My (almost) first journey to the ends of the earth.. and beyond....!
My (almost) first journey to the ends of the earth.. and beyond....!
(The blog entry from Jan 14.. moved from my blog on spaces)
It has been three days since I got my telescope (Celestron astromaster 114). We already saw moon against the silhouette of trees at the end of our community boundary, and it looked marvelous. The serenity in moment was amazing, and I realised, how calm it was up there. That was my first look through my telescope, and after an initial fight with hundreds of rotating shafts on it, when I saw the moon, I could say, well it was worth it. No readings that day, no alignment logic, no nothing. It was simply a child's dream to see moon closely, close enough to say, hey it ain't as plain as we think. I believe, that dream was realised. My journey to the ends of the earth, and beyond, had just begun....!
The second day was quiet too cloudy in Charlotte and so, I only managed to focus my scope at the top of a distant tree. It looked beautiful. The stem with only a few leaves left looked thin, clean and sharp. I wondered, if I ever looked at a tree so closely, and against the background of soft clouds..!
Yet again, the day today was all the more cloudy. It was 6 degrees outside, and I had little hope to catch a glimpse of moon. But by the time I was home again after tea at a friend's place around 9:00pm, the sky looked so clear with well.. the smiling moon waiting to be explored. On with my jacket and winter cap, I sat in the darkness of my room adjusting the telescope to point the moon. Earlier in the day, I read a blog on how to's in amateur astronomy, and it talked about patience, humility and egoless nature while enduring this passion.. I believed, but had never experienced this. I never knew I would experience it no later than today.
After some 15-20 minutes of aligments and adjustments (yes, it took me that long!), I could see a sharp image of the smiling moon, inverted though (since I used my 10mm eyepiece and it gives inverted image!). I could see the complete circle of moon, with more than half under the shadow of the earth, and the remaining illuminated by the sunlight (didn't science books teach us that? :) I can tell that, it was one of those amazing glimpses of moon I ever saw, with dots spread all across the visible part. It was that moment, I took my first astronomical reading on telescope. One circle pointed marking between 12 and 13, and the other between 10 - 0 -10. I confess I still don't understand these, but it shouldn't be long before I begin to realise what I am upto. The feeling in itself is, simply, superb.
I spent the rest one hour tracking the moon as it neared my horizon, and once again, beginnning to get more and more faint with sleek silhouette of distant trees infront. Those moments were calm, patient, like a dream. The moon kept descending, and I kept rotating screws to keep it within my view, until it was gone for the day. For a moment or two, I saw somebody close to me sitting over one of those craters and smiling at me. The next moment, I was there too, talking and smiling along. Its kind of wierd, but thats what you want, don't you? Happiness, after all. I realised I have already spent almost 2 hours trekking through my telescope. I wonder how difficult it had been for me in months to sit so patiently on a chair for two really long hours. Today was different though. I am happy as I start to persue the most favorite and most awaited of my hobbies. This journey beyond the realms of earth looks to be more and more interesting, educating, and rewarding in days to come. Holding the telescope with tenderness of a child's dream, I await, moments of perfect tranquility aboard this journey... where I learn, listen, sing and dance to the tune of space and the music of twinkling stars.
The second day was quiet too cloudy in Charlotte and so, I only managed to focus my scope at the top of a distant tree. It looked beautiful. The stem with only a few leaves left looked thin, clean and sharp. I wondered, if I ever looked at a tree so closely, and against the background of soft clouds..!
Yet again, the day today was all the more cloudy. It was 6 degrees outside, and I had little hope to catch a glimpse of moon. But by the time I was home again after tea at a friend's place around 9:00pm, the sky looked so clear with well.. the smiling moon waiting to be explored. On with my jacket and winter cap, I sat in the darkness of my room adjusting the telescope to point the moon. Earlier in the day, I read a blog on how to's in amateur astronomy, and it talked about patience, humility and egoless nature while enduring this passion.. I believed, but had never experienced this. I never knew I would experience it no later than today.
After some 15-20 minutes of aligments and adjustments (yes, it took me that long!), I could see a sharp image of the smiling moon, inverted though (since I used my 10mm eyepiece and it gives inverted image!). I could see the complete circle of moon, with more than half under the shadow of the earth, and the remaining illuminated by the sunlight (didn't science books teach us that? :) I can tell that, it was one of those amazing glimpses of moon I ever saw, with dots spread all across the visible part. It was that moment, I took my first astronomical reading on telescope. One circle pointed marking between 12 and 13, and the other between 10 - 0 -10. I confess I still don't understand these, but it shouldn't be long before I begin to realise what I am upto. The feeling in itself is, simply, superb.
I spent the rest one hour tracking the moon as it neared my horizon, and once again, beginnning to get more and more faint with sleek silhouette of distant trees infront. Those moments were calm, patient, like a dream. The moon kept descending, and I kept rotating screws to keep it within my view, until it was gone for the day. For a moment or two, I saw somebody close to me sitting over one of those craters and smiling at me. The next moment, I was there too, talking and smiling along. Its kind of wierd, but thats what you want, don't you? Happiness, after all. I realised I have already spent almost 2 hours trekking through my telescope. I wonder how difficult it had been for me in months to sit so patiently on a chair for two really long hours. Today was different though. I am happy as I start to persue the most favorite and most awaited of my hobbies. This journey beyond the realms of earth looks to be more and more interesting, educating, and rewarding in days to come. Holding the telescope with tenderness of a child's dream, I await, moments of perfect tranquility aboard this journey... where I learn, listen, sing and dance to the tune of space and the music of twinkling stars.
posted by Pranay @ Sunday, November 30, 2008
