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shrevestan
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/19/12
Loc: Shreveport, LA
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Help with first nighttime outreach event
#5312163 - 07/10/12 10:37 PM
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I'm doing my first nighttime outreach event this Friday in collaboration with the science museum downtown. My scope will be set up along with a 12" Meade (I'm guessing SCT) and a 10" Dob.
Obviously Saturn will be shown along with Mars, but I need recommendations for other targets that will be visible and interesting to the public despite the light pollution. The sky will be the least obstructed from SW to E. I'm thinking M13, M57, and M27.
I've only had my scope a few months and am still learning the ins and outs, but after volunteering for a Venus Transit outreach event, I'm hooked on seeing people's reactions and I want to be knowledgeable enough to answer their questions.
Thanks for any recommendations or nuggets of advice.
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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/10
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: shrevestan]
#5312546 - 07/11/12 08:48 AM
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Some double stars are always crowd pleasers, especially when you exolain to them what they are. Albireo and Epsilon Lyrae quickly come to mind. They are easily visualized even in light polluted skies. Also, either download or sketch the position lof Saturn's moons so you can show people which are which and maybe tell them a bit about Titan and the discoveries there (methane lakes and rivers, dense atmosphere) from the Huygens probe.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5312642 - 07/11/12 10:33 AM
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Stan:
From Shreveport, if Sagittarius and/or Scorpio are in the field of view, there are many wonderful objects, M22, M11, M6 and M7, these shine through light pollution quite well. If the skies are a bit dark, there is M17, M-8 and M20
Tighter double stars like the double-double are fun but require careful focusing, something that first timers may find frustrating.
Good luck..
Jon
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shrevestan
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/19/12
Loc: Shreveport, LA
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5312660 - 07/11/12 10:45 AM
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Thanks! I got a little more guidance from the event coordinator.
Like you guys mentioned, Saturn will be the big thing everyone wants to see, but after everyone is done with that we'll move on to the DSOs and double stars. I'm going to make an observing list with your suggestions in SkySafari so I have quick access to the facts on each object.
I hope the weather is clear, we've been getting thunderstorms every afternoon all week.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: shrevestan]
#5313123 - 07/11/12 06:09 PM
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Quote:
Thanks! I got a little more guidance from the event coordinator.
Like you guys mentioned, Saturn will be the big thing everyone wants to see, but after everyone is done with that we'll move on to the DSOs and double stars. I'm going to make an observing list with your suggestions in SkySafari so I have quick access to the facts on each object.
I hope the weather is clear, we've been getting thunderstorms every afternoon all week.
Like most things, it's good to be prepared with a list of interesting objects but most of the time you will probably be discussing Saturn.
If the seeing is decent, Porrima is a nice 1.9 arc-second double that's about 13 degrees to west of Saturn.
Jon
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GaryJCarter
sage
Reged: 06/06/09
Loc: Fairview, Texas
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5313290 - 07/11/12 08:00 PM
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Quote:
Like most things, it's good to be prepared with a list of interesting objects but most of the time you will probably be discussing Saturn.
Jon
...and you should also be able to see Titan and talk about the Huygens probe we dropped onto it's surface early in the Cassini mission. For some current material see www.CICLOPS.org. Carolyn Porco keeps bringing us fantastic imagery and the science behind her work.
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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/10
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: GaryJCarter]
#5313308 - 07/11/12 08:10 PM
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I know this is low-tech, but I keep a stack of index cards in my miscellaneous item box which goes everywhere with my scopes, containingb things like red flashlight and a took kit. I have a card for each planet, the sun, moon and some common Messier objects. At an outreach event I just clip the cards I might need that night together and lay them in the open eyepiece case so that when a visitor is looking at, say, M57, I can glance at the card and note distance, etc. I know the various I phone apps have superseded some of the old ways, but I find those cards to work pretty well.
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tedbnh
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/14/07
Loc: New Hampshire
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5315230 - 07/12/12 10:54 PM
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Something I have started doing every skywatch: Early in the evening when Saturn is clearly visible, duct-tape a spare green laser pointer to a photo tripod and adjust the tripod until it points to Saturn. Don't leave it on all the time, just leave it sit there.
Now during the night, when people visit you for a look at Saturn in the scope, after they have seen it then explain to them that when you push the button on the green laser pointer, it will point to where Saturn was at (fill in the time here when you set it up.) The gasps you get when they see how far Saturn "moved" will equal the ones you hear when they see the planet for the first time. And that makes it easy to start talking about Earth's rotation and what it does to the sky. Also, you can point out how the laser, the current position of Saturn, and Mars, and the point where the sun set are on a straight line... which leads you into explanation of the Ecliptic, the plane of the Solar System...with helpful demonstrations right in the sky.
In this way you can leave your scope on Saturn all night and not worry about finding tons of other objects - turn your little area around your scope into a classroom and send them home knowing something new.
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shrevestan
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/19/12
Loc: Shreveport, LA
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: tedbnh]
#5315285 - 07/12/12 11:35 PM
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That's a really cool idea!
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shrevestan
professor emeritus
Reged: 04/19/12
Loc: Shreveport, LA
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: shrevestan]
#5315943 - 07/13/12 12:17 PM
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Well go figure, Friday the 13th and all, the event has been cancelled due to weather.
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Matthew Ota
Hmmm
Reged: 04/30/05
Loc: IngleHood, California
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: shrevestan]
#5316593 - 07/13/12 08:52 PM
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I just shoot my green laser through my finderscope to point to Saturn after a client has seen it through the telescope.
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tedbnh
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/14/07
Loc: New Hampshire
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Re: Help with first nighttime outreach event
[Re: Matthew Ota]
#5320578 - 07/16/12 03:16 PM
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Matt, the goal is to show them where Saturn was some time ago, not where it is now. I have a second GLP for that. The fixed GLP is to show them how far the Earth has turned since it was originally pointed.
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