I'm not sure why you think some astronomical sights are inherently exciting and
others are not. The transit, while admittedly just a little dot on the Sun, is
a fascinating event that will only come twice in our lifetime, and then only
briefly. It has a history of considerable interest to both sailors and
astronomers.

The objects you mention are just that: objects that have been there all my life
and will continue to be there long after I'm gone. I can view them (almost) any
time I desire, or I can look at a much better picture in a book. Somehow,
events in our own Solar System seem to have more meaning. I admit I enjoy
"rediscovering" Andromeda Galaxy, but frankly, I get more of a rush from seeing
the moons of Jupiter.

BTW, the most exciting astronomical object I've seen was a tiny dot on a screen,
caused by three x-ray photons detected improbably close together in a "deep sky"
observation by the Einstein Observatory in 1979. For an hour or so, I was the
only human that knew of the existence of this galaxy, which turned out to be the
furthest away (or oldest) ever found. Until of course, someone found one
further out.




"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


OzOne wrote:

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 21:31:30 -0500, Jim Cate
scribbled thusly:


Why would you want to go to all that trouble to see a tiny dot on the
sun? There are lots of exciting things to see out there, but why watch a
dot?

Jim


Why do you bother to stay alive if nothing is of interest?


You twisted what I said, of course, which is that there are LOTS OF
EXCITING THINGS to see out there now. - Omega Centuri, M-13, the
Sagitarius and Virgo constellations, Andromena, and the Beehive cluster,
to name a few. Look toward Virgo and you can see over six galaxies in
the eyepiece, in one view. All over 30 million light years away.

Jim
Look to

Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.