3 AM Observing

Early this morning I was crawling into bed around 3am. Then I noticed that my dog, a 3 year old white miniature poodle was trying to sneak into our closet... a sign that she needed to go the restroom. I put on a some shorts and off we headed downstairs and out the door. While outside I noticed a bright object up in sky. I thought it looked like Jupiter but I thought I'd like to know for sure. I opened my garage door and grabbed my little Celestron IYA firstscope (3" Reflector) and set it on the hood of my old Ford Ranger. Within seconds I knew that it was Jupiter. My little scope is an f/4 and with the 18mm eyepeice I had in there I could see a few moons.

I'm really glad I have a little grab and go telescope like this, my other scopes aren't as quick to setup. This little scope might just be the best $50 I've spent. I have a homebuilt 4" Dob... but it still isn't as easy to set up. I can grab the first scope in one hand and have it on an object in less and a minute after taking it out of the garage.