throwback thursday: moon shots

This photo was taken by my dad, with his 35mm camera attached to his telescope in the late '60s, early '70s. He actually made his telescope himself, even grinding the mirrors.

These photos were taken by me four years ago, by holding my iPhone up to my telescope's (25mm) lens.

the moon is outside my window again ...

... and Jupiter was hovering brightly, earlier. It's exactly the sort of moment I'd like to, I used to, share with my cousin Ann. She was enamored of all the wonders—animal, vegetable and mineral—the earth could offer. And now that we are transplanted here in Florida, so far from where we used to live, so close to her, in Washington, D.C., it would be a perfect way for us to connect—staring up at a shared sky.

I wish I could tell her. About the moon, the move, and everything else that's on my mind. But Ann died four months ago and the only way to hear her voice might be to try her old cell number. But they've probably disconnected that. I can hear her soft voice in my head if I try. And I can at least write down some of what I'd tell her, some of what I'm feeling, as I navigate this new, Ann-less world. I know she's listening.

jupiter, by jove!

Since we have moved to Florida, the night sky has been so much more visible than in our former city digs. I stayed up late and watched the Perseids last month and have been enjoying getting reacquainted with the night sky.

So I decided that one of my birthday presents to myself would be a telescope from Costco. It came with two lenses, one 25mm and the other 9mm. The past few nights have been a little windy (thanks to Hurricane Igor), almost too windy to keep the telescope steady, but I have been dragging it out onto the porch and catching some great glimpses of the moon.

But spurred on by the news of the proximity of the planet Jupiter to the moon this week, last night was a real treat. Thanks to my iPad Star Walk app I have been keeping track of the very visible Jupiter all month. But Monday night was really extraordinary. I was able to see a line on the planet when I put in the (larger magnification) 9mm lens as well as its four moons, all in a row.


Inspired by my dad, I then took my stargazing to the next level. My amateur astronomer father let us stay up late when we were kids to watch an eclipse or meteor shower on a telescope that he had constructed himself—well, actually my brother and I had already conked out on the couch, so he had to wake us up so we could see them. He also had a camera attachment for his telescope and took some amazing moon photos. i decided to give lunar photography a try myself. Carefully folding back the telescope lens's rubber eyepiece, I held my iPhone up to the lens and voila!

I was actually able to capture the largest planet (and its four moons), albeit tiny, in photos.

But where I was really pleasantly surprised was the quality of photos my iPhone took of the moon. The telescope can capture the ridges and shadows on the moons surface, but I never expected my iPhone to be able to as well.


I think it's safe to say that I'm over the moon at the moment ...

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the old man would have loved this

I just loaded the Star Walk app to my iPad and it is so cool. You hold it up to the night sky after allowing it to access your geographical location and it loads up the stars, planets, whatever you want to see. You can also see what astronomical events are on the horizon. I wish I had this last month when I was watching the Perseids late at night on the balcony.

But more importantly, I wish the old man was around to enjoy programs like this. He was an amateur astronomer who turned professional for while in the late sixties/early seventies, with his own business that made and sold telescope mirrors, Cavex Precision Optical.

Photo of the moon, c. 1967, taken by Joseph Francis Periale, with a telescope he built himself—including mirrors he polished.

My dad built his own large telescope and outfitted it with a camera attachment. He used to set it up on clear nights and photograph the moon. Neither the business of Cavex nor the amateur astronomy fad lasted for my dad and he soon went back to his regular profession as a newspaper reporter. But he continued his stargazing and kept the telescopes he had built. One of my fondest memories was a Halloween night when we lived in Ocean Gate, New Jersey. My brother and I, elementary school kids (grade one and three respectively) were long home from our own trick or treating and happily handing out candy to the older kids. As it was getting dark we ran out of candy. What to do? Dad decided to dig out and set up the telescope and give looks at the moon in lieu of candy. He was probably trying to avoid a possible soapy window trick, but he also got a huge kick out of showing kids how to look through the eyepiece.

I wonder if any of those kids remember that Halloween, too. All I know is that my brother and I got to stay up later than usual and my dad passed on his lifelong love of astronomy in a fun and unique fashion. Sometimes it pays to be starstruck.

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