Jeff's got a new telescope. It's (as would befit the Williams' Clan) pretty high-tech, and funky, and once you get it calibrated so it can sit nice and level and can find Polaris, you can ask it nicely to find you all sorts of other galactic phenomena.
Last night was it's first outing, with Jeff and Stuart poring over the manual, and figuring out the how's and why's.
Nancy dropped by with her Star Laser, pointed out some of the major constellations, and suggested they go after the Ring Nebula in Lyra. Almost directly overhead in the Summer Triangle, this is one of the most stunning visuals you can pull into a telescope eyepiece.
More formally known as Messier 57, this nebula floats like a smoke ring just by the brightly shining Vega.
The summer triangle provides a rich hunting ground for telescopes, with the North American nebula sited just below and to the left of Deneb, and the Milky Way slicing through the Triangle. Scorpio is also high and bright, and Jupiter, rising a little late in the evening for some, of course brings its moons along for the ride.
Dark skies yield the most incredible displays of stars, unseen by city dwellers. Science now tells us that 75% of the 'civilized' world never sees stars less bright than those shining in the Big Dipper. What a shame. What a loss, not just to the eye but to the soul.
Turn out the lights. It's not just the planet you'll be saving...
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