“We had some time to kill so we decided to visit the observatory,” Dr. Kenton finished. “Will you show the children some of the sights?”
Dr. Beeler’s eyes brightened with pleasure. Ted was sure that the little man was truly enjoying their visit. Ted thought he must get awfully lonesome up here by himself.
Dr. Beeler set the position of the telescope by turning two cranks. Then he conducted the children up a catwalk to a platform about twelve feet from the floor. Jill took the first peek through the eyepiece at the top of the tube.
“Oooh—it’s beautiful!” Jill cried with a gasp.
Ted let Randy have the next turn, and then he himself looked. The view was breath-taking. What he saw was the flattened, white globe of Saturn with its graceful rings and many satellites.
“The Moon is much better than the Earth for using a telescope,” Dr. Beeler said, “because here there is no atmosphere or haze to get in the way.”
The children saw other captivating sights. There was the shimmering pearl of Venus, Earth’s twin, then Jupiter, the king of planets, with its four orderly larger moons. The children also saw smoky-looking nebulae and star clusters that resembled bees in a hive. Then Dr. Beeler showed them what he seemed to think was the greatest treat of all—the Earth under high magnification. When Jill placed her eye to the eyepiece, she suddenly turned away, sobbing.
Dr. Beeler and her father came running to her.
“What’s the matter, honey?” Dr. Kenton asked.
“I—I guess I’m homesick!” Jill said. “I miss the green grass and the blue sky terribly! Oh, why did we ever have to leave home?”