This article was contributed by David Baumgartner as part of a local series on astronomy.
“So much to see in the heavens above, so little time, and with such a small 3’’ telescope what can I possibly see? I hear that all the time. You would be surprised what a 3” telescope will find for you on those clear dark nights. The problem is one doesn’t know where to look. That is an awful big target to look at. So with a couple of uneventful evenings with your scope you disgustedly put a cover over it and stash it in the garage or some available space in a closet. And it stays there unused for years until a Real Estate Broker, who just happens to be interested in astronomy, goes through your home to give you a market analysis to sell your home. O.K. this nice Realtor may be me. I can’t tell you how many times I find these telescopes, large and small, hidden away unused because the owner gets so frustrated because they don’t know where to look. So before you know it the owners, along with the nice Realtor and the uncovered scope, are spending the night looking at the planets available. The planets are the neatest objects to look at with a small telescope or binoculars, if you just know where to look. I may have mentioned that already.
Now, it just happens to be one of the best times of the year to check out those planets. Look for Mercury on the 9th, 30 minutes after sunset along with a small crescent Moon and the planet Venus nearby. Great photo time. Then comes the big boys, Jupiter with its four large moons and Saturn and its rings. All can be seen with your small 3” scopes. And of course the bigger the equipment the more the sky will let you in to see. But you have to take the time and get to know the surrounding of the heavens above, no matter what size your equipment is. Have I said that already? So tonight when you get home from work, try dusting off that covered scope and give it another try. Oh yes, maybe you should try learning the night skies first. Just a thought.
If you have followed my articles at all in the past, you would have noticed, along with myself, that I seem to enjoy going back in time. Not sure if it is my way of trying to relive my life again or what. Now, if I could pick the time and dates myself, I would do it in a heartbeat.
All right, here we go; we are traveling back in time to the mid Fifties on Christmas day. We end up in a Christmas decorated living room of 340 Hawkins Street. There, my Mother is standing next to our Christmas tree along with my fully erected 3” refractor telescope. Oh, by the way, Mother can’t see or hear us. Hay, there are rules I have to follow here. This is the point where I grab the new scope and run out side. And I stay there all day and most of the night. The best part of this true story was what I saw that night really got me going. If I wasn’t hooked on Astronomy before then, I sure was by that night.
What a night to start off my new hobby. The things that the sky showed me that night were unbelievable. Among others were; Orion, and its Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, Gemini the twins, and Taurus the Bull, I remember it as if it were yesterday. But what really stood out to me that night was the planets. I look back and think how fortunate I was to see the planets; Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus on my very first night of viewing the hevens. To say I was excited is putting it mildly. Each time I found another planet or something else exciting, I would hurriedly run into the house telling my parents; you have to come out here and see this, it’ great. Well, after four or five times of running into the house they would tell me “that’s great Son, I’m sure it’s beautiful”. It was obvious that they didn’t have the same excitement running through their veins as I did. Oh, well, their loss. And what I took for granted was the fact that we were in the middle of downtown Hollister and the skies were absolutely gorgeous, something that you just don’t see in our night skies now, especially in downtown Hollister. With all the light pollution these days, we are lucky to see the Moon. (Exaggerating somewhat there)
O.K. it’s time to say goodbye to my Mother and what we now call the good ole days, and get back to reality, back to our not so clear skies. Thanks for going along with me. I hope I got my point across; planets are the best, even in a small 3” telescope.
Last night my friend, an astronomer enthusiast, Ron and I entertained what seemed like around 200 Girl Scouts at the Historical Park just south of Tres Pinos. I may be off just a little bit with the count. Maybe it was more like 45. We had our scopes all set up ready for them, and here they came. I haven’t seen so much excitement and noise in, well maybe ever. It was exciting for us to see their responses to the views of Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings for the first time. And to top the night off, one of the girls received, you guessed it, a 3” refractor telescope that Ron gave away. Does this story start to sound a little familiar now? As they left, the winner’s Father was holding on to the scope very tightly, giving me the feeling that his daughter may never get the chance to use it. Mine, mine.. I’m sure he will share. I’m not sure if I ever did.
Everyone seemed to have a good time. Ron and I always hope that our efforts just might get some of these girls interested in the sciences and one day would receive their own telescope from Mommy, I mean Santa. We would like to thank the caretakers of the park for allowing us to set up our telescopes and the parents that were brave enough to withstand two nights of all the young girls’ enthusiasm. As a parent long ago I have forgotten what it was like having young children around, certainly not 200 of them.
As the girls moved on to their designated sleeping bags, and Ron and I were all packed up and leaving, I looked over my shoulder and thought I noticed something in the dark background. It’s not every day in the month of August you get to see your deceased Mother standing next to a lit Christmas tree. Maybe she was telling me to keep up the good work with the kids. She is the one who should be thanked for starting all this, back in the good ole days. Or maybe it was just my vivid imagination working on me again. Of course that sighting never happened (or did it?) but it would have made a great ending to a movie. Based on a true story. Coming to the State Theater soon.
So let’s get those hidden telescopes out of hiding and take a look at some of those planets before they vanish from the skies for another six months. If you need help getting re-acquainted with your equipment I would be more than happy to ……send Ron out to help you with that. That’s the least I can do.
Thanks Ron… Clear skies…..
Up and coming events for September:
Sept. 06: New Moon
Sept. 08: Moon passes 7 degrees north of Mercury
Sept. 09: Moon passes4 degrees north of Venus
Sept. 11: The Moon is at perigee (228,951 miles from Earth
Sept. 13: First Quarter Moon
Sept. 16: Moon passes 4 degrees south of Saturn
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