Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Ever feel like you're being watched?

stolenfeather

By stolenfeather
in Observing - Discussion

Recommended Posts

stolenfeather

stolenfeather

Posted
Posted

February 6th, 2011

5:00 am

The forecast the night before had predicted a cloud-free morning. I was excited by the news since it would give me the opportunity of viewing Venus and Saturn before the sun made it's appearance. There was only one thing on my mind when I awoke,.. to dress and make my way outside! I knew that Saturn's rings were nicely displayed (showing much detail) and I simply couldn't wait till May to see it during normal evening hours.

I quickly dressed and,... the forecast had been wrong! :( All I could see were clouds! When I saw a break in the gray skies by the time evening made it's way to this part of the north, I knew that I had to take advantage of the occasion. Venus and Saturn would not be around but I'm sure some of "the other boys" would come out and play!

At 8:00pm, the moon and Jupiter were well on their way towards the horizon but still granted me with spectacular views! Some of Jupiter's bands were clearly defined but they didn't come out on any of my pictures. I tried but frostbit fingers can stay motionless for only so long (-36 Celsius will do that to you).

SGL gave me some very helpful tricks last week as to limiting my shakiness when taking pictures. One of these ideas was to take a video and to then extract the picture from it's files using Registax.

So extracting a picture from a video gave me this:

(Take it easy on me, It's my first time)

moon2-3.jpg

My night was far from over. I oriented my telescope by Orion where I visited my favourite Messier Object (M42) and then went out to find it's closest friend, M41, a faint yet beautiful star cluster.

It was while I was gazing at this new object that I felt eyes upon my back. I looked and felt a slight nudge by my lower leg. I was being watched by the little lady you see below:

IMG_1321.jpg

I don't know her name, where she comes from or where she sleeps at night but once in awhile she comes out to join me while I am outside stargazing. The old saying is therefore true:

You never know when you're looking at the stars, someone may be looking straight back at you.

Isabelle

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 33
  • Created
  • Last Reply
tomw28

tomw28

Posted
Posted

Our dog Ozzy always comes out with me. Many times I've noticed him sitting, staring at the moon, he gets really entranced by it, it's quite unnerving to be honest. Having some company outside can have it's downside though, he started having a mad half hour the other week and ran into the table where my EPs were sat. Everything went flying but luckily they had dust caps on so all was well!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

Posted
  • Author
Posted

That could have been a bad ending to a great night but dogs will be dogs right? My dog just stares at me. I think I would rather he stared at the moon. This being said one must wonder,... what exactly is he staring at. Can his mind make sense of it?

Isabelle

Link to comment
Share on other sites
eriwig

eriwig

Posted
Posted

My cats sometimes come and sit outside with me if the boilerhouse roof still has any heat in it (they aren't big fans of the cold)...

Most of the time I think they are jsut sitting there looking at me thinking "are you mad?? It's freezing cold and dark out here!"...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tomw28

tomw28

Posted
Posted
This being said one must wonder,... what exactly is he staring at.

He's a greedy dog, a Laborador, so he probably thinks it's a huge dog biscuit floating in the sky.

Either that or hes heard that it's made of cheese...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

Posted
  • Author
Posted
they're just great companions aren't they?

Your visitor and your own dog are both lovely :(

We've recently returned to being a 2 dog family again as we've rehomed one from a rescue centre :)

You have a big heart! How can one turn down such wonderful companions!

Isabelle

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I have named her "Lady". As for who she belongs to or her actual name, I don't know. I'm afraid of her future. People in this northern community see dogs are property and not companions. She will probably be used on a sled (if she's lucky). If she doesn't show her worth, she will be shot.

It's another world, one that hurts me greatly. However, since she is someone's "property", I can't adopt her,...

I can't save her. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ewok

Ewok

Posted
Posted

He's really well behaved thank goodness. He once ate one of my wifes shoes though, that didn't go down too well ( with my wife that is, the dog seemed fine )

So sad about Lady. You're right about it being a different world, we only see dogs as pets in th UK.

Surely there must be something that can be done for her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.