Astronomy

I have always been fascinated by the stars and planets. I can remember a large, illustrated book I got as a present when I was in first or second grade. It had grand pictures of the sun, planets and galaxies. As a cub scout, I was the kid who could find the north star. I used to dream about becoming a famous astronaut-astronomer-adventurer when I grew up. My birthday wish list when I was eleven had only one item…a telescope. I did not want a Sears special either. My heart was set on a Newtonian configured, German equatorially mounted, 4.25 inch reflecting telescope! Say that five times fast!

My folks asked for alternate ideas. They did not get any from me. I was warned that it was much more likely that I was going to get a bike. I held my ground. They did not buy me that telescope... they bought me a better one. I was so exited that to this day I can hear what was playing on the car radio when Mom drove me to the store to pick it up ("Gentle On My Mind" if you must know).

This was not a compact telescope. It was all I could do to haul the thing outside and set it up. We lived in the country, and the dirt road we lived on only went to one house.. .ours. I would wrestle with the telescope, which weighed in at an incredibly awkward seventy five pounds, until I got to my viewing station at the top of our road. This was probably only three-hundred feet or so, but it seemed like miles. Then I would stand nearly motionless, so as not to jiggle the instrument, and look at the planets and stars for as long as I could stand the cold. Then, nearly frozen stiff, I’d haul the contraption back to the house and have a cup of hot tea. This is a process I repeated every couple of weeks for the next six years.

I have always tried to have a telescope (a real astronomical instrument mind you) around the house. It has been quite a while since I dragged the one I currently own out, because I have come to realize that I live in a part of the country with absolutely terrible viewing conditions. Still, from time to time I haul it out to look at the rings of Saturn or the Great Nebula in Orion. It's fun sharing these things with my kids. Lately I have been amusing and amazing myself with a computer program that turns my display terminal into a desk-top planetarium. This is fascinating program, and I have gained more familiarity with the stars and planets with this program, than all of the years I spent looking through my telescopes. I sometimes fantasize about getting a little cabin in the mountains and building a small observatory. The really cool thing is that my computer program can be used to steer the telescope. Select an object from the computer screen, and the computer commands the telescope to target and track the object. Cool.