Stargazing Adventure With the Class! 9/20/10

What's better than stargazing alone? Stargazing with the class! On this stargaze we were provided with binoculars, which surprisingly change EVERYTHING. I always thought it was cool just being able to see Jupiter, but to be able to see Jupiter's moons orbiting around it is incredible. While trying to hold the binoculars steady to keep a view of Jupiter's moons occupied a lot of time, the most fascinating moment came when I focused the binoculars slightly above Scorpius' tail. I saw a nebula, which was the coolest thing ever. It was like a billion minuscule stars bunched into one tiny area, and it looked awesome. After seeing my first nebula, I basically spent the rest of the star gaze looking around Sagittarius for other nebula's which I was extremely happy to find. Other interesting observations, included the keystone in Hercules (and of course M13), Aquila and its star Altair, which made up the southern triangle, and the dual stars in the big dipper. To top the night off we watched a crescent Venus set on the horizon, which was a great way to end the star gaze.