Not being able to sleep, I went outside around 2:30 AM and just looked up for a while.

Out here in the boonies the night sky can get really dark. The main stars of Sagittarius all looked like first magnitude (compared I guess to a memory of what they looked like when I lived close to urban areas). The Milky Way looked like a bright cloud formation stretching across the sky, with the Cygnus/Aquila split really obvious, and the galactic center above "the spout" shining brightly. I could just start to make out the North America nebula to one side of Deneb.

It didn't take but about five minutes before I saw a brilliant white meteor streaking from Cygnus through Lyra to the "head" of Ophiuchus. Its path appeared to classify it as an Omicron Draconid. A few more shot through the sky, but no bolides (darn!).

Two thoughts occurred during this viewing session. First, I wondered how many HBers who cook up their schemes have ever taken time to go out and enjoy the majesty of the night sky, and see, first hand, what is really happening "out there". It's not scary, it's beautiful and inspiring!

Second, I wondered how many amateur astronomers spend a good chunk of time doing this, just looking at the night sky and taking in its magnificence. I think there are a lot of us doing this, and just about all we see we understand. This would fly in the face of those HBers who claim that amateur astronomers don't count re what's going on in the sky, because they're looking at small fields of view.

Well, sometime we do, but I'd bet that just as often we're looking at wide fields of view offered by binoculars and our own eyes. And, except for just a few instances, what we see, we understand. But understanding doesn't prevent the view from being awesome and thrillingly beautiful.

Just a late night "observation".

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Just kidding, of course. When I went out at 1 a.m. for our nightly (manual) weather observation, I could barely see the brightest stars of Sagittarius and the Big Dipper. Vega was fairly bright overhead, though, and Arcturus was visible to the west. Stupid light pollution. :x

At least the sky is a lot darker at home, but it's still hard to see the Milky Way, even there.

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awesome and thrillingly beautiful

Agreed. Reading your post encouraged me to step outside for ten minutes -- it's now 1:26am. Seeing was not too good as there's a light frost, but there were Omega Centauri, SMC and LMC naked-eye sights. Crux and the pointers. Sagittarius's "teapot" about 10 degrees from my zenith; the Milky Way extending right across the sky from almost south to almost north. Magic!

After barely a minute outside a large, bright meteor streaked across the border between Capricornus and Sagittarius almost as if to say, "You came outside to appreciate the view -- here's one for you!"

I appreciate such sights more than I used to because a few years ago I got severe cataracts and through the worst eye couldn't even make out the splayed fingers of a hand unless the hand was dark and background light, or vice versa, and the other eye wasn't much better. To get near-perfect sight back and see "my" stars again was a real gift!

For 20 years I've collected all the photos I could and made up scrapbooks, and I never bother with a telescope because I know that the view I'd get could never touch those beautiful photos. Now and then I get out binoculars to study the moon or look for Jupiter's four biggies, but much of my viewing is just spent with naked-eye, and unceasingly being awestruck by the beauty of it.

I often wish that others appreciated what I so often do.

Man, where do you live Maksutov?!? When i was in Arizona last week it was like that (on the nights when the full moon was later), but back here in Florida I'm lucky if I see much of anything. :x

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.

I don't think I've ever seen the Milky Way anywhere but in photographs.

I do this quite a bit and living "out in the boonies" really gives you a quality that "city folks" can only imagine. Usually, I go on the roof in order to see above the tree line easier but recently I've been going out into the middle of the pond our property borders. Plenty of deep woods "Off" and a nice canoe ride doubles for some star gazing...there's nothing better!

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*jealous and fristrated*

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My mother-in-law has a cabin in the Poconos. For someone like me who lives in one of the worst suburban locations on the planet for night sky viewing (between Washington and Baltimore), it's absolutely breathtaking. The Milky Way is easily visible, there are so many stars that I can barely recognize anything, and there's such a variety of brightness among the stars that the sky looks three-dimensional.

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Here, you have just as great a chance to see the Milky Way as you were to win the lottery and get hit by a meteor on the same day.

Tho its not bad, i can go out on any given clear night and see a few meteros and constellations ive already 'mapped' myself and try to piece together the ones i havent, but also the light pollution is so bad, Crater and the other dim constellations are a lost cause. (Hercules is barly visible :-? )

That has to be corrected. You just have to get out under dark skies. Even if there were no Milky Way, the number of stars under dark skies is mind boggling.

I was thinking about this very thing the other night. Even though I have a great night window and do see a lot, I sooo wish there wasn't light pollution. It seems there are so few stars visible most nights. Sigh.....

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I'm in the hills of Northern Mississippi, not too far from Tennessee.

There are no metropolitan centers of any import around here. Therefore no air or light pollution. Being in the hills means you're typically above what's down in the valleys and the Delta. Usually just after a cold front comes through, the skies are amazingly transparent and dark. Poor seeing is typically when the humidity is really high and the skies get hazy.

Funny you would mention Arizona. Strangely the skies here remind me of when my girlfriend and I spent about a week at the Grand Canyon. The most memorable astronomical experience was going to an overlook on a road that was a left about a half-mile before Yaqui Point. We were 7200' above sea level. This was where the park rangers used to have their "Starry Skies” programs before moving them to Mather Point.

The most stars I've ever seen without optical aid. Plus the frequency of satellite passages was remarkable. Nice simple program, just bring a flashlight and something (or someone) to keep you warm. The ranger then instructed those that needed to know how to adapt one's flashlight into a light source that wouldn't ruin your night vision. The red filter material was supplied by the ranger.

Here's a picture and an artist's impression of Yaqui Point during the day.

8)

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Inspiring post. I have been ultra busy lately with work and having my oldest daughter for a little more than a month.

I have access to our club's 16 inch Dob and have tried to get my daughter out there, but mother nature has not co-operated at all. Hopefully soon the skies will clear up for us before 0300-0400 and we can spend some time together gazing.

Some of my fondest memories involve her and I going for "store runs" that deterred us 20 miles from the Phoenix suburb we lived in. We would go out into the desert, I would open the moon roof and set her on the opening's edge while I poked my head through and we would look at the stars and moon together for 10-15 minutes, sometimes talking, sometimes just looking. My Ex never could understand why we liked going to the store at night or appreciate the moments. *shrug*

Well work beckons, great post again, it's doubled my resolve to get her out before she goes back to AZ.

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