At 7:53 PM -0800 10/29/98, Jack Estes wrote:
>....
>You primary concern should prob. be city skyglow. No matter how neat it
>is to have an observatory in your backyard, I suspect it will be a big
>waste. Nothing can replace a truly dark sky, unfortunately. I would
>love to walk out in the backyard, unlock the door, and open my dome
>slit. But, reality check, not on the outskirts of the city...

The solution to that problem is to become a lunar/planetary observer. Deep
sky stuff suffers badly from light pollution but the solar system does not
(save for comets :-( I've had many pleasant evenings in my backyard in the
middle of the San Francisco Bay Area gazing at nearby Luna. And you know
what? The Moon is fascinating! It's not just a cop out for city boys. In
some ways it is the most interesting thing in the sky. You can, for
instance, look for the spots of the Apollo landings; it's kind of neat to
gaze at that alien landscape and thing of people walking there.
---
Bill Arnett "Science is a way of trying
Emerald Hills, CA USA not to fool yourself." -- Feynman

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