It’s just too cool…
I’ve long wanted a telescope. I always figured that what with where I live, the lack of starry nights here in Western PA, and my ignorance of the subject, I’d have to wait for some better time. A buddy of mine and I have been staring at the sky with binoculars for a while now and I just couldn’t wait any more. So…
I’m now the proud owner of a Celestron 8″ Newtonian. Now before anyone starts expounding on the merits of various types and sizes, remember that I wanted to get started fairly modestly, yet have some decent light-gathering ability. I think I’ve achieved that.
The simple fact: It’s just too cool. I love looking at Saturn, this being an excellent time of year to see it. Thus far, I’ve been able to make out striping on the surface, see ring reflections on the surface, and can see the Cassini division in the rings. I can also make out quite a number of its moons. Cool. Cool. Cool. Our own moon is really quite a sight at 200X. So much stuff there to see.
I’ve always been interested in planetery astronomy and have been keeping tabs on the Voyager project for years. Seeing what’s in our celestial neighborhood is fascinating. This summer, I’ll be looking into more deep-sky stuff. But for now, I’m having a blast (when the weather allows it) just looking at the nearby kinds of things.
Too cool.