The Twilight Zone

I still get the tingles when I hear the ominous-invigorating intonations of Rod Serling say…

"You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop—The Twilight Zone."

A wondrous land of imagination, indeed, but grounded now in my world in cosmic math and the solid planet under the tripod of the Celestron 8SE—a gift from a most generous donor—a late birthday, early Father’s Day and very early Christmas present. Oh Santa you have hit a home run this time!

The unboxing was trivial. The assembly was far more complicated, made worse by frustrating gaps in the directions. But I persevered, and it is now assembled, energy supplied in the short run by eight AA batteries, with a battery backup pack on the way. It should supple a full night’s worth of exploration.

I was determined to SEE something within the first 24 hours other than Saddle Gap and Panther Knob. And this morning the moon peaking out of clouds was grudgingly cooperative—blinding white without the moon filter to damp down the brightness. And there was no power for the equatorial mount yet, so manual tracking was required.

All the alignment and wireless GPS slewing setup will have to wait until we have a day without family company and related events.

This new glass comes on the far side a long history of exultant peering through a tube. I have been lens-oriented since traveling with the 8 x 50 binoculars on family vacations as a kid. Then came camera lenses. Then microscopes, from Dime Store toys to research grade phase contrast.

All put a frame on the greater world, isolating our focus, adding the super-powers of optics to show us what really exists, amplified by bending light just so. It still seems a kind of magic to me.

I am prepared to wade in deep, and come back out reluctantly. The TRUTH is Out There.

Occasionally, I’ll take a break from the new ‘scope and spend a half hour lost in space behind the glass of a monitor.

Find four seasons of TwiLight Zone on Netflix and five on Hulu.

And a guide to the episodes: The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) - Wikiquote