A night at the observatory
Unfortunately, due to an MS relapse, I have been unable to view the night sky for the whole week. I am very optimistic that some change in my eyesight will be seen in the following days. Many of you have written about your encounters with Saturn for the past weeks. I have been waiting for my chance.
It will come,.. It will come.
This being said, I have found myself reminiscing of my previous encounters with our "popular ringed one". This brings to mind a night I will never forget:
May 5th, 2009
9:30pm
My visit at the Lowell Observatory was something I had planned months in advance by reserving a private program including night viewing with the telescopes and multimedia shows. This being said,... I had no idea to the adventure that I was about to experience!
The visits were organized to welcome groups of thirty and more. It so happened that for the particular day (the only one available during my vacation in Flagstaff) no other person had signed up! In the end, Steven and I were the only ones there with the company of two student astronomers! The four of us first sat in a huge multimedia room for some information. When the main astronomer saw my eyes glaze over as he was talking about the different phases of the moon, he asked me, "You know this already right?" I nodded then proceeded to tell him about where I lived and what I had learned so far. When he realized that I knew my way around the night sky and was a little familiar with the jargon, he shut off the monitor and motioned Steven and I to step into the observatory room where the huge 24 inch Clark Telescope awaited us!
I held my breath,... It was in this very observatory that the dwarf planet Pluto was first discovered, where the rings to Uranus were first explored, and where the initial spark that lead to the eventual realization that the universe was expanding was found! For a person passionate about astronomy, one who believes that the search for truth resides within the deep reaches of ourselves, our relationship with others and in our exploration of the natural world (near and far) that lies around us,... I felt as if I was on "holy" ground! When the two student astronomers invited me to look through the telescope, I actually trembled!
Ben, the top student who is close to graduating with honors from his field of study took the time to explain the surroundings of Arcturus (a star that I was less informed about). He was quite pleased with his new visitor (moi), stating that, "most people that came to the observatory held little to no information or enthusiasm which made the visits very cut and dry". He went on to say that discussing the night sky with visitors at a deeper level seldom happened and that he thought that my excitement / knowledge was quite refreshing. When I admitted to preferring looking at deep sky objects to planets he knew exactly what to show me,... Messier 80! I had seen it before but NEVER like this!
No matter what kind of telescope you have, from my 10" Dobsonian to the Clark monster at the Observatory, there remains one constant: the quality of the sky. That night, there was not one cloud to be seen which should mean smooth sailing for any sky watcher but,... the Waxing Gibbous moon was out in full force shedding it's light across most of the sky. In all of my life, I had NEVER seen it shine so bright! In the telescope, the beam emanating from our natural satellite was so bright that it looked like a laser coming out of the eyepiece! I put my hand under the eyepiece and for a second, it seemed like I was catching it's brilliance! Ben laughed and grabbed a piece of paper. Holding it up to the scope, we were able to make out the shadows of the seas and craters! Now that's one bright moon!
When he pointed the telescope (psst! I was actually allowed to help bring it about!) to Saturn, I couldn't keep my emotions hidden anymore. The planet that makes all backyard astronomers gasp for breath when they first saw it,... brought tears to my eyes! The Clark telescope revealed it's detailed beauty beyond my wildest dreams!
From left to right: Nicole, myself and Ben
Unfortunately, Steven was the one taking the picture :(
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