Tonight the moon was full, and it was too bright to view through a telescope. We got the moon right in the middle of the view, but it was so bright it made our eyes ache. You could see it projected brightly onto the other person’s eye when they were looking. Not a good night to look at the moon.
So we pointed the telescope at other objects in the night sky. We looked at Jupiter again and its four visible moons. They change configuration every night. We looked at Arcturus setting in the west, and some other stars in the southwest. I haven’t learned too many star names yet.
One name that I have learned is Vega. I spent a good long time looking at Vega. It was almost directly overhead, so the telescope was oriented such that I could sit comfortably on the ground. I had pointed my telescope at a few different stars whose names I did not know, but when I got to Vega my attention was fixed. Its light is particularly beautiful. It is a clear, crystalline, watery light. Lots of bright blue and purple. I’m sure I’ll get to know lots of stars as I spend more time with this telescope but it’s going to be difficult to find one more beautiful than Vega.