Star Gazer

 Early last month before my ‘sick’ really knocked me down, Himself and I stopped by a yard sale in our area.  We don’t get many close yard sales because we are so far out… most people get with a friend in town and have a combined sale.

 

Anyway, this family was having the sale to prepare for moving out to California.  They were serious about getting rid of stuff.  One of the things they had was a nice refractor telescope that they wanted just $25 for!  (I looked it up once we got home and it goes for about $150!)  Needless to say, I jumped on it!

 

 

It sat waiting until one day I was feeling pretty good yet tired.  I decided that putting it together would be an easy task I could do from the couch.

 

 

Hmmmm…  Which way did that fit on?

 

 

There were a million parts!  Well, maybe not quite a million but enough to be confusing.

 

 

Let’s see… part B395 fits into part X4261…

 

 

What’s this darn thing supposed to look like again??

 

 

My poor fever-addled brain wasn’t taking it in very fast.  I should have taken a nap before tackling this…

 

 

THAT is supposed to help?!?!

 

 

Does that work…?

 

 

That project is finished at last!! 

 

A week or so later we had a chance to use it for the first time when Saturn put on a show.  We went up the hill to our favorite sky viewing spot by the cow pasture.  There we saw Jupiter and 4 moons, and Saturn with its rings facing out perfectly!  Fun!

 

I don’t have a camera attachment so I tried just holding my little point-and-shoot up to the eye piece.  Terrible pictures… but you get the idea.  We could see the planets WAY better than the photos show!

 

 

Jupiter is the big bright spot on the upper right and one of the moons is the little bright spot in the lower left.

 

 

Saturn.  You can kinda see the shape at the top part of the ‘blur’. 

 

 

(A thank you to Himself who happily snapped photos of his frustrated wife as she put this thing together!)