It's when the temperature rises that my eagerness to star-gaze returns. After all, Orion is still up there in March. A few nights ago, I was aready in my flannel p.j.'s and robe when I peeked out to see if the rain clouds had moved in. The sky was clear, "good seeing," as they say. There was time before the moon came up. Easing into it like I do everything else, I took my rocker out on the porch and looked up. It was necessary for me to get oriented, because now rowdy Taurus was standing on his hind legs, which was not where I left him in winter.
A Place Out of Town
Not by chance is my location ideal for astronomy. It was one of my prerequisites for a home. When I first took up, okay, got hooked on, astronomy, I was living in a small town, surrounded by outdoor lights. There were eighteen seen from my back yard. There was a nursing home and two gas stations nearby. One night, though, I happened to look upward with a pair of old binoculars. Eureka! There were lots more stars up there than I could see without them. But they would not hold still.
As it turned out, it was a good place to learn the constellations, because all the dimmer stars were not visible. The tall trees at the back of my property limited me to only an overhead view of the sky.
Scope It Out
The beauty of astronomy is there is always much more to learn, also to buy, the criteria of a perfect hobby. One December, I sent off for my Orion Astroview 100mm EQ telescope, a Christmas present for myself. I rigged up a poncho enclosure from the clotheslines. It did as much in a cheap way as having an observatory built. Admittedly, it was a lot less glamorous. The heavy 'scope had to be taken out to the back yard in sections, which I don't have to do here, where I'm only carrying it from the living room to the front porch or back deck.
The first time I saw Jupiter and its moons, I was stunned with what I was seeing. They were just hanging there, all those years and I never even knew I was seeing another planet, let alone another planet with moons.
More Accessories!
Of course, I had to send off for a few more eyepieces, filters, cases, red light, pocket sky atlas and other absolute essentials, none of it cheap.
The moon through the telescope is more incredibly luminous than any photo would show. It is exquisite, a dazzling silver with deep shadows at the edge of the darkened part.
I Can Do This By Myself
Some people do well in a classroom setting. Not me. Everything that I've loved to learn about was something I could teach myself. There are lots of easy astronomy books; I've gradually assimilated a fraction of the information.
Rich, Rich, Rich, Beyond My Wildest Dreams
I'm not into it for the science. It's more of a treasure hunt for me. Looking at the Pleides with even a small telescope like mine is like owning beautiful blue diamonds. It quite takes my breath away to see them spread out on the dark sky.
It's possible to not have a scientific mind and still enjoy the stars. Some people use telescopes that are driven with computers to point to whatever they want to see. I don't see the fun in that.
Lost in the Milky Way
In my remote location, there are so many stars sometimes I'm not sure what I'm seeing. Stars, that's for sure.
Getting Mooned
When the full moon shows up, it's like a big loud drunk arriving at a party. The shy stars wink out. Everyone packs up and goes home.
The Sky is the Limit
Astronomy is a hobby where it's possible to buy ever bigger telescopes. I believe some rich person would buy the Hubble Space Telescope if it were for sale. As for me, I had to stop well short of flying my Lear jet to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun.
A Word of Caution
My advice for people who do not wish to become addicted to the night sky is Do Not Look Up. By the way, other people do not want to hear about Antares. "Whoa, hold on," they say, "you're getting 'way over my head."
That's ridiculous. Antares never rises very far above the horizon at this latitude.
