If you enjoy searching the night skies for all its wonders with
your telescope, binoculars or just your own eyes, you will notice
it seems to be much more fun if you can do it with others
around.
If you enjoy searching the night skies for all its wonders with your telescope, binoculars or just your own eyes, you will notice it seems to be much more fun if you can do it with others around. You will find that it is even more fun if those so-called others turn out to be some of your own friends.
Last month four of us “friends” had just that chance. We all met in town and caravaned some 35 miles south of Hollister into South County where we set up our equipment.
We each had our own telescopes; Mike with his Celestron 8-inch, Roy with his Meade 8-inch, Steve with his Celestron 4-inch and me with my traveling Meade 6-inch refractor. (Me, patiently waiting for my new Meade 14-inch scope to arrive. I had to show you that soon I would have a bigger scope than they have. Size is everything here, you know.)
But the most important thing we brought was food, and some hot coffee-chocolate. OK, we brought some candy, too. Four to 10 hours is a long time to go without the essentials.
I don’t care how much you know about this hobby, there is always one or two of your friends in the party that seems to know more about this subject than you do. Or maybe you know something that they don’t know. Anyway, it is fun sharing what you do know with others, and them sharing with you. You just know you are going to walk away that night learning something that you didn’t know when you got there. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
Not wanting to waste any precious viewing time, we started erecting our instruments immediately before the dark skies came along. It always seems to take me the longest to get ready. Maybe it’s because I bring so much stuff with me. Maybe it’s because I’m just slow. I don’t know. When I’m just getting my telescope aligned I look over and everybody else is already gazing at the heavens.
But once we are all set up the fun begins. Right away I hear Steve yelling out, “Quick, you guys, come over here. I think I have the Andromeda Galaxy in my sight.”
I run over to see how it looks. I no sooner get there and I hear Roy spout, “Wow, you’ve got to see this.”
And then it doesn’t take Mike long for him to start acknowledging what he has sighted in his 8-inch. You wouldn’t think there would be that much exercise involved with astronomy. Sometimes I think I would be better off if I were to leave my scope at home and just use theirs. Then I wouldn’t have to bring up all that stuff, and it would be a whole lot easier to pack up at the night’s end.
Well, everything was going smoothly, and then the clouds came in to greet us, cutting our viewing time somewhat short. I say short because there are times when we stay out to four o’clock in the morning or so, depending on the weather and such.
So we packed everything up and made our way down the hill in hopes to find the main country road back to Hollister. We all had fun. We all learned a lot. We all talked about coming back soon.
Constellation of the Month
This month we come to another bright constellation, Leo, the Lion. It is one of the easiest to recognize, mainly because it looks like a lion or at least you can imagine it that way.
The brightest star in this constellation is Regulus, the lion’s heart. Above it is a C-shaped curve of stars, his mane and head, which is facing to the right in the sky.
There is a considerable gap where his back should be, and then you come to a large triangle of fairly bright stars. They represent the end of his back, legs and tail.
Leo is another constellation of the zodiac, that is, the ecliptic passes through it. Regulus is very close to the ecliptic, so the moon and planets pass near it and sometimes even in front of it.
The most interesting star in this constellation is Algieba, which is actually a double star. If you have a telescope you can make it out vary distinctly.
Don’t forget this month to keep an eye out for Jupiter and Saturn at their best in the evening sky, and Venus in the early morn.
I enjoy all the calls I receive from the readers with their questions. I try to answer them the best I can. There are some really good imaginations out there.
The most frequent question I hear is: “What telescope should I buy.”
My answer: Don’t just jump at the first one you see. Do your homework before you buy. Check out size, cost and type. Talk to as many people as you can who have already bought one. In the long run you will be glad you did. Clear skies..
