Telescope Reviews: Peace Plaza Sidewalk Outreach

What do you get when you combine a bunch of astronomy nuts, their equipment and the worst possible place for viewing the sky? A sidewalk astronomy public outreach of course.
Our sidewalk viewing last night in Rochester, MN was just in time to see Mars at its largest apparent size in the next twelve years. It was held in an area called the Peace Plaza in the heart of Rochester. Mars is now slipping away from us but will continue to put on a good show for a good month or so.
There were plenty of other people, both Rochester native and travelers from afar. Larry Mascotti, the Astronomy teacher at Mayo High School, boosted the crowd by giving students extra credit for attending and show up they did. The students were most inquisitive and a lot of fun to talk to.
The city lights were obviously an issue for seeing deep sky objects. Randy Hemann's 18" Obsession dobsonian telescope was able to cut through the glow while the rest of us kept focused on our bright neighbors, Mars and the Moon.
In addition to the 18" Obsession, we had two other dobsonians, a 10" Meade and a 10" OrionXT. We also had a Meade 125ETX maksutov cassegrain and my Orion 100ED apochromatic refractor.
With my firewire web cam hooked up to my refractor, people could drive the scope with the controller and watch live video on a laptop screen. Driving on the Moon was a big hit. It not only gave groups of people a chance to see some craters up close but a first hand look at what live atmospheric turbulence really looks like. Needless to say, the Moon was waving like a flag.
The only down side were two drunk people who, like gnats to your head, migrated in to annoy people. One boisterous drunk guy demanded to know why "Mars isn't red!". I told him sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't, it all depends on what you drink.
Much better questions came from the other visitors. A mix of astronomy questions ranging from the planets and deep space right down to faith based questions. A lot of equipment related questions came from people who had scopes at home or perspective buyers interested in where to buy and how much it costs.
Members from the Rochester Astronomy Club (RAC) started showing up at about 8:00 and the last of us packed up at about 12:00am. We had about eight participating members in all. It was a lot of fun and a great outreach. Plenty of people became aware of the RAC and our meetings. There is always room for improvement. Next time around, we need to have a sign and/or handouts that state who we are and what we do. That would make sure everybody gets the information.
If you have thought about undertaking a sidewalk outreach session, by all means go for it. Get some people together and bring the scopes. Select a location that will have foot traffic and some light so budding astronomers can see what's going on. Remember to bring a stool or raised platform as eager viewers come in all sizes. It's also a good idea to contact the local law enforcement and let them know what is going on. You don't want the police mistaking your dob for a cannon. Get as many club members to participate as possible. A larger group of people helps draw in more people and the extra help makes it easier to field questions and direct the interested prospectors to equipment.
The next thing you know, you may have some fresh faces at your club meetings and more scopes at your next public outreach.

--------------------
Macastronomer Group

MacAstronomer

Post Extras