orion stands alone

Ever since I was a child, I've always been able to identify the Orion constellation. Something about the stars in his belt line are just too easy to find in the night sky. Unfortunately, that's about as far as my astronomical expertise goes, although I can sometimes pick out one of the "dippers". (I couldn't say whether it is the "big" or "little" dipper, though.)

Astronomy is an interesting hobby that I wouldn't mind getting my kids into. As a child, I lived near a large city and as such, couldn't see the stars in the sky too often. Any chance that I had to get out into the "country" or in more rural areas usually afforded some breath-taking views of the heavens, though.

I used to think that auto-guided telescopes were cutting edge, but lately I have seen some other inventions that blow my mind. One such invention that i ran across at PPP is called the meade my sky. This device is unique in that it functions as a multimedia guide to the stars, and includes a full color LCD for easier identification. The beautiful images displayed help to educate astronomer wannabe's (like myself), and don't require a perfectly clear night sky out in the middle of nowhere. Pretty cool! And of course, you also have the option of having it control your computerized Meade telescope.