Night with the stars

[likethebeer]

The astronomy club from the next county over got together last night about 20 minutes south of here. I found out about them from John, who lead the astronomy class earlier this summer. There were perhaps 8 people there. I say "perhaps" because it was in the dark and hard to keep track of people.

One of them (John W, I think) said that this is true of this group: that you learn the voices, because you're always getting together with people in the dark, but you have no idea what they look like.

They've been doing this for almost 5 years, a couple of times a year. They had their planetspheres (a low tech way of identifying constellations which I've got to get), binoculars, and a super-huge telescope that had been donated by someone (I remember John mentioning the donation at one point).

One of the people there, Jean, was really good at identifying constellations. So much so that I got confused with all that she was pointing out and had to walk away. Although I think what she gave enough information that I'll remember the constellation Draco in the future (it helps that it's near the Big Dipper).

Oh! And I saw Jupiter in the large telescope (John W was pointing it at certain things). It wasn't just a flat disc of light - I could see 2 or 3 stripes of its clouds!

So, this was a really nice thing to do last night, even though I didn't get to sleep until after midnight (I am operating on a sleep deficit right now as a result of this cold, and really need about 12 hours sleep).

Comments

[sacramentalist.livejournal.com]

Is Jupiter exceptionally prominent this week? I took the dog out at 3am the other day and all I could see (apart from the waning moon) was one star. I figured it must be Jupiter.

Jupiter?

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

Jupiter is coming up here about two hours after sunset, so I asked if that's what I've seen at 3 a.m. He said it was probably Saturn.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I saw Jupier trhough a backyard telescope, once. I don't remember stripes or the spot, but we could see three of its four moons. Like jewels.

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

The last time I saw Jupiter it was also just a bright spot; no articulation. When mda got out the binoculars, we could see as many as 3 moons. I checked on the cost of binoculars the other night - there was one pair for about $60. I should look back at the info from John for recommendations so I don't spend money on a POS.