Could anything be better?

[M Astronomy]

Well hello everyone, I hope everyone's had a cloud free start to the year. I've been out twice already, which almost already puts 2017 to shame! Tonight was incredible in many ways so I thought I'd give a wee account of it. 

Having finished studying for my upcoming exams, I went to check what the weather was doing, having seen it was clear earlier. Seeing it was very clear indeed, I thought about going outside. I wasn't thrilled by the idea; the last time I went out a few days ago, it was nothing but disappointment. A plethora of troubles arose, with a red dot finder out of battery with no batteries in sight (still haven't got round to that) and a bright moon. The view of the Orion Nebula I did get was very disappointing compared to what I remembered it like when I had viewed it previously. But despite this, I put on two jackets as it was looking rather chilly and headed out with my cheapo Orion 3 inch reflector (that WILL be upgraded to a 8 inch dob one day), that non-stargazers would scoff at me for spending £110 on and some APO refractor users scoff at me for not spending £1000 on their scope.

The moon hadn't risen yet, and I'm fortunate enough that I can step out my door and have pretty dark views. I set my camera up to take one long exposure for some star trails, more eager to get the telescope up and running than fiddle about with the DSLR. Not waiting for my eyes to dark adapt or the telescope to acclimatise, I got straight to observing, knowing the moon would rise at some point. The Orion Nebula was the target, probably my favourite object, for its easiness to find and its detail even in my small scope. Straight away I knew this night was going to be good, the clouds of dust looked so much clearer and more defined than a few nights ago. I spent some time observing, before heading to the Hyades and Pleiades and then the Andromeda Nebula.

And then it hit me. I could be doing a million other things right now, but I'm standing here, with my cheap combination of metal and mirrors, looking up into the night sky. And I'm sure the majority of you reading this would agree, there's nothing I would rather do, nowhere I'd rather be. I'm standing here viewing light from objects so far away that the light is ancient. My telescope is my time machine, taking my back thousands of years. I could be sitting, watching TV, but I'm here, looking at a place where stars are born.

And maybe I'm just sentimental, and maybe nobody cares, but watching those pin pricks of light, as they fused hydrogen into helium, filled me with awe and an eagerness just to do it all again. It was awesome, in the true sense of the word, not the slang we use it as now. That's what makes me come back to stargazing, time and time again. Seeing the science unfold before my eyes, in its beautiful way. 

But my feet were totally frozen and the moon eventually crept over the horizon, so I finally went inside. I definitely need new socks. 

 

[Charic]

15 minutes ago, M Astronomy said:

I've been out twice already, which almost already puts 2017 to shame!

I like it......Just hope 2018 is an improvement.
Better socks are a must, or just better boots, but one of my 'Astro' presents this year was a zippo pocket warmer, runs on lighter fluid.
 

[Knighty2112]

Yep, no matter how many times I see M42 it rarely fails to disappoint. Was out observing double stars earlier on for a few hours, but had to look at the Orion nebula again, and sure enough it was a fine sight once again in my C8.  

[Pete Presland]

Nicely reported, you can not beat being out under the stars seeing the glory of the night sky!

[Stu]

Awesome indeed. You can't beat looking up  

[Astro Imp]

Great report my friend, I think all on SGL would agree, there is something magical getting out in our own back yards with our bits of glass and metal and enjoying what the universe has to offer.

More please!!

[laowhoo]

Somebody asked what it means for me, and I said communion. At other times during outreach I've asked some to imagine some two stars chatting over tea--ridiculous-seeming until we realize that's what we do as star debris. We recently tore the scope down for a tune-up. The wood was my father's 20-year-old cedar planks for bench seating outside, and I'm fond of knots so I used those planks for the deck, putting the best bits where the primary doesn't obscure. I finally whitewashed the knotty bits last week and sanded off most of it to reveal van Gogh's Starry Night, star placement and swirling tendrils fully intact, like a copy in wood. Then I looked at the painting again and noticed the diminutive buildings of the foreground, and thought I might know what he meant by that juxtaposition, why the night sky was so dynamically rendered, so vital. I also think of what Dobson said, that we don't look out at space, but into it. Whatever the case, "sentiment?" Hardly. Unless this is where Snow's two-culture utopia lives, sentiment/science, or subjective/objective. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to lose these artifices at the scope.

This dewdrop world--

Is a dewdrop world,

And yet, and yet...