Once we got home I did laundry and decided that last night would be a great night to go to the campground's observatory for their free star gazing show for resident campers. They charge to the public if not camping here. Little did we know that Butterfield RV Resort (where we are) is the only campground in the US that has an observatory within the park. People are now coming from all over to camp one night to see the show. Sad for them if they come and it's cloudy, or the moon is out - too bright to see other constellations, or windy (the opening of the observatory cannot handle the stress). The show started at 7pm. Had to dress warm since the top of the building opens up to the sky. As the gentleman set up each viewing - we took turns gazing into the telescope - he gave us background as to what we were viewing, how far away (trillions of light years), saw various constellations outside our universe, viewed open cluster (bunches of stars), a closed cluster where gravity held the planets together, a dying star and a new star, and other views, then got the wowed at the very end. We saw Jupiter and it's four main moons through the telescope. Jupiter is the brightest star you see at night and right now it is rising out of the south at dusk. Here's what it looks like - not our picture but from the internet.... And this picture doesn't do it justice - there are two bands of gray around the planet that we could see. While I was up and viewing through the scope I saw a shooting star but was told that in all likeness, it was probably a satellite. Still, pretty cool.
Pretty special day - how many of you all have been to an observatory and looked directly through a telescope into outer space? Seen a new planet beginning or one that was dying?
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