Moon, Stars and Beyond   A Chronicle of Fact, Fiction and Fantasy

Andrew’s wonderful Christmas present to me…

I have to trumpet the best present I’ve ever longed for and received – a brand spankin’ new telescope!  And not just any telescope, my own Celestron NexStar 130SLT! I’ve always lusted after one of these, and now, I OWN ONE. Just in time to see Comet Lovejoy!  I’d like to take it outside tonight, as it’s nearest to the earth, but we’ve had some snow and I don’t know if the sky’s going to clear in time.  That, and it’s WELL below freezing tonight.  Still, that’s the optimal time to gaze at the heavens, because there won’t be any of that nasty haze interfering with the brilliance of the winter nighttime sky.

For those of you who own or have access to telescopes, the best thing about them is how it changes your perspective on what’s up there in the nighttime sky.  I had my first one at 12, but then it fell off the roof when I was trying to focus in on Comet Kohoutek.  That ended that.  Over the years I’ve belonged to astronomy clubs and peeked through fellow amateur astronomers.  Now, for the first time in years, I have one that’s powerful enough for me to zoom in on not just the planets, but Messier objects, novas, galaxies, double stars – the works!

My husband used to look up at the evening stars with his father back in his native England.  Their back garden in Launceston, Cornwall offered a terrific view, since it was near the top of a hill, without much to obscure the stars.  After life at 40.7127° N, 74.0059° W for years, I had a chance to see things at 50.6350° N, 4.3540° W.  My eyes, formerly trained to look at my favorite celestial objects at a lower latitude now had to focus somewhere else.  That only took a moment, but it also meant that I couldn’t see a few constellations I’d grown used to seeing skirting the horizon at my latitude.

It’s fair to say Andrew’s into this scope just as much as I am.  He’s a photographer and this Celestron has the capability for nighttime picture taking.  I personally can’t wait to get the thing outside and pointed upwards.  Truth be told, I don’t care where I look.  There’s sure to be something wonderful when I peer into the eyepiece, and I can’t imagine being disappointed at what I’ll see.