A Brite Nite on Etna

Ever had one of those nites that just felt like a theme party? Where your mind has focused on doing one thing and then other adventures unfolded that kept with the theme of the evening....this nite was one of those nites.



We ventured up Etna to check out the observatory and learn about astronomy and to get a good look at the bright and beautiful Jupiter and the meteor showers. We didn't see either but we did see this big old, fat honker telescope from the 1960s that reminded me of the water heater in my grandmother's house tilted sideways.



Our hosts were so sweet. They even gathered us all together under the nite sky to offer us a crash course in something astronomical....



As our presenter began to school us....I got really distracted thinking about all that money my parents spent to send me to great private schools, a private college and university. And while I remember going to astronomy 109 at university... I don't even remember how many planets there are in our solar system...or is it universe? It's all a blur...and just as I woke from my self-absorbed thoughts and had found the courage to ask Christine (our friend the science expert/teacher) what's the difference between a planet and a star...the presentation was concluding!

Suffice to say, I really didn't learn anything about astronomy that nite...nor really ever for that matter.

Oh well. Onward and upward....