If you enjoy searching the night skies for all its wonders with
your telescope, binoculars or just your own eyes, you will notice
it seems to be much more fun if you can do it with others around.
You will find that it is even more enjoyable if those others are
some of your own friends.
If you enjoy searching the night skies for all its wonders with your telescope, binoculars or just your own eyes, you will notice it seems to be much more fun if you can do it with others around. You will find that it is even more enjoyable if those others are some of your own friends.
Last month, four of us “friends” had just that chance. Our first-timer and new friend, Rob, met me in town so we could caravan together some 35 miles south of Hollister into South San Benito County. We each had our own telescopes; Mike with his Celestron 8″, Steve with his 12″ and myself with my traveling Obsession 18″ – the same as Rob. I wanted to make sure that I had at least the largest scope of all of us.
But the most important thing we brought was food, and some hot coffee and chocolate. OK, we brought some candy and cookies as well. Four to 10 hours is a long time to go without the essentials.
I don’t care how much you know about this hobby, there is always one or two of the friends in your party that seem to know more about astronomy than you do. Or maybe you know something they don’t know. It is fun sharing what you do know with others and them sharing their knowledge with you. You just know you are going to walk away that night or morning having learned something. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
Not wanting to waste any precious viewing time, we erected our instruments immediately – before the dark skies came along. It always seems to take me the longest to get ready. Maybe it’s because I bring so much stuff with me. Maybe it’s because I’m just slow. I don’t know. When I’m just getting my telescope aligned, I look over and everybody else is already gazing at the heavens.
But once we are all set up the fun began. Right away Steve yelled out, “Quick, you guys! Come over here, I have the Andromeda Galaxy in my sight.” Then Rob spouted, “Wow, you guys have got to see this!” It didn’t take Mike long to acknowledge what he had sighted in his 8″. You wouldn’t think there would be that much exercise involved with astronomy. Sometimes I think I would be better off if I left my scope at home and just used theirs – then I wouldn’t bring all that stuff, and it would be a whole lot easier to pack up at the night’s end.
Before we knew it, someone from our group looked at his watch and said, “Would you look at that? It’s 2 in the morning.” With the sound of the time update, Steve got sleepy and headed home. By 4am, the rest of us gave up and went home. By 5am, I was in bed.
There was one time when Steve and I went from sundown to sunup just to watch some little specs of lights in the sky. We really enjoy it, so the time just flies by on a clear night.
CONSTELLATION OF THE MONTH
The Big Dipper is no doubt the best-known constellation in the sky, even more so than Orion or Pleiades. I’m sure there are many people who know just one group of stars, and that is always the Big Dipper. This is how amateur astronomers find the North Pole star – by first finding the Big Dipper and the two bright stars in the bowl that point almost directly to Polaris.
This group of stars has many names around the world. In England it is called the Plough. Other people call it Charles’s Wain or the Churl’s Wain. (Wain is a wagon; churl is a peasant.) But its official name used is the Great Bear. In Latin it is Ursa Major. This is somewhat odd because a bear is one thing it does not look like.
But the Big Dipper is only part of Ursa Major. There is a large area to the right and below which also belongs to this constellation. If you try to draw a bear out of this group of stars, the Dipper is his back and tail. I have never seen a bear with a tail so long as portrayed on the sky maps. But the shape does look like a dipper. That must be why in modern times it is known as the Big Dipper.
The Big Dipper is good to be used as an eye test. Take a look at the bend in the handle. If you have good eyesight you can see Mizar and its little companion Alcor. But it would take a telescope to split Mizar itself into a double star only a 50th as far apart as Mizar and Alcor.
On April 22 comes another of those times when we expect to see more meteors than usual. In this case it is the Lyrid meteors. As their name indicates, these meteors spread out from the constellation Lyra. Take a look at your sky map for April and you will see that Lyra is low in the northeast. But if you wait a few hours later you will notice that Lyra will be higher in the sky and therefore better viewing for the showers.
Spring is here, and that means better clearer nights for gazing at the heavens. My wish is that everyone would have the chance to enjoy astronomy as much as I do. It is a great way to enjoy time, whether you are alone or with your friends. Clear skies.
David Baumgartner is in local real estate and is an avid amateur astronomer. His Sky Watch column appears monthly.
