Celestial

Every day brings new ways of seeing the world. 

My family now have a telescope - a weighty, serious affair that is strictly my Beloved's business to navigate - and we are now seeing the universe in different ways. 

The names of galaxies and nebulas trip of my husband's tongue. I learn them more slowly. In the cool of the night, under the intensely brilliant stars of rural Queensland, we search out the seven sisters or Pleiades. We look at Sirius and I learn the names of dozens of stars I'd never heard of. Most of the time they sound vaguely like something from Star Wars. I discover different names of nebulas. The Spindle. The tarantula. I intend to track down the Emu, which I believe is seen in an absence of stars. (Although I could be wrong. When it comes to space, I generally am.) 

We study the craters of the moon, the way the light falls so differently at different times. I intend to learn the names of all the seas of the moon. My Beloved spouts fascinating scientific facts that I promptly forget and will have to ask him again with pen and paper at hand. I adore being married to a science nerd. 

Our star and galaxy photos are not yet as good as our moon photos and I am itching for the time and energy to use the tripod without the telescope and all the different things I'll be able to capture. 

But for now - the galaxy is ours - waiting at the end of our lens.