“Life’s a beach!” “Do what feels good!” The energy to do, feel, hear….the rush of the moments or the pursuit of them captivates lives. Sometimes the aims seem good, sometimes not. In the end, it’s so brief. We forget how narrow the band of life really is. Consider the sketch below. It is… Continue reading
Our summer “dog” days are hot and humid and typically cloudy. Observing nights are limited, but when they happen you learn to move quickly. July 31 was one of those nights–it was clear and calm for a few hours. I grabbed the little 80mm refractor that we use in astronomy… Continue reading
It is a most unlikely story when observing a beautiful object leads to a story of two men on two continents who have never met. But that is exactly what this post introduces. The whole affair started simply enough: observe M51, which is a beautiful spiral galaxy in the Northern… Continue reading
When I observe in a southern location it is a treat for me because the southern celestial sphere is not always available to me as far south as I would like from my home state (Virginia). The sketch below shows two objects I intended to observe and sketch at the… Continue reading
We can observe things with multiple views. Observing the heavens is the same. It is not uncommon for us to return to objects with different equipment to study at object at different magnifications and under different conditions. Over the last few years we have studied and sketched the Pinwheel Galaxy.… Continue reading
