Amateur Astronomy with Binoculars and a Small Telescope

March 30, 2010 April 26, 2010

Photorealistic Image in Stellarium

Object: Moon

Site: Backyard

Seeing: Good

Transparency: 4

Type: Solar System Object

Size: 1.2 Degrees

Magnitude: -12.33

Constellation: Virgo

MagnificatioN: 10x

FOV: 4.8 Degrees

Observing Time: 10:30 pm – 10:35 pm

Notes: First time looking at the stars from the backyard since I purchased my binoculars, and this was also the first time I saw the Full Moon through binoculars, very exciting! First impressions: more than ever I realized that the moon was a chunk of rock and not some ethereal glowing body (as naked-eye perception would tell me)…I can imagine Galileo’s shock when he first looked at the Moon through his telescope very long ago. Even though I’ve been studying science since I was a child, and everywhere from books to my mind I know that the Moon is made of rock, it is a refreshing experience to actually see it for myself.  Binoculars bring out much more detail, and I could see many small irregularities in the whole circumference of the moon.  Curiously, it seems less bright through binoculars than with the naked eye.  Spica in the upper left (another Spring star).  A little background on Galileo.  An Italian astronomer in 17th century Europe, he is credited to be the first to use the telescope to look at celestial objects and played an integral role in the Scientific Revolution.  He did not invent the telescope, as commonly misinterpreted.  By observing irregularities in the moon, and sunspots on the sun, he put to rest the concept of perfect heavenly bodies– the moon and sun, he observed, were not perfect. By observing the moons of Jupiter orbiting around their planet, he confirmed that the Earth was not the Centre of Everything and had reason to support Copernicus’ heliocentric solar system model. This set off a political/religious dilemma, one that I won’t cover here.  If interested, a quick search on Google will undoubtedly quench your interest. This past year, 2009, was the International Year of Astronomy in honor of the 400th anniversary of Galileo first looking through his telescope to the stars, and the legacy he left behind for generations of astronomers to come.