Zane Landers is an amateur astronomer and telescope maker from Arizona. Zane builds and regularly observes with Dobsonian telescopes as large as 40" in aperture, and grinds his own mirrors, with his favorite telescope being a 14.7" f/2.9 built to resemble a conventional 8" in size and weight. Zane has been featured in Sky & Telescope, TIME magazine, National Geographic, the Arizona Daily Star, and Astronomy Technology Today. Zane is a major advocate for amateur astronomers to join and assist the American Association of Variable Star Observers (aavso.org) to help monitor and study variable stars - which can be done even with a modest backyard telescope. He also highly recommends joining and assisting the International Dark Sky Association (darksky.org) to mediate urban light pollution, not only for the sake of astronomy but also to protect wildlife and improve human health.