Edgar,
I trace some of my attraction to Yoga (Hatha) to looking at the sky.
When just looking with the naked eye for long periods, you need ways of working
kinks out the neck. I started very young though, and kinks were not much a
feature of a young body (the body developed simple exercises to be free of
these complaints, just instinctually). Anyway, I trace my Yoga roots there.
At the eyepiece of the telescope, waiting with relaxation for long periods for
the fleeting moments of excellent "seeing", probably developed a later
suitability in me for chih-k'uan, the stopping-observing sitting-practice
developed in the T'ien T'ai (from original Buddhist practices).
Astronomy is of a piece for me with practice, and maybe it always has been.
All in the "service" of appreciation of Nature.
That's a good telescope, Edgar, that Meade. One of their consulting optical
designers is a friend and colleague, Dick Buchroeder: he's world-famous. His
latest design for them is some 90mm instrument, or other, I forget. I've seen
them and used them on occasion, but have not owned a good commercial telescope.
Mine are all homemade, with mirrors made by me since I was 13. And because of
telescope-making, I had to learn precise machine shop work. I suppose I should
have known that this would all lead to a career.
When I entered Philosophy, I felt helped and at-home in the good company there,
too: Spinoza had been a lens-grinder (although he writes, strangely, that he
also tortured spiders).
I hope everybody is seeing Jupiter in the East these evenings as it rises, so
bright, near Opposition and hence very bright because close to Earth; just as
the evening twilight has faded, and afterward.
Good viewing.
--Joe
> Edgar Owen <edgarowen@...> wrote:
>
> Joe,
>
> Interesting but I need corrective lenses so I'm happy with mine. Also my
> elevation is only 1100 feet.
>
> BTW I have a 14" Meade telescope though viewing here is somewhat obstructed
> by all the trees around. I've thought of putting it on a platform on top of
> my house which would greatly improving viewing even with the addition of some
> heat distortion but haven't gotten around to it...
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