Hieronymus Blogsch http://www.rjray.org rjray.org - Journal and Log for Randy J. Ray en Randy J. Ray (rjray@blackperl.com) Copyright Randy J. Ray Bad Planning Makes for Bad Stargazing http://www.rjray.org/hobby/astronomy/bad_planning.html I can't believe I haven't gotten around to writing about this before. I got a nice telescope a few years ago, when Mars was passing so close to Earth. The scope I got was the SkyView Pro™ 6LT EQ Reflector, from Orion Telescopes and Binoculars, the Cupertino location on De Anza. These guys were great– helpful to a fault long past the time I'd made my purchase. I went in, told them how much I had to spend, and they made sure I got the most telescope for the money I had to spend.

Anyway, so tonight I took it out on the balcony to try and get a good view of the Deep Impact mission's big moment– the collision of the projectile against the comet Tempel 1. But I didn't plan very well. For one thing, there is just too much light pollution, even in my quiet suburb. For another, I just didn't give myself enough time to be able to locate and fix on the comet.

So, on the plus side, I got some fantasic viewing of Jupiter and three of its moons. But I didn't manage to locate the comet. Barring more pressing matters, I think I'll try again tomorrow night to view the comet. I won't get to witness the impact, but I can at least view it for a bit. I'll try to give myself time to drive a ways down 17 towards Santa Cruz, so that I can get better viewing conditions.

]]> /hobby/astronomy Randy J. Ray 2005-07-04T09:46-07:00 I can't believe I haven't gotten around to writing about this before. I got a nice telescope a few years ago, when Mars was passing so close to Earth. The scope I got was the SkyView Pro™ 6LT EQ Reflector, from Orion Telescopes and Binoculars, the Cupertino location on De Anza. These guys were great– helpful to a fault long past the time I'd made my purchase. I went in, told them how much I had to spend, and they made sure I got the most telescope for the money I had to spend.

Anyway, so tonight I took it out on the balcony to try and get a good view of the Deep Impact mission's big moment– the collision of the projectile against the comet Tempel 1. But I didn't plan very well. For one thing, there is just too much light pollution, even in my quiet suburb. For another, I just didn't give myself enough time to be able to locate and fix on the comet.

So, on the plus side, I got some fantasic viewing of Jupiter and three of its moons. But I didn't manage to locate the comet. Barring more pressing matters, I think I'll try again tomorrow night to view the comet. I won't get to witness the impact, but I can at least view it for a bit. I'll try to give myself time to drive a ways down 17 towards Santa Cruz, so that I can get better viewing conditions.

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