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nonionaySince Mars is so big and gorgeous right now, I pulled out the telescope and checked it out. Considering I live in a pretty light-polluted city, it was probably ideal star-gazing conditions as I'm going to get. No moon, clear midwinter skies with not too much cold. Lounging on my back deck in my cushy bathrobe, I was able to see Mars through the basic lens on my telescope as a sparkly red dot. I tried my hardest to see it through the higher-powered lens, but when I was oh-so-close my muscles finally cramped and I gave up. The field of vision is so narrow at that power that any bump makes it shake out of position, and focusing is a bitch.
But, using the low-powered lens, I also checked out:
The Andromeda Galaxy --a big smudgy blur, but hey! it's a galaxy.
The Orion Nebula--pretty but disappointingly monochromatic. And
The Pleiades--Gorgeous.
I think maybe I saw the Beehive Cluster, but I'm not sure.
My iPod has a simple planetarium program that shows where stuff is, though it doesn't show individual star names, or anything but the Messier designation of deep-sky objects. Still, it was pretty helpful.
But, using the low-powered lens, I also checked out:
The Andromeda Galaxy --a big smudgy blur, but hey! it's a galaxy.
The Orion Nebula--pretty but disappointingly monochromatic. And
The Pleiades--Gorgeous.
I think maybe I saw the Beehive Cluster, but I'm not sure.
My iPod has a simple planetarium program that shows where stuff is, though it doesn't show individual star names, or anything but the Messier designation of deep-sky objects. Still, it was pretty helpful.
