Tuesday, May 5, 2009

An Evening Under the Stars



As some of you may be aware, Astronomy Day was last Saturday. After reading Hale's blog, my son and I decided to take advantage of this event and go to the Modine-Benstead Observatory in Yorkville. We had a great time. My son was AMAZED! We saw up close view of the moon on the telescope in the main building. (see top pic) In the other dome, we saw Saturn and it's glorious rings, through the telescope in the second pic. There were many amateur astronomers outside with telescopes of many different sizes and shapes! All open for viewing.
Again, my son was amazed. He didn't want to leave. On the way out, we saw a shooting star. What do you think we wished for? :)

8 comments:

Beejay said...

How wonderful that must have been.

I was sitting outside on my lanai watching the moon tonight and wishing I had a telescope...Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll have one tomorrow...it is only a day away!

hale-bopp said...

Yep, I know those two telescopes well.

Take the plunge, Beejay...Wolf Camera in Sarasota or Scopetronix in Fort Myers are the places to go down there.

OrbsCorbs said...

I'm glad that your son liked it, drew. I was out there once years ago. I had a great time.

kkdither said...

I was out there many, many moons ago. Got eaten alive my mosquitoes. Good for you to take the initiative to go out. Wish I would have been with you, drew. I sure would have liked to see the rings of Saturn.

Beejay said...

Hale, I think I may have to....too many things I can see from here in the sky. I don't have as much city light clutter as most places...only one street light on my road! And that one is not near my joint. Thanks for the info.

Bar L. said...

I'm glad you had such a wonderful experience to share with your son. Those telescopes are WILD! I have never seen Saturn's rings but its on my list of things to do someday :)

drewzepmeister said...

Thank you everybody, for your kind comments! I think everybody once in their lifetime visit an observatory and see the stars!

Beejay said...

Hale, let me ask you...what price range should I look in...I want a good one, but not break the bank.