This weekend Senior Editor Rich Talcott, his wife Evelyn, and I will travel to Astronomy’s observatory at Rancho Hidalgo near Animas, New Mexico. I’m quite excited, as this will be the first time I’ll get to see the famed dark site. Plus, I haven’t been observing in years, so it’ll be a great way to dive back in.
Keep in mind I typically focus on the science side of the magazine, so I’m no expert in observing. However, I’ve taken a few classes in observational astronomy and used to know my way around the sky. I’ll find out how quickly it comes back.
I still need to work on my observing list, but at the top will be the Orion Nebula and the Whirlpool Galaxy (my favorite deep-sky object). After what I’ve heard from Editor Dave Eicher and Senior Editor Michael Bakich, Rich, Evelyn, and I should be in for a treat. Keep an eye out for blogs and tweets (depending on the cell phone reception). I hope to share a slightly different point of view from what you’ve read before about the Astronomy observatory. Remember ... I’m not a seasoned observer.
Oh, and let me know if you have any favorite winter sky targets I should add to my list.
Photo by David J. Eicher, editor