My vision got really bad a couple years ago, and I was really getting into amateur astronomy at that time, so naturally I got very frustrated. I could barely make out the Northern Cross and the stars of the Big Dipper! One thing I learned was don't take good vision for granted. (I have glasses now. )

Last week in Boy Scout summer camp, I went on an astronomy overnight campout with some of my patrol members. The view was unbelievable even with everyone shining their flashlights. It was my first view of the Milky Way, and I could see the Sagittarius cloud and the Cygnus Rift with ease. If my eyes were dark-adapted, it would have been even better. Unfortunately, there was a lot of Bad Astronomy.