Whenever I drag out my 8 inch dobsonian and have people look at the moon (they don’t care for the nebulae or andromeda, not very exciting unless you are already into those things), the one thing that always surprises them is just how often you need to move the telescope to stay in sight.
Having people watch the moon zip through the view is easily my favorite thing about sky watching.
This reminds me of one time at a camp on Maui when I looked up and saw a bright star near the half moon. We had been to this place multiple times so I knew the sky fairly wall and knew it wasn’t a star - had to be either Jupiter or Saturn, and it looked like the moon was getting closer. So I got out the little telescope I had brought along and sure enough, it was Saturn! After a while I watched the moon cover it and later it came out the other side. The people I was there with were fascinated. I kept having to jog the scope a little to keep it in view while we looked at it. I know these things are predicted way in advance but I hadn’t been aware of it - just happened to look up. It was one of my more memorable stargazing experiences.
Whenever I drag out my 8 inch dobsonian and have people look at the moon (they don’t care for the nebulae or andromeda, not very exciting unless you are already into those things), the one thing that always surprises them is just how often you need to move the telescope to stay in sight.
Having people watch the moon zip through the view is easily my favorite thing about sky watching.
True dat. Motor drives are awesome.
This reminds me of one time at a camp on Maui when I looked up and saw a bright star near the half moon. We had been to this place multiple times so I knew the sky fairly wall and knew it wasn’t a star - had to be either Jupiter or Saturn, and it looked like the moon was getting closer. So I got out the little telescope I had brought along and sure enough, it was Saturn! After a while I watched the moon cover it and later it came out the other side. The people I was there with were fascinated. I kept having to jog the scope a little to keep it in view while we looked at it. I know these things are predicted way in advance but I hadn’t been aware of it - just happened to look up. It was one of my more memorable stargazing experiences.