It was about three years ago when I purchased a new pair of Zhumell 20x100 astronomical binoculars. I had intended to buy a regular telescope, but I purchased a book called "Star Ware" which suggested that beginners start with binoculars. Orion’s website said that I would have to wait up to seven days for delivery, imagine my surprise when they arrived two days later. I was lucky in that the evening they arrived, it was perfect for viewing.
Not knowing what I was looking at, I started by looking at the brightest star that I could see with my naked eye, I wasn't sure what star I was looking at, but it was amazing. Then I turned my attention to the moon, which was even more amazing as I looked at the remnants of a thousand collisions. What really excited me however was the object that traced across the sky. It took a minute for me to get a track on the object. At first I thought it was a U.F.O. then I realized that it was a much more exciting object.
I followed the object across the sky before I realized that it was the International Space Station. The reason that I was able to find it with my naked eye was that the Space Shuttle was docked with it. I never thought in a million years that I would be able to see the Space Station, much less track it. I really couldn't make out the details, but I felt like a ten year old on Christmas morning. My wife thought I was nuts, I excitedly went to my laptop and went to NASA’s website, which has an applet which will tell you when the Space Station is over your area.
Night after night, for the duration of the docking, I was out with my new binoculars watching the Space Station. I looked at the moon, I looked at the stars, I looked at Saturn, Venus, and a dozen other objects which I had no idea what they were. I printed star charts, I drew star charts, I was excited about something for the first time in years. For some reason as we become older, we become jaded. Astronomy brought me back from that. I was a little kid again, God bless the heavens and those who study them.
Now every time I look in the sky, I realize how small my problems and the problems of men really are. We are but a speck of dust in a never ending sky, to look at Hubble’s pictures is to see the face of God. To view the sky on your own is to feel his touch. To bad astronomy isn't a required subject in school, I might have become a scientist instead of a nail driver. The funny thing about it all is this, I haven’t lost my excitement with the night sky, I still feel like a child every time I look up.
