A vintage mint-condition telescope autographed by several Star Trek celebrities is being raffled to benefit an astronomy organization for young people founded by the co-discoverer of the Hale-Bopp comet.

The Earthrise Project is an effort to develop a network of astronomical "retreat" facilities to enable students to participate in observational projects in collaboration with others around the country and the world, with the loftier goal of encouraging global understanding and cooperation through exploration of the universe. The project takes its name from the images of Earth returned from the Apollo astronauts. It is shepherded by Alan Hale, director of the Southwest Institute for Space Research in New Mexico, one of the two people whom the Hale-Bopp comet was named after in 1995.

The telescope — a classic Edmund Scientific 4 1/4" f/10 reflector — was signed by several Trek stars at a recent convention in El Paso celebrating Gene Roddenberry. They included William Shatner, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Tim Russ, Cirroc Lofton, and frequent guest actor Vaughn Armstrong. Roddenberry's son, Eugene Jr., also affixed his signature, as did Hale himself and a few other sci-fi celebrities, to support this fund-raising effort for Earthrise.

Details on the raffle, including other autographed items up for grabs, can be found at the Related Links below. Drawings will be held December 24, 2003.