Looking at the Rings of Saturn

We got back from Zion National Park around 7 p.m.  Henry needed a ranger program to get his Bryce badge, so we planned to go to the Night Program on astronomy.  Jeff took Ruth to the pool and to get dinner, and Henry and I headed into Bryce National Park. 

First, we went to Sunset Point to see the sunset, and that's when we learned that sunset isn't the best time to view Bryce Canyon.  The sun doesn't set over the canyon - it rises over it.  It sets back behind the trees.  Good to know.

We tried to find a place to get something to eat, but didn't have any luck.  The Lodge was serving sit down dinners, and we didn't have time for that.  By the time we got to the General Store, it was closed.  So we headed back to the Visitor's Center for the astronomy program. 

On the way, we saw lots of deer, including a mom with two babies.

The astronomy program was a 45 minute lecture on the night sky at Bryce and space in general.  The ranger talked about the planets, the Milky Way, and galaxies beyond ours.  We learned that because Bryce is in a remote area not near cities, it has a great night sky for viewing stars.  When the moon isn't full, you can actually see parts of the Milky Way and other galaxies.  This is the one time I'm not excited to be somewhere during a full moon. 

After the talk, we went out behind the Visitor's Center to look at the sky with telescopes.  This is what we were waiting for!  We saw Saturn and its rings, and it's moon, Titan.  It looked amazing in the telescope - almost not real.  Then, when the moon rose over the building, they turned one of the telescopes on it so we could see the surface up close.  We could see craters and other features.  Again, amazing.  Last, we looked at a star.  We learned in the presentation that while many stars look singular to the naked eye, in a telescope, most stars have a buddy.  They move in overlapping circles.  So first we saw the star with our eyes, and then we looked in the telescope and saw it was actually two stars. 

We didn't get home until 11:00 p.m. but it was well worth it.