Snow and astronomy

As we speak, people in the Milwaukee area are experiencing their first winter storm of the season. We had several hours advance notice, so I was able to move things around the garage to get my car in. During the process I put away a few telescopes that I had left put together, and I thought to myself "I won't be using most of these until next spring." I was a little sad, but not completely. My next thought was of the newness and excitement of that first spring day, the day I take the covers off the scopes in the garage and get them ready for the new observing season.

It sounds cliche, but I really think I appreciate the nice observing evenings more because I know they are limited. When Becca and I were in Arizona, it was absolutely wonderful, but I did find myself kind of taking the night sky for granted. If we didn't look at Comet Holmes one night, we said "oh, well, we'll catch it tomorrow night" with the expectation that it would be clear and warm -- and it was. Every night, in fact.

Awesome? Yes. But tonight, as our newly-hung outdoor Christmas lights get their first blanket of pure white snow, I think to myself that we were able to appreciate those perfect Arizona nights a little more because of our Wisconsin heritage. And I also remember that, at the end of the honeymoon trip, I was missing the quiet outdoor scene of our snow-blanketed neighborhood -- just a little bit.