This summer, I was not as diligent about getting out to view the night sky with my telescope as I was last year.  I realized that something was missing, that there was a reason the sky didn't have the same allure as before: Jupiter was not out when I could view it this summer.  Last year, I spent countless nights just staring at this beautiful planet and looking for its moons.  As fall arrived, Jupiter again appeared in my evening sky when I could easily spot it at a reasonable hour.  That was motivation enough.  I got out my telescope a couple times recently and was able to once again enjoy the splendor of this gas giant.  What’s more – I even found a better way to take a photograph through my telescope!  While not as nice of an image as you’d get from a “real” telescope or a “real” camera that could actually connect to it, I don’t think this is bad for a small point and shoot aimed carefully through a tiny eyepiece!  Here’s what I was able to get on the first night:

You can see four of Jupiter’s moons in this picture.  These are called its “Galilean” moons, since Galileo Galilei was the one to discover them.  They are the four largest of Jupiter’s many (at least 64) moons and they are often visible right along with the planet through a small telescope.  It’s fun to see them all in a line.

Once I realized that I was getting better at using my camera through my telescope, I decided to turn my eye piece to the moon.  We had a waxing gibbous moon that was brilliant and splendid!  I learned a couple more tricks with my camera to capture some decent pictures.

Several nights later I wanted to try some different camera settings on Jupiter, and here’s what I was able to capture.

Something in me just stands in awe when I realize I am staring at a whole planet, so far away, yet even some of its moons are visible.  It gives you a little bit of an idea of the sheer magnitude of both planet and moons.  You can't tell in the pictures, but through the telescope, you can actually make out some of the atmospheric bands around Jupiter.

For good measure, I captured some additional moon shots over a couple nights:

I was excited to see all of the hype created by the so-called “super moon” – even if there wasn’t anything drastically different to see.  I like it when the general population gets engaged in astronomy, as well as any opportunities to learn new things myself. 

This past Friday was one of the best clear night skies we’ve had in a while.  Winter tends to be very cloudy in West Michigan (and cold!), so I don’t get to enjoy the starry skies very often this time of year.  Because Friday night was not only clear, but also happened to be warm-ish, and a day before the rise of the super moon, I decided it was high time to get my telescope back out!  The moon was almost full, and was so bright.  It’s so cool to be able to see so many details of the lunar landscape through the telescope. 

I didn’t stop there, though.  I realized that Saturn was also visible in the night sky, not too far from the moon.  Last summer was the first time I’d ever picked out Saturn in the sky or seen it through a telescope.  It’s so far away, and it still looks tiny through my telescope, but it’s so amazing to see those rings!  There’s no mistaking Saturn for anything else – that’s for sure.  What I just learned, however, is that Saturn was on edge for the past two years, so you couldn’t see the broad array of its rings like you normally can.  Fortunately, that’s changed this year!  I have a feeling I will be coming back to Saturn often this year like I did Jupiter last year.  The night sky never ceases to fill me with wonder.

Okay, back to the Super Moon.  In case you missed all the hype, the moon was at its closest point to Earth (perigee), and also happened to be a full moon on Saturday.  It was the closest full moon we've seen since March of 1993.  It rose on Saturday evening, not too long after it turned dark.  It was really perfect timing.  It was also a pretty clear night, with just a bit of haze.  So, I tried to take some pictures with my camera.  Here are some of the better ones I ended up with:

I spend so much time looking at planets and stars, and often don’t take time to reflect on the splendor of our own moon.  It really can be quite beautiful.

As the weather warms up, I’m hoping to be able to get my telescope out on a regular basis and learn to identify some new things in the night sky.  I found a list of things to look out for this month, so I’m hoping to be able to spot some more of those shortly.  Primarily, I hope to be able to find Mercury – I’ve not been able to identify Mercury in the sky before.  I also learned that spring is a good time to spot galaxies – namely the Coma/Virgo Super Cluster, also known as the “Realm of Galaxies.”  After accidentally stumbling upon Andromeda last year, the idea of finding some other galaxies gets me excited!  It’s simply amazing and humbling when you realize the enormity of what you are looking at, and to know that God created it all and still cares deeply for each one of us.