MUSIC FESTIVAL SPOTTING

When Solderpunk wrote about using binoculars for astronomical 
observations some time ago, I naturally checked through my 
binocculars collection which I've mainly accumulated for bird 
spotting (not a real hobby of mine, but all sorts turn up in the 
trees around the house and squark/scream/warble away, so it'd be a 
crime not to take a peak at them sometimes), and turned up an old 
Japanese "Diamond" brand 12x50mm model, inherited from my 
grandfather. They look very 70s, with a brushed aluminium finish 
and unusual design with the eyepieces below the lenses, but 
unfortunately they've actually been dropped and broken apart. 
They're still sort-of kept together by the focus adjustment 
linkages, but you have to hold them just right or else the view 
through the two lenses diverges and you end up looking at different 
things with each eye. I had a go at repairing them, building on my 
grandfather's own apparant failed efforts, but only ended up 
spending a long time trying to get them back together as well as 
they were before I started.

gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/~solderpunk/phlog/binocular-observation-of-jupiter-and-the-moon.txt

Then the weather wasn't right and I never got around to trying it 
out. But last night it was nice and warm, cloud-free, and there was 
a half-moon to look at. Plus Solderpunk published another phlog 
post that reminded me about it. I like to go wandering around the 
paddocks naked on warm nights anyway, so it was a prime opportunity 
to bring the binoculars along as well.

gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/~solderpunk/phlog/more-binocular-astronomy.txt

But lately I've also had another target in mind because for the 
last few days the bass notes of from a music festival have been 
beating their way some 25Km over to me, and I decided I'd finally 
try and work out whether I can see it. Trouble is that with various 
machines out harvesting crops at night this time of year,  it's 
hard to tell which flickering lights are from a stage, and which 
are just a tractor going behind some trees. I think I eventually 
narrowed it down, but my creepy side had taken over by then and I 
was actually having more fun spying on all the vehicles driving 
about - you can just imagine what I'd be like in a city with lots 
of appartment windows around (cue Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window")!

But I did also point my lenses skyward and got some good views of 
craters on the moon, as well as a orange spot with a little red 
spot next to it which _might_ have been Jupiter? Or else someone 
launched a hazard light into orbit.

I'm not really into the whole star charts side of it, names seem 
mainly to be superfulous information, and frankly too much to think 
about for a non-constructive passtime. But I might attempt to spot 
some more somethings on other warm nights this summer, both 
ethereal and earthbound, complete with a tuneless musical 
accompaniment (well I'm sure it's not so bad if you can hear the 
high notes as well).

 - The Free Thinker

P.S. Following up on my last post, the shipping container is all 
patched up and now waiting for me to work out how to get some old 
shed doors on top to act as a slanted root. Also, glow-in-the-dark 
lithophanes don't work - oh well.