Monday, April 15, 2002
Yesterday we bought a telescope in a garage sale. It is a 1220mm × 82.5mm refractor on an equatorial mount with 12mm, 18mm and 25mm eyepieces and solar filters (made from left over material from the Pioneer space project). It was made 40 years ago by a Lockheed Martin engineer, who is now selling it because at 75 he finds it too heavy to lift — and it is heavy! I hope I can use it for as long as he did.
I set it up last night, and observed the very new crescent moon, Jupiter and Saturn. When I had my own telescope 30 years ago I observed the rings of Saturn more than once, but I never saw the moons of Jupiter before. There were three moons clearly visible, and we could just make out some of the bands in Jupiter's atmosphere.
Saturn was even more impressive than I remembered it, with the rings more clearly visible.
I need to do a lot of homework &mdash I have forgotten almost everything I knew on the subject.
