So we just got in from doing a bit of stargazing. Tonight was the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower, so Fred asked me out on a midnight date, complete with hot peppermint tea and the propane heater, to see what we could see.
The answer, as it turns out, is not much...at least not of the Lyrids (for more detail: Lryids Drowned in Moonlight Fred's excited because we are now, "intrepid and stalwart"). However, we had a blast with our binoculars and the telescope that Fred's parents gave us as a wedding gift. We each saw a few meteors cruise through as well, and enjoyed using different lenses to view the moon.
To me, the coolest part is seeing the things that you CAN'T see normally. What we'd learned before we went out was that Lyra has a double star in the form of Epsilon, just off of Vega...I know; it was all Greek to me before I started reading more about it. Anyhow, Epsilon is a double star with binoculars and a quadruple star with a telescope. Awesome. Looking at the dipper is amazing - even with just the binoculars.
Anyway, it's the wee hours, but I thought I'd share the moment. It is truly awe inspiring to view the heavens using first your naked eye, and then progress to increasingly stronger lenses. For me, that begins with putting on my specs, and moving on from there. I feel like we discovered Lyra tonight, even though we had a meteor drizzle as opposed to a meteor shower. Mars is still hanging nice and red, although we seem to have lost Orion to the spring sky. Perhaps Fred will share with everyone the hilarious anecdote as to how astronomy maps had us both doubting ourselves on the basics of the compass!!
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