2024 11 15

It’s Saturn! …as seen from St Germain, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

This might be the best terrible photo I’ve ever made. It’s Saturn, as seen through a telescope up in Wisconsin’s Northwoods during our summer cabin getaway.

Can you imagine what it must’ve felt like for the first humans to witness this planet, once telescope technology got good enough to see it with the naked eye?! Sure, it looks like shit as seen in this image. That’s not the point. We all know what Saturn looks like in all its magical beauty, through closeup images made via probes, and space telescopes, and NASA image editing, but I’ll tell you what, seeing this with your naked eye is quite a sight. It legitimately changed my perspective on our universe. As you peer into an eyepiece and catch a glimpse of this planet, which in our reality is very very far away, you start to think maybe it’s not actually that far away. Maybe we are part of something bigger. Maybe we will one day be able to easily venture out into our solar system and beyond. The miracles that await us, out there, we can only imagine.

-Clayton