PEMBROKE – Charlie Sawyer has his eyes on the stars, and now the Pembroke man wants everyone to see the universe through his homemade telescope.

Perched high atop a hill in this quiet neighborhood, Sawyer has set up a building with a slide-back roof and telescope.

His perspective of the galaxy is enhanced because he is observing it through an 8-inch Newtonian reflector with a parabolic mirror that reflects the light.

Sawyer built the telescope. “I can range it from 50 times the human eye to 400 times the human eye,” he said.

Although homemade, the telescope does the job.

“It is the same size optically as the one at the University of Maine at Orono, but the one at Orono is a refractor and it is much longer. It’s a nice telescope,” he said.

Sawyer’s love of astronomy began when he was 12, and he has formed a group to share his universe with his neighbors.

The Downeast Amateur Astronomers Club is a spinoff of another group formed by Sawyer and his friend Frank Davenport, who lived in Charlotte at the time. Davenport moved to Florida and took his telescope, but he left the specially built building to the club. Now Sawyer is looking for new members.

Pushing back the roof of his 12-foot-square building, Sawyer placed his telescope on a large German equatorial clock drive mount. It allows Sawyer to track whatever object he is watching.

On the walls are pictures of the universe and sky charts, including one called “Secrets of the Universe.”

“I am hoping that the community will take advantage of this, including schools and scouting groups,” Sawyer said. The observatory also is open to anyone who would like to take pictures of the sky. “Photography is something we also encourage,” he said.

There is no charge.

The club meets once a month. The next meeting is at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3.

For information about the club call Sawyer at 726-4621 or e-mail him at csawyer1@Prexar .com; or Raymond Boudreau at 255-8691 or e-mail him at coyotedoc@nemaime.com.

Sawyer also is available to talk to schools and groups.