|
Shortly after the renaissance of my visual astronomy the lunar occultation of Saturn took place (2019). At that time I posted a somewhat lyrical account of observing that event through the refractor. For some reason though I posted on Facebook rather than in the visual observation forum on this site. It would have been more apposite here though Nd many who would appreciate it probably never saw it.
So, perhaps slightly off my own topic I’ll reproduce it below as it gives a good flavour of why I prefer visual astronomy.
As most of my astronomical friends know, I have this year decided to focus entirely on visual astronomy and forgo the camera that has been permanently attached to my refractor for the past 13 years. Although you have nothing to show afterwards to fb friends and others, visual astronomy is intrinsically more visceral and of the moment and no event more so than last night’s majestic lunar occultation of the beautiful planet Saturn.
In the absence of a camera capturing the event the only personal record of what unfolded on a cold winter’s night in Brisbane available to me is the written word.
In an age where a picture paints a thousand words and a meme can replace an essay, how is it possible to capture the sheer majesty of the event in words? Well I believe you can and even if you can’t the thrilling awe of watching it happen before you leaves a memory etched into your brain long after the photos have had their moment of glory.
As work finished for the day I hurriedly negotiated the streets of Brisbane, bristling with other souls going about their business, each lost in personal events I can know nothing about; my aim was simple, get home as quickly as possible to set up the telescope because one of the greatest shows of the solar system was to commence at around 18:30 -not much time to be ready. The choice of ‘scope was easy, as wonderful as large dobsonians can be the 6” refractor was clearly the right choice because nothing, and I mean nothing is so capable of yielding the crisp, sharp perfection that high quality refractors are rightfully renowned for. The Newtonian design does a great job of corralling vast numbers of photons but too many of them are recalcitrant and escape the path intended for them and the result can be a softness of focus that leaves you frustrated and disappointed. Not so with the refractor. When made well none of the photons escape the telescope’s focus resulting in sharp edges and perfectly focused detail.
We take the mechanics of the movements of the moon and planets very much for granted today and yet men and women grappled for hundreds and even thousands of years to explain, mathematically, why the ‘wanderers’ apparent motion seems so arbitrary and independent. Our forefathers were actually far more attuned and accustomed to the importance of their movements than we are today.
Sat there, in my garden, I carefully selected my choice of eyepieces to place in the binoviewers and could immediately see the beautiful, lonely image of Saturn, surely one of the most awe-inspiring sights available to us from here on Earth. A whole world encapsulated in that small, but perfectly sharply focused gathering of photons, it’s importance only exaggerated by its proximity to the terminator of the moon -that part that separates night from day on our natural satellite. The terminator throws all the craters and valleys in to sharp relief as the sun’s rays dance between the crenellations.
Before my eyes the moon in its relentless orbit gradually swallowed the great planet. Unlike Earth, there is no atmosphere so you don’t see a gradual dulling of the light of the planet, it is more instant and shocking. Only during an occultation or an eclipse are you really confronted with the reality of the mechanics of the solar system. Normally you know it is moving but it is like watching the hour hand of a clock. During an occultation, for a moment, it’s movement becomes real, we can at last truly experience the orbit rather than simply understand it.
To witness such an event sends a tingle down your spine, you know you are watching the laws of physics and motion made real.
I urge everyone to step outside and take in the night sky and ponder the majesty that awaits you.
|