April’s Full Moon

A full moon was out last night and it was SO big and beautiful! I took our new telescope out to the park for better viewing of the night sky. We viewed the Moon, Spica, Saturn, and Arcturus hanging in the east. In the western sky was Jupiter with three of the Galilean moons and Venus. A little more southwest was the Orion Nebula and Pleiades. There were a bunch of other bright stars but I’m not quite sure what we were viewing because I’m an astronomy newb, what can I say?

I bought an Orion Skyquest Dobsonian Telescope, the XT6 Classic, primarily for the youngest who has developed an interest in astronomy–this is me, being an encouraging mom–plus, I thought it would be a great thing for the entire family to enjoy especially on camping trips. So far, it’s been very exciting!

Here is a shot of the full moon through my camera lens. It’s cropped down a great deal so it’s not the best resolution. I shot this with my Sigma 18-200 and no, I did not pull out the tripod because I was already lugging around that big scope! Yes, I know, I’m lazy that way sometimes.

Here is a shot through the Dobsonian telescope. Click on the image for a bigger view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I could have captured the entire moon, but it’s a little difficult sticking a ginormous lens up to the small scope lens. Pretty cool stuff, huh?