My name is Paul Zeller, I am 45 years old and live with my wife Adrian on the Southeast side of Indianapolis, Indiana. I've been an Indianapolis resident for almost 20 years and we've lived at this home since 2001. We're located in a subdivision that was constructed during the 1970's and 1980's. Many of the trees in this neighborhood are mature and they make the place scenic, but add an extra barrier for observing the night sky! I don't get much a view to the south from my patio in the back yard because of them. Other barriers to observing include light pollution from Indianapolis along my northern and western horizons and steam clouds from a power plant several miles away that "murks up" the western sky. Still, I've been able to get a lot of good amateur astronomy done from here.
I've named this blog "Feather Run Astronomy" after Feather Run; a small natural stream that runs alongside our back yard to the west. This stream hardly ever totally dries up even during the driest summers and I have the suspicion that it's spring-fed. It's usually only about ten feet wide and maybe two feet deep. In summer the banks are choked with Cattails and other vegetation. It's home to small fish, frogs, turtles (including one mammoth looking Snapping Turtle that makes an appearance now and then), Mallards, and Muskrats. This stream empties about a mile away into Little Buck Creek, and this in turn empties into the West Fork of the White River on the other side of Indianapolis.
I grew up and went to school in LaPorte, Indiana. I started to get involved with amateur astronomy during my teen years and really got interested in Variable Star Observing. I joined the AAVSO (American Association of Variable Star Observers) in 1984 during my senior year of high school. I reported variable star brightness estimates to the AAVSO through 1991, usually during breaks from college when I attended Indiana University in Bloomington. After college I drifted away from the hobby for years; mainly because I was living in apartments and had no access to an outdoor observing area. I rejoined the AAVSO in 2001 and I've been adding estimates to their century-old database ever since.
In addition to variable star observing I dabble in Lunar and Planetary Observing (including searches for Lunar Transient Phenomena) and Artificial Satellite Observing. I also enjoy Meteor Observing. I hope to use this blog for entries that make interesting reading for anyone who wants to check it out. I may also throw in some notes about the weather (since weather and astronomy are closely linked) and maybe a few bird sightings and other goings-on.
