Bringing Out the Telescope
For those who have known me for a long time, it’s no secret that I used to be pretty engrossed in amateur astronomy. Back in 1990 I got a job specifically so I could buy a telescope, and after working full time for the entire summer I was able to purchase my dream scope. I used it pretty religiously for the remainder of high school, but once I got to university its usage dropped. And once I started my professional career it became non-existent.
Recently I started getting the itch to get back under the night sky and my telescope was sitting in the garage tempting me. I vowed a few weeks ago to start getting active in amateur astronomy once again. Luckily telescopes aren’t like computers that become obsolete after six months. My quality scope I bought almost twenty years ago may not have computer guided controls of today’s models, but its optics are still top notch.
Last night Michelle and I were out for a walk and I couldn’t help noticing the half moon in the clear night sky. I knew that Michelle had never viewed anything through a telescope before so I decided tonight was the night to fire it up. After cleaning a thick coat of dust off of the telescope I hauled it out to the backyard and aimed it at the moon. I fumbled a bit finding the controls, but it didn’t take long to get back into the groove. I centred the field of view on the bright moon, pulled it into focus and immediately remembered why I loved the night sky.
You can see more photos of Michelle and I under the night sky on my Flickr site by following the links below.
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What? No pics of what you were viewing in the telescope? For shame!
If there isn’t an easy way to take pics, you can always get a point and shoot and push it up against the eye piece.
Good job Hemant. Never too late to bring out the scope. The good thing is the sky doesn’t change much, so I guess it’s like riding a bike in a way. Anyway, if you ever want to get out to the dark site, shoot me an email or something. I’ll try to get out most weekends if possible. There is also a good dark spot closer to the city that we could head out too if interested. Take care.