To me, there are few things as satisfying as relaxing in a lawn chair under the stars, scanning the sky for open and globular clusters with a
binocular. This, I suppose, reveals a lot about my nature and my approach to all things, but it should also serve as a reminder to beginners that
astronomy need not be an equipment-centered hobby or a pursuit reserved only for techno-geeks. True, I do have a technical side, but, at heart, I am a romantic and an aesthetic being. After all, I long ago filled my list of astronomical objects that can be seen with a binocular. Today, I seek, find and observe the very same objects I have seen for the last forty years and I am ever grateful to claim that they fill with the same awe and wonder as they did when I first turned a binocular toward the heavens so many years ago.
Pull up a lawn chair and join me some night. Bring any
binocular. It doesn't have to be a special
astronomy binocular, by any means, and if you don't have a binocular, you can use one of mine. It will be good for your soul. The show begins at dark.