Last Sunday my Dad called & told us that around 9:30PM the International Space Station would be visible. He knew Kelsey got a telescope for Christmas, and we haven't used it yet. Dad suggested we meet in the parking lot of Brighton's seminary, so we'd have a clear view. We all got there just before 9, so we had some time to kill. While we waited for 9:29 to arrive, we looked through Dad's telescope at the moon. It's amazing to look through it and be able to see the hills and craters up "close". He also showed us Saturn, which through the telescope looks like a tiny white dot with a line going through it. To be able to see that and know you're looking at Saturn's rings! My kids were amazed. They can't believe how smart their Grandpa is to know all that stuff. We were able to see the Space Station move in the sky, it was visible for about 3 minutes. It looks like a star in the night sky. The Atlantis shuttle is docked with it right now, and we explained to the kids that there are astronauts up there right now, on that little dot moving through the sky.
I love looking through the telescope with Dad. I remember him bringing it to YW's camp sometimes, or even just out in the back or front yard. My favorite memory I think will be last year when we were up at the cabin in Island Park, Idaho with the family (almost the whole family). The stars are SO much more visible when you are far away from city lights, up in the mountains. The longer we stayed out on the deck, the more our eyes adjusted and more and more stars became visible. We saw a few shooting stars and TONS of satellites. I think Neil, Dad and I stayed out the longest. I didn't want to leave. It's amazing. It is both spiritually moving and makes you feel small. Small, but not less.
