Last night I spent some time on my patio working and reading.

I’ve shared the video here because I think this is an incredible video. The visuals that we are getting back from the space program lately are incredible. And now that they are taking photos in a time-lapsed fashion, stitching them together and sharing them in HD video format – we’re able to see celestial events in ways no other age of mankind has been able to. This is a trend NASA has set over nearly the last half-century.

Here is the description of the video from the HubbleSite Web site:

“This movie shows Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, as it ducks behind the giant planet. Astronomers combined a series of images taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 aboard NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to make the 18-second movie. The 540 movie frames were created from Hubble images taken over a two-hour period on April 9, 2007.”

Source: Hubble Catches Jupiter’s Largest Moon Going to the ‘Dark Side’.
Credits: NASA, ESA, E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona), and G. Bacon (STScI)

Source: Jupiter, Venus, and Earth’s Moon are BFFs.

Date taken: July 18, 2008 | Seneca Lake Marina in Watkins Glen, New York at night.

Date taken: May 18, 2008 – 10:24pm EST – The moon, as seen from northeastern Pennsylvania.

I found this as I was rifling through a few of my photos that I haven’t yet imported into my photo library.  Getting a photo of the moon without the proper equipment is extremely frustrating.  The awe-inspiring view of the moon on this night, led me to run back upstairs after taking out the garbage to get my camera and tripod, and this photo does not do that view any justice.

One day, you will visit this site and see a photo of the moon that will take your breath away.  I promise.

So glad I took my telescope out for a few minutes. Really nice weather and a clear sky for a good look at the moon.

My telescope

Last night the moon was nearly full and the sky was crystal clear. So I decided to take my Meade 114 eq-asb telescope that Eliza bought me for our seventh wedding anniversary out for a spin to do something relatively simple; look at the surface of the moon.

At least I thought it would be easy. The moon being the nearest celestial object to Earth one would think it would be easy to zone in on it, look at its surface, and get back inside. Not when you have no idea how to properly use your telescope it would seem.

I did manage to see a little bit of what I wanted but I really need to start taking this telescope thing much more seriously. Here is a photo I took of the moon last night that really does not do any justice for the brilliance of the moon. As with all good things in life, using a telescope takes time and effort to master – and I look forward to trying again on the next clear night.

Oh, on a somewhat related note I read over on Wil Wheaton’s blog today that a free eBook is available called What’s Up – 365 Days of Skywatching which gives you a quick, easy, and printable reference of the night sky for each day of the year for 2007. Brilliant.

If you have any other tips, tricks, or resources that you’ve found useful – please feel free to pass them along. I’d love to get better at using my telescope so that it is much more enjoyable and less frustrating next time.