I was watching Venus Friday night. I didn't realize the huge dive toward the horizon it had taken in the past week. I recall coming home around 8 pm a few times during the week, the past several months, and seeing Venus high and bright. Friday night at Houge Park we were looking for it in early twilight. I was looking high, but Paul Mancuso said its getting very low. I was totally surprised at how low it was, and how much dimmer it had gotten.
Speaking of naked-eye astronomy, at that star party Friday night (Houge Park), I blew it and forgot the mount for my Dob. I was pretty unhappy at myself, but Mancuso suggested I just mooch photons, and enjoy myself. Resigned to it, I soon found I was having a great time with the public, just talking about the constellations, deep sky objects in them, their mythology. Borrowing a laser pointer made it pretty easy.
After I got home, I realized I hadn't done anything like that in eons. Made me think of ancients doing naked eye astronomy - like at Stonehenge, but without Druids. Coincidentally, Friday was the Vernal Equinox... and all things being equal, naked eye astronomy was absolutely lots of fun.
Monday, March 23, 2009
All Things Being Equal - Naked Eye Astronomy
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1 comment:
You forgot the base? Wow, that's kind of a major thing to forget!
But hey, it happens to all of us. When I was new to all this, it seemed like there were a million things to remember to bring or do. So, I forgot all my eyepieces on a trip to Tahoe. Luckily, my buddy had brought some of his to use in my new scope. That saved the day (night!).
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