Looking to the sky…………….no the moon isn’t made of cheese!
I watched a program on TV a few weeks ago about a guy called John Dobson who founded an organisation in the US called the “Sidewalk Astronomers” in 1968. Dobson invented a mount on which he sets his Newtonian Dobson Reflector Telescope. He carries the mount and telescope around the streets, setting it up on the footpath and inviting passers by to stop and “look at the moon”.
It was an amazing program about a man who is incredible knowledgable about the planets, the universe and the moon and yet is happy to share his knowledge with people from all walks of life FOR FREE. Not only does he provide access for people WHERE they are, but he runs classes and teaches people how to make the telescopes.
Why am I telling you all this???? No, I’m not on the payrole for Dobson, but I was spoilt by my beloved and presented with a Bintel BT 152 Dobsonian Reflector Telescope for my birthday and have spent every night since in the backyard looking at the amazing surface of the moon. I always had a bit of a “thing” for the moon and must say I leave crystal bottles of water out under the full moon each month (and yes…….it tastes much better), but when you look at it through the telescope it is AWESOME. You can see every crater, the seas, the mountains and it looks like you could just reach out and touch it!
The night before last I saw the ‘variable, multiple’ star ‘Sirius’, a huge white orb flashing red, blue, green in the lense of the telescope. It looked like a light on a Christmas tree! Considering that it is millions of light years away from earth, it’s a miracle to be able to access it like it was at the end of the street.
I am now eagerly awaiting the big planets to rise above the horizon here in the Southern Hemisphere so I can finally get a close up view of my favourite planets Venus and Jupiter!
Isn’t it amazing that we can now see what the Greek astronomers could only dream about. Thanks to the work and committment of John Dobson, I am able to access the stars up close and personal…………what a gift!