Heavenly Hosts

The dark night sky filled with shining stars, a bright moon, and darting comets - who can resists its majesty? We have enjoyed many starry nights observing the sky with our own eyes or with the help of a small telescope and marveled at the beauty. On Saturday, we were given a extra ordinary opportunity to explore the heavenly hosts as we were invited to a private observatory. We meet the owner at a local school, and then followed him out to what seems like 'nowhere' on winding roads, finally turning off the 'main' road onto a private drive through a large gate announcing the Sky Estate Ranch location. Well, it is aptly named as we arrived at the top where the observatory stands in solitude, only lighted by the sky.  Lukas and Noah had the chance to see the moon up close and almost personal, counting the craters, noticing the height of the mountains and realizing the effect of mirrors, seeing the moon 'upside' down in the eye piece of the 18" telescope. Lukas helped open the dome, Noah and Lukas pulled the dome around to align the opening with the moon and then later on with Jupiter and gingerly climbed the tall ladder to reach the top of the telescope to see and marvel. What a special evening, one we will not soon forget.