The PBS TV documentary shown last night was called
"Seeing In The Dark", based on the book by Timothy Ferris.

You Americans have a commendable love for amateur astronomy
and telescope making.

"Seeing in the Dark" shows how amateur astronomy has become big time
in America, with stargazing conventions/gatherings in Vermont, etc.
With a group on the streets of San Francisco drawing large numbers of people off the streets
and cable-cars in Frisco to view stars and planets through a battery of telescopes
that they've set up on the sidewalks.
Those are just a couple of examples....

Also... The show touched on nostalgia.
Showed a brief docudrama on the life of Mr. Bernard, foremost astrophotographer
in America in the 19th century.
It showed ordinary Americans of all walks of life who were displaying their
remarkable homebuilt telescopes, including one with a mirror over 30 inches [75cm] across.

BTW, you can get the PBS show, "Seeing In The Dark" on DVD now; head over to
www.pbs.org and then go over to their e-store at ShopPBS.

Jacob