Star gazin'

[whitepe]

Re-reading some of these posts makes me want to get my
telescope out again.  One of the neatest things to look
at with a telescope in the summer sky is the bottom most star of the Northern Cross.  Actually it is not one star but is a binary star system named Albireo. I guarantee that the first time you look at it in a telescope it will take your breath away.
To the naked eye it is white, but in the scope you will
see two beautiful jewels, one blue and one orange.

At one time I had thoughts of putting up a dome in my front yard. I am still annoyed by the 307 foot radio tower that went up in 2002 that ruined my view of the sky to the north.
Complete with strobes at the top and half way up. It
makes my bedroom look like there is lightning outside.
When I bought this place in 1987, one consideration was to get a dark spot outside of Peoria for using my telescope.

Jeff's right about the night time sky in the U.P.   At present
absolutely no light pollution.  I have taken my telescope
to the U.P. several times. The scope is kinda neat for
spotting Great Lakes freighters coming through the
Mackinaw Straits.  Port Dolomite is just
down the road from my in-laws place.  Several times
I have conversed with wives of crewmen aboard freighters
as the ships were coming into Dolomite and the wives
had not been with their husbands for a couple of months.
Talk about emotions bubbling to the surface.
One fall a freighter was coming up empty from Detroit and
to save time they had de-ballasted before they had come
around into the straits from the east.  They were too high in
the water when the winds coming through the straits hit
them broadside.  They almost lost the ship and when they
finally got to Dolomite, several crew members resigned.
Sailors are a brave lot and my hat is off to the courage
of those folks.  

[Mark M]

Speaking or peeping toms - did you ever hear of the famous Finnlander peeping tom from the Yoo-P?
His name is Leukin Anapeekinen. Do you know him Chet  :D

[AtLast]

Here in Norther Michigan I have property in  a place called Indian River. My family regularly go there to " get away". Some of my MOST plesent memories that I share with my kids are the nights we would lay on a blanket and look at the stars. Up there its SOOOO beautiful...no light to glare out the stars. You can watch satillites tracking, shooting stars by the dozen, and to see the look on my kids faces and know they appreciate what they see. Probably the MOST fantastic thing I have ever see is the Aurora ....un BELIEVEABLE!!!...breath taking...sends the old shivers down the spine type thing...The first time they were old enuf...we would walk into a medow and Id have binoculors...Id tell them.." look up and see how many stars you see with just your eyes...than Id hand them the binocs....and their reaction...well lets just say we do it every year...

[Bigdogpc]

Light pollution is a problem where I am but I do occasionally get out the telescope and look up.  The Lord knew what he was doing when he give us all that sky and twinkles!