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dolariI'm smelly.
Today, I went out, got a Quiznos sub, packed up the telescope, binoculars and headed north to witness a meteoric bonanza spectacular expo-fest-a-rama in the sky. Or so the local reports and several astronomical web sites told me.
I'm living proof extraterrestrials aren't abducting people and probing them with sundry little instruments of pleasure. Why? Cause I know these places in the middle of NOWHERE and go there often. At night. Late.
My plan - go out to a little town called Oatmeal (Link1). Oatmeal (link 2) is famous for a it's Oatmeal Festival each September, and I usually plan on going each September, but forget all about it. Oatmeal (link 3)is also a million miles for the bright lights of the big city. Anyways, I was on my way and decided to try something a LITTLE different.
Instead of going to Oatmeal, I went to a rest stop on the County Line. (Okay, okay, I'll stop linking to anything and everything Oatmeal - I just want to prove it's on the damned map.) The view was gorgeous. I got a nice view of Mars through my telescope, and tried to local a few globular clusters or somesuch. AS per every attempt I've ever made, I failed miserably. Since the rest stop is right off the main highway to Georgetown, I figure, maybe the headlights from oncoming cars are obscuring my vision. Let's head on over to Oatmeal. I was at the rest stop for an hour.
My first thought is to go over to the Oatmeal Arbor/Church. It's up on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. Near a church, so it's unlikely to be the site of my murder or anything. But then the old fears kick in. It's dark. It's late. And there's a cemetery right down the hill. About 500 yards to the North. I like cemetaries. I really do. Especially lost rural ones like in Oatmeal. But I like to do that in the daylight. With bright sun. Directly on me. And thank the spirits for allowing me to tresspass. And ask that they stay in the cemetary, and not come with me.
(Interesting sidenote...I heard, on a radio show, about people who went to cemetaries and asked questions to the spirits while recording audio. The audio had voices talking back. Creepy. I'm half tempted to try it. I think it would be neat to hear them talking back. Until they threatened me with spiritual versions of bodily harm.)
I move over to the Oatmeal Festival campgrounds. Dear god, it was so lonely there. Seems no one else knew about this place. I have a good fear of the dark, and the only thing that made this location not-so-creepy was the new light they put in right at the roadway. Unfortunately, this really obscured my vision to the west. I spent two hours there, looking and various stars (they're just as big through a telescope as they are without). I tried looking at some more nebulae and the like, but I couldn't get to them easily.
My telescope is over 20 years old. I got it when I was six, and it has bangs and dings all over. It got a new one today when the tripod became unstable and it fell over. Sigh. That poor telescope. Anyways, I've tried looking at all manner of astronomical thingy and always been dissapointed...usually this means I go a year without ever taking it out again. But today, I decide to try an experiment. I point my binoculars to Mars. You can JUST barely make out a roundish red shape. I point my telescope to Mars...a slightly larger red shape. Then I point my binocs to a radi otower not more than a mile from here. Pinprick of glowing red lights. I point the telescope to it. ALSO a glowing pinprick. Hmmm...no moon. I put the experiment on hold.
I stay in Oatmeal to see the meteor showers. I see five in two hours. Meh. This is NOT the show they said. And besides, the light from the fairgrounds was too bright. I kept hearing a chainsaw somewhere in the distance. My fear of the dark kicked in. The shadows around me began to move. I got the hell out of Oatmeal.
I managed to get back to the rest stop. At least here, I'm next to majorly travelled highway, the ranch across the street is having a party with people constantly coming in and out, and even better - someone was already there. I parked settled into the bed of my pick 'em up truck, and stared at the heavens.
I saw thirteen more shooting stars, three were SPECTACULAR. Three fireballs just racing all across the sky. It wasn't the one-a-minute all the astronomers were making it out to be, but it brought a pleasant smile to my face.
But the biggest thing I got out of it was seeing our Galaxy. To see the sky full of stars, and a band of lightness, and even the voids and dust clouds obscuring the center of the galaxy, it all just completely floors me. So much is out there, waiting to be seen. And it's all out there, waiting for us. I have a recurring image in my mind of a sunrise on Pluto. It wouldn't be much, but the SKY. The sky would be nothing but stars and galaxy. And I want to be out there. I simply zonked out, lying in the bed of the truck, catching a few meteors, drinking in the absolute beauty of spacetime.
What I saw this evening.
Two more hours pass. I tried again to view a few clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy. No go. I decide to continue my experiment and aim the telescope for the moon. At it's highest magnification, the moon fills a good 90% of the view. I take out the binocs and my worst suspicion is confirmed. The moon covers about 75% of the view. The telescope isn't much stronger than the 'nocs.
My parents gave me this telescope for my sixth birthday. They meant well, but I'm realizing that this old Bushnell is very weak. And I think it's time to retire the old girl. Perhaps I can give her away to a charity, or a cousin. Despite it's weakness, it's brought a lot of joy. I saw Jupiter and four moons with it, I saw the rings of Saturn. Dived into craters on the moon. Tonight I saw Mars for the first time ever.
She's a sweetie. I'll miss her.
I stayed at the rest stop until the two trucks left. I took off for home. Five hours in 80 degree heat makes for a stinky Jenn.
Sadly, I looked outside before I came into my apartment. There are only two stars visible over a brownish light haze. From trillions of stars, to two. A quick shower is in order, and off to bed.
