Last February I found myself getting up nearly every morning before dawn to find the comet ZTF with my 10×50 binoculars. I did eventually find it, and was able to show it to my wife once it had become visible in the evening sky, but afterward found myself wanting a telescope again.
I had a few telescopes back in the 1990s, the largest of which was a Meade Starfinder 8” Newtonian reflector on a German equatorial mount. I loved that scope! I remember seeing, among other things, the face of Jupiter after comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into it with a train of icy chunks. It left dark stains on the surface of the planet that I could even see from my backyard! (I wish I still had that telescope.)
I lots of other cool stuff, too, but alas, eventually life in all its various changes and challenges pressed in and I got away from amateur astronomy. I even sold the Starfinder and all its accessories, relegating myself to binocular observations only.
But then came comet ZTF and the stargazing bug bit me once again. This time I thought I would be happy with something only a little bigger in aperture than my 10x50s. I found a used Meade 90mm ETX and it was exactly what I was after. It can be set up as an Alt-Az or EQ mount, and it even has a Right Ascension motor to track objects in the sky. So far, the faintest object I’ve been able to see with the scope is Bode’s Galaxy (M81, 7th magnitude) from dark country skies, and that’s not bad for such a small scope with no computer tracking (at least for me). I’m not pursuing astrophotography at this time, but I did try my luck with the Moon. I also got a few detailed charts of the Moon and the constellations so I have plenty of objects for which to search and keep me occupied.
Love of astronomy has always fueled my love of science fiction. I can gaze out into space and let my mind wander. I wrote the first drafts of Mariner Valley and Seed of Aldebaran back when I was seeing Mars’ albedo markings and polar ice caps and the North America nebula with my Starfinder. For me, stargazing and sci-fi go hand in hand.
As is often the case, within a few months of acquiring my 90 ETX I came down with a severe case of aperture fever. I wanted to see more! But that is a subject for another post. Until then, have a look at some first attempts to photograph the Moon, and thanks for checking in!
Novels by James Crawford –
Mariner Valley – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0141N9UXO
Seed of Aldebaran – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SHXTRMP
AlCent Sagas Book One: Formation – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ5C3TQT
AlCent Sagas Book Two: Revelation – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2FRH6Q8
AlCent Sagas Book Three: Investigation – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5SBFYMW
AlCent Sagas Book Four: Desperation – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8767LHL
AlCent Sagas Book Five: Confrontation – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9PPTX6G
A Noble Paradise – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QG6LZ10
Cover artist Wojtek Kapusta – https://www.artstation.com/kapucha76
Audible narrator Lyle Blaker – https://www.acx.com/narrator?p=AXZPXFQRN07M3
james crawford 