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Danielle ⛈️'s avatar

I LOVE this, David! A few summers back now, it was a clear and beautiful night and something in me said go out and use your telescope to look at the planets, my kids would love it. My boys were mildly impressed. I was blown away!! It is something to see pictures of Saturn with its taken by who knows who. It was QUITE something else to be able to see it with my own eyes (aided by a telescope) and to see the rings and realize holy moly, that is a real thing in this world, I'm looking right at it! I was completely smitten. I downloaded a star tracking app and looked at it endlessly. I got the boys in the car and took them into the mountains late on a moonless summer night so we could see the Milky Way. Again, though they were likely excited to go on a middle of the night adventure, being the night owls they are, and even though it wasn't as lovely as pictures I have seen, it connected with me in a profound way.

Thank you for sharing this and bringing that nugget to my mind!! I still have the tracker on my phone and every once in a while, I'll notice the planets in the sky and I can usually guess which is which and I say, "I see you!" It is still so exciting to me. XO

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David Donoghue's avatar

Amazing. Yes o had a telescope or two when I was a teenager and have always been into the stars but never really dived deep into star gazing or got anything more substantial. That said I've always educated myself on the various bits of space and science etc that pops up. I love it all.

Recently i got some 10x50 binoculars to give myself a simple way to look at the stars. Its been incredible and I didnt really expect it to make a massive difference but it really does, you see so much more and it just pulls you in.

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Danielle ⛈️'s avatar

It is amazing. It's like looking at the ocean - you realize how small you are and yet there is something so amazing about seeing way out in space "up close." XO

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Treasa's avatar

Mesmerising. I read this with a Brian Cox voice over.

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David Donoghue's avatar

😅 if only i had his dulcet tones

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Ann Collins's avatar

“Known so intimately from afar, like a celebrity or a photo of a departed ancestor. All these stars were just strangers, but here, this ball of gas hanging above me was a thing I felt I knew.”

David, this is exactly how I felt a while ago, getting to see Saturn from a powerful observatory telescope. You’ve captured the awe-filled moment so beautifully.

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David Donoghue's avatar

Wonderful! Great to hear this has resonated with you. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 🙏

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LeeAnn Pickrell's avatar

Lovely piece. I've missed you these last months.

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David Donoghue's avatar

Thanks so much, LeeAnn! 🙏

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dave carlson @davesideas's avatar

“jupiter cyclops winks at me, ya, he knows who’s drivin”

Clutch…Spacegrass

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The Sea in Me    (Síodhna)'s avatar

Great to see your post pop up, David. 'I was part of the sky, moving within it and found suddenly amongst these friends and strangers'

Love it!! The wonder of it all...

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David Donoghue's avatar

Awesome. Thanks so much for reading 🙏

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

I wish I lived in a darker place, the night sky here in Cambridgeshire uk is so light polluted I can hardly see the stars. Thanks for writing about this.

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David Donoghue's avatar

Yasmin, I live in Dublin in the suburbs but heavily populated. We get stars but its certainly not the darkest. I invested in some simple binoculars recently, the kind youd get for birdwatching or something like that, and the impact it has when looking at the night sky is incredible. Pick and empty part of the sky and use the binoculars and suddenly there are 50-100 stars dancing about that your eyes just cant see. I got a 10x50 pair which is comfortable to hold and not too shakey with its 10x zoom... It pulls in so much more light than your eyes can see, would highly recommend.

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Yasmin Chopin's avatar

Thanks David. Excellent tips there. I’ll look into it because I love everything to do with the sky and planets.

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Hannah Levy's avatar

Beautiful.

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David Donoghue's avatar

Thanks so much Hannah 🙏🙏

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