A Day, A Week, Hemant, A Year

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.

• Thumbnails on Flickr
• Slideshow on Flickr