Backgroud

I'd like to say I'm one of those people that always had a fascination with space . . . but I can't. Growing up I never looked up and wondered what was out there. The space program never really affected me like it does some folks. Sure, I had respect for astronauts, like I have respect for a President, but I never wanted to be one. Comet Haley rolled past our little rock when I was in 6th grade and I never once even looked up to see what all the fuss was about. The moon came and went every month, but who knew it actually had features and details that could be seen from Earth? Aliens? They're just in the movies right? And of course, we all know that ours is the only galaxy in the universe.

In college I learned to recognize a few constellations, namely the Big Dipper (actually it's an asterim in Ursa Major, but we'll get to that later) and Orion. Good old Orion. My buddy. My compadre. The big guy in the sky keeping me company as I walked foot patrol at 1 AM in December around the college campus. I never understood why I couldn't see him in summer skies. I always thought I just couldn't locate him. Now I know better.

Three years ago it happened. I looked up. What's up there? Which stars are those? Where's Orion?

My company had a fair for all the special interest clubs. There was a guy there representing the Astronomy Club. Ah, someone in the know! He told me about thier meetings and how they discuss what's up in the sky and how to find stuff. Sounded like a good deal to me. I went to my first meeting and fumbled my way through it. Magnitudes, Right Ascension, Declination, Summer Triangle, nebulas, galaxies . . . these guys are right out of a Star Trek script. What the heck are they talking about? I left more confused than when I first showed up.

At home I started surfing the web (does anyone surf the web anymore or have we become too sofisticated for that?) looking for how to get a jump start in astronomy. One website recommended purchasing a planisphere. This is basically a round map of the stars that you can rotate to set the date and time and it shows you what the sky above should look like. Checking it out I noticed the Summer Triangle. Hey, those astro guys mentioned that in the meeting. OK, it looks to be about the size of my thumb on the map. Looking up, I didn't see it. OK, try again. Three bright (on a planisphere the brighter the stars the bigger they are represented) stars that make a triangle. Well, I see a bunch of bright stars, but none close enough together. Dang, this is gonna be tougher than I thought. This went on for a couple of nights. Finally one night the whole grand scheme of the universe fell into place for me. I found the Summer Triangle. It wasn't the size of my thumb, it takes up a large section of the whole sky.

I was hooked.