A Public Night Under The Stars

[Skylook123]

On Friday night, three of us from the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association supported the quarterly Pima County Natural Resources night under the stars at the Ironwood Picnic Area off Kinney Road in Tucson, Arizona. This is one of my favorite events to attend; the visitors are all committed to the event since they need to sign up in advance, and their questions and comments show a refreshing interest in learning about the night sky.

I showed up as dusk was settling in and met with Sandy, our sponsor. Although the weather had threatened to interfere for several days, the sky cooperated quite well by the time we were setting up. Jim arrived as I was unpacking, and Chris arrived a bit later. I had my 18" f/5, Jim had his 8" SCT and binoculars, and Chris had his 14" Orion dob.

Setup went well, and I was stunned that I did not forget anything. Might be a first for me. The early moon was a great asset as the sun was setting, showing many of the different features in one view. As the sun disappeared, we talked about the opposite side of the sky with the Belt of Venus/Twilight Wedge settling in, and the curtain of night dragging across the sky. To pass the time while the darkness descended, I did an impromptu walk around the sky and talked about the nature of Polaris and the precession of the pole star, a bit about the Summer Triangle's elements and Lyra's special place and the legend of Orpheus or the Eye of God, depending on which culture you study, the Rudder from Arcturus to Alkaid so that Bootes can herd the bears around and get the Sun in Virgo for harvest, how the Teapot is really the top of the warrior archer centaur, and walked over a bit toward Scorpio and the clipping of his claws (Zubenelgenubi and Zubenelschamali...look it up).

The Milky Way beamed out at us pretty early. Jim jumped over to The Ring, while I used my need to align the DSCs with Polaris to show off the double star. The lazy dob owner's showpiece! We discussed the nature of the multiple star, the color/temperature linkage, and the oddity of the Sun being alone. A side note is that with 35 people showing up, we had a great opportunity to be unrushed about the viewing, and Jim, Chris and I were able to give quality time to the visitors. Jim then moved over to Sagittarius and Scorpio and showed off the eye candy in that region, while I jumped up to the Hercules Cluster and we had a nice discussion of the beehive of activity in these apparent cores of cannibalized galaxies.

We talked a bit about how imagination plays a role in naming astronomical entities, so I went over to NGC457, The Owl Cluster. This is always a slam dunk at school events, since it really does look like an owl. On Halloween I show it off as The Bat. It gaves us the opportunity to talk about open clusters and star formation.

I finished up on M101 and the supernova. Although it was quite low, with the eyepiece of the big dob down at shoulder level, the Pinwheel was barely detectable in the background while the supernova was quite bright. Great contrast. I chose a mid-power eyepiece that was perfect for that use.

Jim and I both did some Jupiter time, but it was so low for my scope that the collimation was affected a bit, with the eyepiece down at low rib level.

Eight thirty shutdown time came far too soon. We all did great, and the crowd loved it. PCNR events always a great experience; next one is tentatively scheduled for December 16. It's a great thing we do for the public, and for ourselves, at these events!

An afterword, of sorts. The site we use for this event is out in the desert, shielded from much of the urban light by lines of hills several thousand feet high. When I unpacked the truck, I must have brushed against some cactus. When I got home, I had a fist sized cluster of cactus needles (they were the thickness of fine hairs, with a nasty hook at each end) that had gone through my pants into the left side of my left calf. My goodness, what a mess. My wife Susan ended up pulling each one out with tweezers at midnight. Each one hurt like the dickens, and we had to use some special goop to get one out the next morning, but all is now well. OUCH.

[Beulah]

WOW, I really enjoyed reading that! What a great event to attend - I would truly love to have been there. Shame the air fare is so expensive.

Nothing like our weedy star parties round here, where they seem either disorganised, with kids running about all over the place, or organised, where all you get is a weedy refractor strategically placed in a busy car park! And this is in a rural area as well!!

[Skylook123]

WOW, I really enjoyed reading that! What a great event to attend - I would truly love to have been there. Shame the air fare is so expensive.

Nothing like our weedy star parties round here, where they seem either disorganised, with kids running about all over the place, or organised, where all you get is a weedy refractor strategically placed in a busy car park! And this is in a rural area as well!!

Thank You, Sam. Your comments bring to mind a couple of thoughts. First, IMHO, the important thing is to be out with the people, no matter what the environment. Every little bit we can do helps open eyes. Sometimes more sizzle than steak, but when you have one eye in the land of the blind, you are king. When I started sharing the sky almost 20 years ago, it was with my wife's science students in high school. We had to meet in a narrow paved path at the school, with lighting as bright as day, using a 6" f/5 newtonian on a small wooden GEM. Yet, years later, meeting some of the students they would say those nights were some of their favorite school experiences. We can always do better, but the first part is to do. Sometimes it is like herding cats, or picking up mercury with a fork, to make the event useful, but with some effort we can transport the audience to a place where eyes are opened along with minds. Little victories!

Any one of us who love the night sky can meet with one or two or ten people on a street corner or in a shopping center parking lot, and still bring an awakening that is priceless. Freeing up minds for a few moments of journey into the universe. You are their ambassador and tour guide to a journey of thought and enlightenment. One of my good friends, and the best galaxy observer I've ever met, told a group of us once that when he was in high school over forty years ago in Chicago, he was aimless, no goal in life, probably would have ended up as a ward of the state. Then a local astronomer offered a series of nights in a local park for the science students at the school, and it turned his life around. He found his passion, his mind was opened, as he said, to the music of the sky, and he now is a concert pianist and piano teacher. He closed with "You never know what one life you will touch." Wow.

