Naked Eye? I think not!

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

Last night I got a crazy idea that after the kids were settled in bed. As some of you know Chicky Magoo 1 is a space NUT! She has lots of books on space, can name planets and their moons, and knows a LOT more about the entire subject that most 7 year olds because she is SO into it! So after I put both little Chickies to bed it occurred to me that I had read earlier that day there was a comet that could be seen with the naked eye if you were in a dark place, and with binoculars if not. This comet is called Lulin and was discovered in 2007. It was making its way past Earth, and is heading out of the Solar System, so this would be the one and only time to see it if you wanted to. I decided to head outside first to see if I could see it, and then convince my still somewhat sick Mr. Magoo to get the telescope out to check it out. So off into the dark cold night I went! I realized that for once, when there was a night event like this that the sky was clear and you could see TONS of stars! PERFECT....so I thought.

Let me give you a little background on the 'telescope'. Chicky Magoo 1 has been interested in space since she was 2 years old. She has planets hanging above her in her room. One of her favorite nighttime reads is a book called Astronomy: The Definitive Guide To The Universe. It isn't unusual to hear her say something like "Did you know that Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos?" or "Look, there is Venus! Can you see it Mommy?" So when she was 6 we decided that this "phase" was going to last a while longer, and the telescope she had been asking for was appropraite. Knowing Mr. Magoo, I knew this telescope would be something more than a $20 one that you can see the moon with. Which I agree, if she is this into something, bring it on! We also saw this as an opportunity to give her a Daddy/daughter bonding experience. So, off to buy the telescope. After careful research he decided on the MEADE ETX Premier Edition with AutoStar-LNT. Okay- so even the title should have told me that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to figure this thing out!!! If more than one set of letters are clustered together I'm usually out. I can of course turn these double or triple clustered letter technologies on, but then I use them in a way that says "Why didn't you just get the cheap one?"

So- off we go last night! I "wake up" Chicky Magoo 1, who wasn't sleeping yet and pump her up. Yes her super sweet mother is getting her out of bed so that SHE can see a once in a lifetime cosmic event! Boy- I AM a great Mother!!! Mr. Magoo goes to work setting the telescope up. We have tried to put the telescope together a few other times. Once we couldn't figure it out, and it being 10pm decided the kids needed to get to bed. So no dice. The second time we loaded it up to take to Michigan to the Grandparents house, where we oops, forgot the lenses. Apparently the lenses DO make a difference in seeing through a telescope. Who knew? LOL!

This time we were determinded to get this thing right. We even READ the directions?!?! And who does THAT?!? The telescope was set and we headed out into the cold again to see if we could get this thing working and see the comet. As soon as we step out I say "It is by Saturn they said. I'm guessing that is Saturn." To which Chicky Magoo 1 says "Mommy- that's Venus. Saturn is probably over there." Apparently all of this studying has paid off for her! :)

We stood out there MUCH longer than I had anticipated! I'm sure our neighbors were wondering what was up because to them it looked like 3 people standing in a field with a flashlight in the dark of winter! This telescope is supposed to basically find things for you. You set it up, face it north and !voila! click a button and Saturn pops up! The directions said to do something with the fork leg. Um- okay if we could figure out what that meant I'm sure this would make perfect sense. I took a break or two from the cold during this exploring process. I know, I'm such a wimp when it comes to the cold!!! After about 30 minutes I heard some excitement and went to check it out. They had found Saturn and Venus. She was right and was SUPER excited to see the rings around Saturn! They also saw one of Saturn's moons, which she loved too. You would think with this big ole' thing we could find something that was supposed to be right next to it and visible to the naked eye, but we never did. :( Chicky Magoo 1 did tell me as I put her back to bed "Well Mommy at least we got to use the telescope finally! And I got to see two things!" At least she looks on the bright side! Mr. Magoo however spent another hour online trying to figure out what went wrong. I'm guessing our next outdoor adventure we will be more prepared.

The irony of the ENTIRE situation is that the telescopes tagline is: "Just because a star may be millions of years old, doesn't mean it should take you that long to find it."

Seriously.