In my misspent youth, I had an experience that profoundly changed me and, in fact, accounts for the fact that I have been doing public work in astronomy for almost half a century.
Look straight south in the early evening, and you’ll see the familiar constellation Orion high in the sky. Above Orion, to the northeast, the constellation Gemini, the Twins, will be easily visible.
As my father was born, Orion was rising in the east. The stars of the constellation form a rough hunter, his shield before him, his rude club raised to slay some mighty beast.
When the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, time will be on our collective mind. Astronomers can measure these temporal milestones with incredible accuracy, of course. All you time aficionados will probably note that the ball will drop a few seconds too late or too early. It always does.
An observing expedition out into the winter wilds of rural Ohio can be made or broken by the few things that you carry along with you. Herewith are my suggestions for the few necessary tools that will make your observing expedition a success.
The Christmas season is upon us. Others may hear the jolly sound of Santa toting up the cash-register receipts. All I can hear is the wailing and gnashing of teeth as folks learn to use their new telescopes.
An observing expedition out into the winter wilds of rural Ohio can be made or broken by the few things that you carry along with you. Herewith are my suggestions for the few necessary tools that will make your observing expedition a success.
Statistically speaking, October is the clearest month of the year in Central Ohio, making it a great time to dust off that old telescope in your garage and get in a little stargazing. An added bonus is the presence of the two most spectacular telescopic planets, Jupiter and Saturn.