June 1997

There are lots of things to look at, some more dramatic than others.

Of the planets in our own solar system, Saturn and Jupiter offer the best viewing. The others can be seen but, they present little to the viewer except a tiny round white ball (or dot) in the sky.

The rings of Saturn are probably the most awesome, especially to first time viewers. Depending on just when you choose to view Saturn (over a course of several months or years), it presents differing views (angles) of it's rings. Because the planet tilts and rotates gradually on it's axis, the rings are seen from edge on to full view. Saturn's big moon, Titan, can sometimes be seen if conditions are just right.

Jupiter and four of it's largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are an easy sight to view. The moons are all in the same plane and it is neat to see them all lined up. Jupiter is banded and this is easily discernible. When the Shoemaker-Levy 9 "comet train" impacted on Jupiter a few years ago, it was easy to pick out the impact marks (smudges) that were created on Jupiter's surface.

In the constellation Orion is the Orion Nebula. This is an interesting site as it is considered to be a stellar birthing ground for the formation of new stars.

Finally, our own Moon is pretty spectacular when viewed through a large telescope. Fine details and shadows are seen and first time viewers often say it "looks unreal".