembles telescopes in the garage of his home in Thousand Oaks.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News