And the sky full of stars....
Today, I went out, got a Quiznos sub, packed up the telescope, binoculars and headed north to witness a meteoric bonanza spectacular expo-fest-a-rama in the sky. Or so the local reports and several astronomical web sites told me.
I'm living proof extraterrestrials aren't abducting people and probing them with sundry little instruments of pleasure. Why? Cause I know these places in the middle of NOWHERE and go there often. At night. Late.
My plan - go out to a little town called Oatmeal (Link1). Oatmeal (link 2) is famous for a it's Oatmeal Festival each September, and I usually plan on going each September, but forget all about it. Oatmeal (link 3)is also a million miles for the bright lights of the big city. Anyways, I was on my way and decided to try something a LITTLE different.
Instead of going to Oatmeal, I went to a rest stop on the County Line. (Okay, okay, I'll stop linking to anything and everything Oatmeal - I just want to prove it's on the damned map.) The view was gorgeous. I got a nice view of Mars through my telescope, and tried to local a few globular clusters or somesuch. AS per every attempt I've ever made, I failed miserably. Since the rest stop is right off the main highway to Georgetown, I figure, maybe the headlights from oncoming cars are obscuring my vision. Let's head on over to Oatmeal. I was at the rest stop for an hour.
My first thought is to go over to the Oatmeal Arbor/Church. It's up on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. Near a church, so it's unlikely to be the site of my murder or anything. But then the old fears kick in. It's dark. It's late. And there's a cemetery right down the hill. About 500 yards to the North. I like cemetaries. I really do. Especially lost rural ones like in Oatmeal. But I like to do that in the daylight. With bright sun. Directly on me. And thank the spirits for allowing me to tresspass. And ask that they stay in the cemetary, and not come with me.
(Interesting sidenote...I heard, on a radio show, about people who went to cemetaries and asked questions to the spirits while recording audio. The audio had voices talking back. Creepy. I'm half tempted to try it. I think it would be neat to hear them talking back. Until they threatened me with spiritual versions of bodily harm.)
I move over to the Oatmeal Festival campgrounds. Dear god, it was so lonely there. Seems no one else knew about this place. I have a good fear of the dark, and the only thing that made this location not-so-creepy was the new light they put in right at the roadway. Unfortunately, this really obscured my vision to the west. I spent two hours there, looking and various stars (they're just as big through a telescope as they are without). I tried looking at some more nebulae and the like, but I couldn't get to them easily.
My telescope is over 20 years old. I got it when I was six, and it has bangs and dings all over. It got a new one today when the tripod became unstable and it fell over. Sigh. That poor telescope. Anyways, I've tried looking at all manner of astronomical thingy and always been dissapointed...usually this means I go a year without ever taking it out again. But today, I decide to try an experiment. I point my binoculars to Mars. You can JUST barely make out a roundish red shape. I point my telescope to Mars...a slightly larger red shape. Then I point my binocs to a radi otower not more than a mile from here. Pinprick of glowing red lights. I point the telescope to it. ALSO a glowing pinprick. Hmmm...no moon. I put the experiment on hold.
I stay in Oatmeal to see the meteor showers. I see five in two hours. Meh. This is NOT the show they said. And besides, the light from the fairgrounds was too bright. I kept hearing a chainsaw somewhere in the distance. My fear of the dark kicked in. The shadows around me began to move. I got the hell out of Oatmeal.
I managed to get back to the rest stop. At least here, I'm next to majorly travelled highway, the ranch across the street is having a party with people constantly coming in and out, and even better - someone was already there. I parked settled into the bed of my pick 'em up truck, and stared at the heavens.
I saw thirteen more shooting stars, three were SPECTACULAR. Three fireballs just racing all across the sky. It wasn't the one-a-minute all the astronomers were making it out to be, but it brought a pleasant smile to my face.
But the biggest thing I got out of it was seeing our Galaxy. To see the sky full of stars, and a band of lightness, and even the voids and dust clouds obscuring the center of the galaxy, it all just completely floors me. So much is out there, waiting to be seen. And it's all out there, waiting for us. I have a recurring image in my mind of a sunrise on Pluto. It wouldn't be much, but the SKY. The sky would be nothing but stars and galaxy. And I want to be out there. I simply zonked out, lying in the bed of the truck, catching a few meteors, drinking in the absolute beauty of spacetime.
What I saw this evening.
Two more hours pass. I tried again to view a few clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy. No go. I decide to continue my experiment and aim the telescope for the moon. At it's highest magnification, the moon fills a good 90% of the view. I take out the binocs and my worst suspicion is confirmed. The moon covers about 75% of the view. The telescope isn't much stronger than the 'nocs.
My parents gave me this telescope for my sixth birthday. They meant well, but I'm realizing that this old Bushnell is very weak. And I think it's time to retire the old girl. Perhaps I can give her away to a charity, or a cousin. Despite it's weakness, it's brought a lot of joy. I saw Jupiter and four moons with it, I saw the rings of Saturn. Dived into craters on the moon. Tonight I saw Mars for the first time ever.
She's a sweetie. I'll miss her.
I stayed at the rest stop until the two trucks left. I took off for home. Five hours in 80 degree heat makes for a stinky Jenn.
Sadly, I looked outside before I came into my apartment. There are only two stars visible over a brownish light haze. From trillions of stars, to two. A quick shower is in order, and off to bed.
And the sky full of stars....
