Saturn through my 8 inch dob at 4am really stuck with me

Last winter I was out in my backyard around 4am trying to catch Saturn before sunrise. My fingers were numb and I almost packed it in twice. Then this older guy from down the street walked over with his coffee mug and said "you know, I saw that ring gap through a 6 inch scope back in 73 and never forgot it." He just stood there quiet while I got the focus dialed in. When I finally got a sharp view of the rings, he nodded and walked back home. Has anyone else had a random stranger say something that made a cold night worth it?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_wright9d ago

funny you mention that, i actually read this article a while back about how the rings of Saturn look through different sized scopes. apparently there's this thing called the "Cassini division" that's way easier to spot in bigger dobs but a total headache to find in smaller ones. i bet that old dude in 73 was probably using a cheap 6 inch scope and still got blown away by the view. it's wild how someone's random comment can just stick with you like that, especially when you're freezing your butt off. i had a similar thing happen once when a guy told me "the best views are the ones you almost give up on" and i swear it changed how i approach every cold night session now.

diana558d ago

You know what nobody talks about with that quote? It's that the best views are literally the ones you almost give up on because your gear is failing you. I had a 4.5 inch newtonian that would fog up every ten minutes no matter what I did. One night I was about to pack it in when the clouds parted and I caught Jupiter's great red spot through a smear of dew. That one second made the whole stupid fight worth it. Makes you wonder how many amazing things people miss because they give up too early, right?