So, kick the rocks out of the way, drop down the rickety old tripod, and open some minds. Each one, teach one.

The second thought is that we are blessed in my part of the world with open spaces and mostly clear, dry desert skies. Our club of 375 amateurs takes very seriously the outreach we can, and must, provide. I do four to six, or more, of these every month, and every time it is like seeing the objects new, through others eyes. Tonight 10 of us are scheduled to introduce University astronomy students to the night sky. Seeing the faces as they put the book knowledge into a physical experience is very rewarding. My favorite, though, is the one I enjoy every June. For eight nights, up to 100 astronomers from North America, and occasionally Australia, England, even Greece and one year Russia, will set up on the rim of the Grand Canyon to show the park visitors the daytime sun and planets and nightime sky. No lights, 7000 feet altitude, mountain desert dry, Milky Way bright enough to read a newspaper under, after the week we will have logged over 50,000 visitor contacts. One at a time. Now THAT'S outreach. If you are ever in the area during one of our June adventures, we always have room for another astronomer. Here is a typical night:

Thanks Again, Sam.

[iamjulian]

Sounds like a great night Jim. I would love to do some outreach events. The local club has one soon I think, but I am not a club member. I have been tempted to set up outside the house a few times and catch people walking past, but the people who walk past late at night... Maybe in the winter when it gets darker earlier, or when my daughter starts brownies.

I imagine a view through an 18" dob is going to help inspire too. Some stunning views in your dark skies I imagine. Well done for inspiring others, hats off to you.

[Skylook123]

Thank you, Julien. Yes, the view in the 18" can be awe inspiring, but I rarely use it for outreach because of the ladder. Most of my outreach is at schools for seven to sixteen year olds and their parents, so I use my 10" SCT on an Orion Atlas GEM. Much easier on the visitors.

I also set it up on Halloween night in front of our house. I show whatever planet is available (Jupiter this year), the moon, but mostly NGC457, The Owl Cluster. In October, with an SCT and star diagonal, it just happens to be upside down so I call it The Bat. Kids love it. And the Owl is one of those rare astronomical objects that looks like its name. In summer, my wife orders a few hundred novelty items like small skull rings or flashing bracelets, a few pennies apiece, and sets them out by the scope instead of candy. We've been doing this for over 10 years, and we have visitors come by who moved away long ago just to see what we are doing each year and get another look.

Finally (sorry to run on, but as you might tell, we feel rather strongly about the public outreach), last April I finished a 10" tube dob and delivered it to our son, daughter-in-law, and six grandchildren in Colorado. When visiting us the kids and their mom take so well to the telescope I thought it was time. Anyway, with in two hours of the delivery, they dragged it out to the sidewalk in front of their house and were giving their neighbors an impromptu star party. The 16 and 14 year old girls Jessica and Karina came down in June and operated the 18" and 10" scopes for the public at the Grand Canyon, and the other astronomers set up near us called Jessica Queen of Albireo, because she did such a good job of explaining double stars to the public. Karina, 95 pounds, ruled the sky with the 18".

As Paul, my observing friend said, you never know what one life you will touch.

[oldfruit]

Great read and a great way to spend your time. Being able to share your interest with others and also to some extent educate people about astronomy is something we could do with more of.

I am impressed with the views i get through my 8 inch newt so can only imagine how cool the folks must have found the views through the mentioned scopes from the dark site. I would imagine the even the seasoned astronomers would love the view.

[Cjg]

Awesome read Skylook123, thanks for sharing. And...respect for your efforts and achievements in "doing" something like this.

Chris

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great outreach effort! It is always fun to let others look through your scope. A 13 year old son of friends of ours was absolutely captivated when he saw the supernova in M101 last Saturday. Jupiter and M13 also just amazed him. He asked me if he could have a go with my 15x70 on the parallelogram mount, after I had shown him the coat hanger and some other treats. Of course he could, and it kept him happy for an hour or more. It would have kept him busy even longer, but his parents told him he should go to bed.

[Skylook123]

And you will both remember the night for a long time! Great to hear about the sharing.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

And you will both remember the night for a long time! Great to hear about the sharing.

Absolutely. He wants to save up for a telescope now.

[Nexus 6]

What a nice post! looks like you guys had some great interest with your event, must try and get one of these organized for our local astro society.

Should be a bit safer too....no lethal Cactus over here Jim

thanks for sharing

[Skylook123]

Thanks, Alan. Just beware of demented hedgehogs on your side of the pond! Every environment has its hazards. Luckily, I've only run into one rattlesnake in almost 15 years here. Good luck trying a little friendly astronomy.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Thanks, Alan. Just beware of demented hedgehogs on your side of the pond! Every environment has its hazards. Luckily, I've only run into one rattlesnake in almost 15 years here. Good luck trying a little friendly astronomy.

Snorting and grunting hedgehogs are often around in my garden. I have never trodden on one. I have seen two adders in all my time in the Netherlands, but they feel nights are too cold to be out and about.