Astronomy, among other things

Oh, wow. Today just finished off so well!

I went to an astronomy session (you know how much I love those!) and got to hang out with my professor from last semester, as well as the SI ("Supplemental Instruction") leader, Kay Lane and because it was a lot of the same stuff as last semester I had a really good time just reaffirming my knowledge and getting comfortable with the night sky again.

We looked at the Moon (I took pictures, too!), the Andromeda galaxy again (It still looks like a piece of fuzz on the lens, to tell you the truth) and Venus, and various constellations (Taurus, Orion, Cassiopeia, etc.) All the usual stuff, but I got to hang out with friends and had a very different experience than I did last year.

After the session, I walked downstairs with a few people and we decided to go to Subway to get a sandwich. Once we had gotten our sandwiches, they invited me to go with them to BSM (Baptist Student Ministry, I think.) I went with them, and had a really great time just immersing myself in a reminder of my faith. I haven't gotten involved in any churches or anything here, and I probably won't at this point in the year, to tell the truth... but going there and being immersed in it even for an hour or so reminded me exactly why I am a Christian and why the church is such a healthy thing for me. I think I will try to go to more of these Bible studies. It just felt good to talk God with people, and I haven't really done that in a long time.

So, here are some of the better pictures of the evening! I made a facebook album of the pictures I've taken so far, and will update that whenever I get new photos. I don't know why. The moon doesn't change, but I don't think I'll ever take enough pictures!

I took this one on my way to the session, around 6:00. It was still light outside, and the blue it creates is so beautiful!


This photo is of the Moon and Venus, the star-looking thing up in the left corner. I love this picture!


When it got darker, I took another photo.


I wish this were more in focus as far as the light from the moon, but the cool thing about this photo is that you can see the rest of it! Did you know that when this occurs, it is because of light reflecting off of the Earth onto the Moon!