John Dobson, a former Hindu monk and a self-taught stargazer who developed a powerful, inexpensive telescope that almost anyone could build and became one of amateur astronomys most influential evangelists, died Jan. 15 at a hospital in Burbank, Calif. He was 98.

The death was confirmed by Bob Alborzian, coordinator of the Burbank chapter of Sidewalk Astronomers, an international organization that Mr. Dobson helped found in 1968. Mr. Dobson had a stroke a few years ago.

Called the Johnny Appleseed of amateur astronomy, the lanky, ponytailed Mr. Dobson started building telescopes in the 1950s as a monk at the Vedanta Monastery in San Francisco. His passion for the hobby led to his expulsion, freeing him to become a roving ambassador for the simple joys of studying the night sky.

He created a hobby and a type of telescope that ensured that people could build their own and look farther across the universe than was possible for most people before his time, said Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

Mr. Dobson used cheap or salvaged materials such as glass from ship portholes and cardboard tubing to make his telescopes, the most radical feature of which is a simple, sturdy and highly effective wooden mount that allows users to easily point the scope at any spot in the sky. Over five decades, he taught thousands of people how to build one.

His design was eventually embraced by commercial manufacturers, who advertise the telescopes as Dobsonians. They remain one of the most popular telescopes on the market, said Dennis di Cicco, senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine.

Dobsonian telescopes have made important contributions to astronomy, including the discovery in 1995 of Comet Hale-Bopp, the most-distant comet ever discovered by amateurs. One of its namesakes, Tom Bopp, was using a Dobsonian.

Alborzian, who had known Mr. Dobson since 1968, said he once urged Mr. Dobson to patent his design. He refused. He said, These are gifts to humanity, Alborzian recalled. His goal was to open astronomy to the common man.

Mr. Dobson had his critics. He did not, for instance, subscribe to the Big Bang theory but favored the idea of a steady-state universe with no beginning and no end. Im not interested in just the stars, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2005. Im interested in the whole ball of wax.

Although the steady-state theory has been widely discredited, Mr. Dobson was an unwavering supporter, which caused many in the astronomy establishment to dismiss him.

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John Dobson, evangelist for amateur astronomy, dies at 98