Observing opportunities often come in pairs: a good evening for observing is often followed by a good morning for observing. In this late March evening it was very cold but the sky was still and steady. I was not intending a morning period of observing at first, but the scope was up, the air was dry, and it was calm, so I observed a little barred galaxy near Ursa Major, covered my gear, had a short night of sleep, and woke to observe the waning moon near dawn.
Stillness in the soul is a precious commodity. This paired-observing period reminded me of its value. I started the session in a hurried way but settled my heart–thanking the Lord for an opportunity to see His heavens. It is worth remembering that we only see a day once–whether we waste it, worry ourselves through it, let it get sucked away on useless things, pursue the wrong things in it, or commit it to Him. While observing periods are not not essential to life, I often learn through them as I see what He has made and ponder the work of His magnificent hand. This paired evening-dawn observing made me freshly sensitive to the value of a day’s passage. He does not let us live it again. And, the arrival of dawn, which is a direct product of His handiwork as he created and set the Solar System characteristics, reminds us of His mercy: we get to see another day. Even the scriptures speak often of dawn. God knew how beautiful (and representative) they would be.
With this in view, the first sketch below shows NGC 4236. The Dobsonian provided enough light gathering, when coupled with the astro video camera, to show some shape–namely the ‘bar” that marks the center area and a little of the “wings” of the spirals at the ends of the bar.
I woke a little late. The early dawn sky was already apparent. By the time I was aiming the scope for the waning moon a layer of cirro-stratus was approaching. I only had a few minutes to start on the Kepler crater and outline some detail of the rays before the image on the screen was pretty soft. The sketch shows as far as I got before the clouds had obscured too much of the detail to proceed.
Kepler is a popular sketching target for those who study the moon’s surface but I had never had a chance to sketch it. The deteriorating sky conditions along with the use of astro video on the telescope highlighted the changes the surface but hid the finer detail that would normally be seen. It was a short but enjoyable 15 minutes. At this point the observing periods would seem to have been concluded but I stepped outside to face the dawn light to find a gentle picture of ribbons of cirro-stratus that were lighted by the rising sun. It reminded me of a favorite scripture:
If I arise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your right hand will guide me…
PSALM 139:9-10a
I ran to get a camera since I knew that the soft colors would change rapidly. By this time the moon was almost fully obscured by clouds, but the morning colors on the clouds were very nice.
The end of the same Psalm has a pointed ending–pointed because it causes the reader to consider the seriousness of a relationship with God.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
My period of observing was over but it was a fitting way to end with words that help set the tone for a new day.
