Telescope Reviews: Practice for Cloudy Nights

On a recent trip, as soon as we hit West Virginia going east we saw clouds. Except for sucker holes two nights, we have had 10 days of cloudy or rainy weather, which is unusual. So it brings to mind some practice exercises that we presented in Uganda or we have proposed to others who are so inclined. These are low budget and designed for a simple piece of paper, one pencil, and one small source of light.

1. Toss either a cooking pot (easy to find in Uganda) or a dog dish (easy in the US) about 6 feet away. In early morning or late afternoon or at night with a light to the side of it, sketch it from about 2 or 3 paces away. Define an outline first....outside of bowl, inside of bowl, and edges that can be seen. Proceed to outline shadow areas. Label the outlined areas in light pencil (L=light, M=medium, D=dark). Blacken the D areas; leave the L areas; lightly blacken the M areas. Keep looking at the dish or pot to correct as you go. Now notice any transitions where the areas are sort of in between. Use a finger or cotton swab or an eraser to meld those transition areas. Once satisfied that overall shapes and lights and darks look like you want, if there is not enough contrast then darken the darkest areas and use an eraser to make sure the white areas stand out the most. Net result: homemade crater.

2. Kids love to play in dirt or sand. Adults often do but don't admit it. Here is your chance. In dim light or at night, get in a soft dirt or sand area. Make an uneven set of furroughs just a few inches deep. The pattern does not have to be regular in terms of height or distance apart. Four is enough. Put a candle or small light in a flat area adjacent to the furroughs so the light is real low (less than a foot). Either stand or sit on a stool or in a tree (kids love the tree part) so that you are looking down or at an angle down toward the little furroughs. Pretend: the deep parts are valleys, the high parts are mountain peaks. Draw an outline of the lightest ridges; draw outlines of the darkest valleys; draw any marks or shapes for ravines or chunks of dirt; label the lightest, darkest, and medium areas (like the dog dish), work on the transition areas. The result: a homemade mountain range.

For both exercises, one kid or two gets to throw the dish or make the furroughs. However things are done, no one can change it....draw whatever is done. If its children, make it a race: they have 10 minutes to complete the drawing. If it is many kids, divide them into two groups to draw so it becomes a competition for each team to get done with the best they can.

For adults, one has to be a little more patient, because they get fearful or self concious. If directing the group, you just make like anyone can do it after you do a quick demo, and keep going.

When the folks get in front of a real telescope or binoculars, you remind them of the exercises and say: you've done this before, look at the shapes you see, do the same thing!!