A Window to the Once Secret Sky
			
		
		
			Credit & Copyright:  
Peter Wienerroither  
(U. Wien)
		
		
			If there were a window nearby to the distant universe -- would 
you look through it? 
Quite possibly, there is, in the form of a small 
telescope.  
A local skykeeper could be a 
relative or a stranger and is frequently 
proud to show off the sky free 
of charge.  
Through a window called an 
eyepiece, 
on a 
dark cloudless night, you can see 
clusters of stars, 
rings around Saturn, 
glowing nebulas of gas, 
craters on the Moon, and 
galaxies across the universe.
The technology to create this window -- and the secret 
sky it reveals -- was unknown only 400 years ago.  
Modern sky opportunities may occur this Saturday, 
Astronomy Day, at local amateur astronomy clubs, universities, 
science centers, or planetariums.  
Pictured above is a small telescope being deployed at picturesque 
Hohe Wand, about 50 kilometers south of Vienna, 
Austria.  
The spin of the Earth 
is visible in the above photo as the long 
star trails.