Good morning and Welcome to Morning Chat for June 27, 2022!

an early morning planet viewing

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We once again had a busy one, that’s just part of life on our little farm – always something to do – even on a mini farm!

I want to tell you about what we did last Friday.

Last week we watched online (at http://www.timeanddate.com) as the planets aligned in the night sky. And my daughter, the amateur astrologer and local planet nut who is obsessed with space asked if we could take our telescope out to see them. This meant more than just stepping out back door, we have large trees to the east of us that would have impeded our view. So, I, as any good homeschool mom got myself up – well before I think even God was up – and we drove over to our local wildlife refuge, Lee Metcalf (or just Metcalf to locals).

I knew what to expect from the many early morning photo shoots that I had done in the past, but it was a whole new experience for her. She was super excited, even at 3:45 am, but once we parked and got out, she quicky became nervous. I could tell, a mother always knows. The cool brisk morning, yipping foxes and rustling grasses from unseen critters had her a bit on edge, that is until I lined up the telescope and had her peer thru. What she saw was a small blurry Jupiter. It was small but just enough for us to count 3 moons around it.

The next planet to view was Saturn. Given the fact that it is over 800 million miles away from us our little telescope didn’t do too bad. With our eye piece we were able to see the ellipse of the planet and it’s rings. Which of course was all that my daughter needed to get over the early morning jitters for good. I will admit that it was awe inspiring for me. The thought that these giant planets are out in space, millions of miles away and yet they are right there – thru the lens to look at. It made me feel small, and a bit like I was in on a secret.

I hope you get to try it someday. Have a great day!

–Dawn