Blogtrek

Skywatch

I went to the RAS-Science Museum of Virginia skywatch last night, where we show the public the stars. I have been to several of these in the past year. Each one is different. Each one is a different journey to the moon and stars and each one has a different public wanting to view the stars. Last night was highlighted by a surreal moonrise in clouds above the DMV building, and by an early appearance of Venus. I arrived so early that only three people, all showing the sky with telescopes like I did, were there, along with about four people from the public. But these people were lucky because I was able to find Venus low on the horizon and show it to them. It showed a banana-moon crescent in the telescope view. This lasted about five minutes, then Venus set in a cloudbank and was gone for the rest of the night.

It was a balmy night, a leftover from the departing summer, and I felt that added to the atmosphere. Lots of people were there because of an article about us in the local newspaper. We could not show much, only the moon and for some with go-to telescopes, the beautiful gold-blue double star Albireo. Many people did enjoy seeing the Moon anyway; it was a new experience for many. The children appealed to me especially, because it reminded me of when I first learned about astronomy as a child; when I was about 9 I attended a skywatch at a local school and found the images of the planets in the telescopes intriguing.

The only unfortunate thing about skywatches is that they are apt to get clouded out, and the light pollution is so bad that only the planets, Moon, and brightest stars are visible. But I am still hoping for another ethereal experience next month when I once again show the public the stars at a skywatch.