Day 374: Star Gazing (For The Moon I Own)

     That's right, I own a moon. Not the moon, but a moon at least. If you don't believe me (for whatever weird reason) you can read all about it right here, or read the brief blurb about it belowww.
     For those of you that didn't click that link and read about how I acquired a lunar satellite; I'll bring you up to speed. Through a series of articles and online videos I stumbled upon some guy who claimed ownership of the moon...Our moon. His name was Dennis Hope and he found a loophole in the paperwork governing the celestial body put in place by the United States and Russia. Basically, The countries agreed that no corporation/nation/country/whatever can claim to own the moon. Dennis saw that and assessed that he in fact, did not fall into any of those categories. Being just some guy, he claimed to own the moon, and no government or country has really minded.
     I decided that I'd do sort of the same thing. Our moon wasn't up for grabs, but that's cool cause I didn't really want it anyway. Instead, I set my sights on a moon that I had learned about in astronomy class. IO, the innermost moon of the planet Jupiter.
          -There you go, you're all caught up to speed.
     I had been planning this challenge for a couple nights now, but I kept having to push it back due to cloudy weather and such. But tonight was clear and mild and perfect for star gazing. Plus, it would be a perfect excuse to finally bust out the sweet telescope Stef got me for our anniversary months ago. I did a little bit of research about what I wanted to try to spot through the telescope. I downloaded a nifty app on my phone that would display the constellations in the night sky wherever I pointed my phone (pure genius). I got my equipment and headed out to try and find a dark corner in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Everything was all set up, and aside from feeling like a total weirdo every time a person with a dog walked by, I was feeling good. I could see some stars without the telescope, so I only assumed that I'd be seeing all the things with it.
     Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get my sights on anything, even with my fancy star map app. I fumbled with the knobs and the twisty thangs, but I couldn't get a single star in my scope. I did manage to get a faint star in the little guide viewer, but I didn't come here to brag about that.
     Was it a failure? Yeah probably.
     Will I try it again? Totally, In fact, I'm going camping this weekend and there won't be any light pollution there so maybe I'll give it another go.

What I expected to see...

...What I saw

Day 91: I Own The Moon!

     You read right (well, unless you didn't), I own the moon. Not just any moon, I own IO, the innermost lunar object within the gravitational pull of the planet Jupiter. Everything that is detectable (light, heat, sound etc.) is now my property. This may sound a little absurd, and kind of stupid (which I admit, it totally is), but its inspired by a real guy who really did this. A man by the name of Dennis Hope claimed ownership of the moon some 20 years ago, and has been making a more-than-comfortable living by selling his lunar-land. He is in no way affiliated with the moon, he has never visited there, he has never sent any sort of probe, he doesn't even study the thing. He just sells the moon. Watch this quick clip and you tell me how idiotic it is. This guy just says that he owns the moon, and people throw wads of cash at him! Its the oldest trick in the book, a classic scam on a cosmic level. Its disgustingly inspiring. 

     Thats why I decided, if ya cant beat um, join um. as of April 1st, 2011, I, Kyle Garlock, am now the proud owner of a mint condition galactic satellite. I have signed documentation and everything. I have just as, if not more credibility than that Dennis Hope schmuck (remember when I checked out that outer-space book from the library on day 68?). All that guy has is a couple of stupid business cards (and so do I, day 81) and a document that he wrote saying that he owns the moon (day 91). So, that being said, anyone wanna buy some of my moon? Actually, in my document of ownership, I clearly state that the extraterrestrial land base is to be used for the sole purpose of education. Any and all attempts to further ones financial, political, religious, independent or corporate gains are strictly forbidden and shall be prosecuted. I figured for April fools day I would do the most preposterous challenge I could think of, and this was it. I own the moon!