Saturn and Venus are visible again, if only one knows how to see them. As a service to my fellow CMASers, I am posting details of how proper clothing aids in seeing these old friends.
Rising in the early morning darkness for no publishable reason, I happened to spy a glaring globe in the sky through the window in the stairhall. “Venus,” I thought to myself. “Must be. It’s brighter than Jupiter, which set through the trees at bedtime.” GoSkyWatch, the fastest loading astronomy software on my iPod Touch, showed that not only Venus, but also Saturn would be visible a bit higher in the sky, hidden in the treetops. Glorious Saturn, hidden from our hemisphere for six long months! Being a balmy 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside with no wind chill, I resolved to step outside to the shore of the lake for a better view.
Time was of the essence, as the brightening twilight would soon obscure the prizes. After warming my overboots by the pellet stove, I pulled them over my slippers. Then, I zipped my ice fishing coat over my pajamas, grabbed the Meade TravelView 12×50 binoculars and Celestron FirstScope 3″ Dob, and headed outside.
I was perfectly warm, but if not taking the time to dress for public appearances let me see my quarry, optics still mattered. Both instruments exhibited enough coma to hide the objects, so I ran inside for my Jason / Towa 60mm refractor (available for $50 to $125 used, or, from what I can see, $2,000 new old stock from Parks Optical). Took just the one Owl Astronomy Black Knight 25mm Super Plossl that was already attached (highly recommended! don’t be put off by the low price), but… Saturn had already vanished into the increasing sunlight. Venus was nevertheless perfect, sharply revealing herself to be about three-quarters full. Gotta love grab-and-go antique scopes with modern oculars!
The lesson for me was to always dress warmly, if not stylishly, and never to skimp on optics. Cheap binoculars and rich field scopes are fine for discerning fields of dim stars, but are ill suited for planetary work. Had I grabbed the larger Jason the first time out, I’d have seen Saturn’s rings. No biggie. I’ve had months to study Jupiter, and look forward to soon being able to see Saturn for months and months at more convenient hours.
