I must confess that I view the upcoming holiday season with a mixture of joy and dread. On one hand, I know that more telescopes get bought in December than all other months combined. Unfortunately, most of the “astronomical” telescopes purchased are, frankly, high-priced junk — unsuitable for looking at the stars and planets.
You have to love autumn. There’s a nip in the air, and practically every local radio and television station, newspaper, and coworker hanging out at the water cooler is talking OSU football. It’s hard not to notice that my beloved Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops are undefeated, as well. You did notice, didn’t you?
The morning sky right now reminds me of my misspent youth. My father, who never graduated the ninth grade, was inexplicably an opera buff. How could I forget the trips to Cleveland to see the touring company of New York’s Metropolitan Opera? I am an opera aficionado myself to this very day.
Is it any wonder that most avid stargazers hate Daylight Saving Time? When DST ends on November 4, we can get a decent view of the night and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Rising low in the southern sky this month is one of the most unusual of the old constellations. The oceans represented vastness and danger to the ancient Greek people. As they looked south into the great waters of the Mediterranean, they invented a pattern of stars that represented the awe and fear that they felt.
Statistically speaking, October is the clearest month of the year in central Ohio, which makes it a great time to dust off that old telescope in your attic and get in a little stargazing. An added bonus is the presence of the two most spectacular telescopic planets, Jupiter and Saturn.
Football season is in full swing, and it tends to bring out my most nerdish behavior. Okay, so I’m a nerd, I’ve always been a nerd, and I’ll always be one. I pray my last words will be, “Yes … nerd … (gasp) … but with an attitude.” Despite their considerable skills, I find little to admire in football quarterbacks or slam-dunkin’ basketball players. Sorry.
Autumn will soon begin, and I must confess a certain trepidation. Soon the telephone will begin to ring, and the question will always be the same: “When does fall begin? And I mean exactly, to the minute.” (I never could understand why people need to know so exactly. What are they going to do, sacrifice a chicken?)