My fil got me a scope for christmas that is mostly for bird watching and such but is good enough to look at the stars and moon. I've been really excited the last few days with the potential of a couple clear nights with an almost full moon. I got a chance last night after finishing my cheeseburger cake and before I got to work on the next one to go outside and look at the moon. Woweee was it bright and clear and awesome looking. I sat on the bench next to my door trying to read the star map I printed so I could figure out where I was. I located Mars, ok. I located what I thought was Orion, ok. I took a hunch that the next star was Saturn and I was right!! I was so thrilled to find it and be able to see the rings!! Below is a link to my webspace where I put some of the pictures I took of them. I need to figure out how to turn the auto-focus off my camera but they turned out pretty decent!
http://home.comcast.net/~diahopp/nightsky.html
OH MY ..... !!!!!!!
THAT"S INCREDIBLE!!
those are amazing pictures...they look professional..
Still haven't put together dd's telescope she got for Christmas. First it was too cloudy, then we found out it was missing a screw. 
(bad mommy, bad mommy!)
My fil got me a scope for christmas that is mostly for bird watching and such but is good enough to look at the stars and moon. I've been really excited the last few days with the potential of a couple clear nights with an almost full moon. I got a chance last night after finishing my cheeseburger cake and before I got to work on the next one to go outside and look at the moon. Woweee was it bright and clear and awesome looking. I sat on the bench next to my door trying to read the star map I printed so I could figure out where I was. I located Mars, ok. I located what I thought was Orion, ok. I took a hunch that the next star was Saturn and I was right!! I was so thrilled to find it and be able to see the rings!! Below is a link to my webspace where I put some of the pictures I took of them. I need to figure out how to turn the auto-focus off my camera but they turned out pretty decent!
http://home.comcast.net/~diahopp/nightsky.html
Haha, well welcome to Geek City! How cool are your photos, thanks for sharing them. This is a wonderful, peaceful hobby!
My brother-in-law bought a scope many years ago, well that was how it started. Then all of the books. Then, he built a structure with a retractable roof so he could sit outside year-round. He is a wonderful artist so he started painting the subject. There are sites too on the Internet. Conventions too! And I tell you this haha, just as a warning about how far this hobby can go!
Hugs Squirrelly
I'm very excited about going to various places when the weather changes to be able to see more and discover more. I am very well aware of how a hobby morphs and takes over!! DH is already looking into a bigger scope for me for my birthday which is next month! It is so cool to look around the sky with the scope or every binoculars. You can see so much and find so much with just a few points. From where I am (central MD), there are many objects (nebulas, Andromeda galaxy, star clusters, and planets!) that you can see with just binoculars.
We're leaving for Aruba Sunday morning so I can't wait to see what what we'll see from down there in the middle of the caribbean with very few lights of any kind!
Oh how wonderful, good for you, that should be interesting! Hope you have a lovely vacation. Sounds like you are hopelessly hooked already, haha! Hhmn, wonder if this will be reflected in future cakes, could be interesting!
Have a grand time!
Hugs Squirrelly
I'll definitely try to post some when I get back from vacation. I'm hoping we'll have clear weather although where we're going has been getting rain at night. The tradewinds might make it difficult to get a steady shot too, but I'll give it my best shot!!
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