Spouse briefs: Telescope deepens appreciation of nature

Clovis is an interesting place. There aren't very many trees, the terrain is about as flat as can be, the elevation is over 4,000 feet and when it comes down to it not very many people live here. All these factors combined make for an incredible opportunity, the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. All my life I grew up in midst of large urban populations. Looking up to the sky at night meant seeing a hazy light polluted brown expanse with maybe a couple of bats flying by. Although I could see the moon most nights, seeing a star was rare.

A few weeks after we arrived in Clovis as I stepped outside to put the garbage away I looked up and was stunned at what I saw. For the first time in my life I could see the Milky Way with my naked eye. I called my husband out and we both marveled at the beauty above us. At the same time our 6-year-old son had developed an all-encompassing interest in the Solar system. He would spend hours watching documentaries on the planets and shortly knew how many moons there were for each one and what all of their names were.

With these two factors combined we began to contemplate buying a telescope to take advantage of Clovis's night sky and to give our son a chance to see the planets with his own eyes. After much research and comparisons we settled on an Orion 8-inch Dobsonian telescope. In addition to the finder on the telescope we used an app on the iPad called GoSkyWatch Planetarium to locate items in the sky. The first time we set it up we were able to see the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn, four of Jupiter's moons and a fair number of airplanes passing overhead. It was fun to watch our children dance around with excitement, begging to have another turn to see whatever wonders we found through the telescope.

With the addition of a Solar filter to our telescope we were able to have amazing views of the recent eclipse of the sun and the transit of Venus across it's face. Seeing these events first hand has deepened our family's appreciation of the beauty of nature and improved our family culture.

With Christmas coming soon I have one recommendation for everyone to make your time in Clovis more enjoyable: Get a Telescope. Take advantage of the beauty that is out there. Gather your family around you and enjoy it together. There is magic right above your heads every night; all you have to do to see it is look up but a telescope helps!!!

Rebecca Adling started life as an Air Force brat and is now enjoying life as a mother raising her own life as a mother raising her own pile of adorable Air Force brats.