Sharing Saturn's rings with kids

[pmrid]

I was camped at a place near Clermont called Theresa Creek Dam. The manager of the site had a fairly bedraggled National Geographic newtonian (supposedly 130mm dia except that was the OTA diameter not the mirror) for sale for $25. I hadn't taken a scope with me on this trip so I grabbed it, did a quick strip and clean of the old EQ3 mount and as good as I could do by eye for a collimation. That night, Mars and Jupter were in good positions just west of the meridian and I was having a nice leisurely look when the manager came over to see if I'd managed to get the scope working OK. He had a young teen lad with him of about 13 and I was able to show them both their first view of Saturn's rings.

The young fellow was absolutely blown away with it and couldn't be dragged away from the scope until his mother yelled something about food.

As he and his dad were walking away, I heard the boy say to him "Dad, that's what I want to be - a star man."

What a buzz!

Peter

[hotspur]

That's great Pete :thumbsup:

Well done!! it sounds like a great moment!! hard to be
moments like that.

[big_dav_2001]

I recently had the privilege of giving my 74-year-old grandfather his first ever telescope view of Saturn. His reaction is something I will never, ever forget.

This man has been alive through some of the biggest scientific and technological advances, and clearly remembers Sputnik, the moon landing, and the Voyager launches ("The bloody hippies were s***ing themselves when those voyagers took off, but they always reckoned someone was about to destroy the world, so nobody took much notice of them":)), but had never actually looked through a telescope. Thankfully his eyesight is still good enough to enjoy the sights, also showed him the moon, 47 Tuc and a few brighter open clusters, each one left him speechless...

Absolutely amazing sharing something like that with someone for the first time...

Davin

[PeterEde]

The wow is always amazing :)

[el_draco]

Nothing like making a convert... It brings back memories of my first time as if it was today :D

[ozstronomer]

Always great to be able to share the wonders of the universe, especially when you get those reactions.

Hope to catch up on the 20th if you are around

Geoff

[MichaelSW]

Participated in a Schools Night last night at a near inner-city Brisbane school. The observing field was a light pollution nightmare bounded by two main roads chockers with the evening traffic and two floodlit tennis courts. Never the less, with our four telescopes we showed the 60 fifth graders and 50 adults and siblings the Moon, the Jewell Box, Alberio and Saturn.

You just know when they have seen it - the "Wows" say it all, and how good does it make you feel. But one Dad said to me, "You astronomers have an interesting job". Well it was time for me to think, "Wow".

Cheers to all us all, fellow ASTRONOMERS.

[deanm]

It's always ace to get a "wow!" reaction from never-looked-before folk, but I find that about 1 in 8 people just can't see a thing through the EP - unless looking at the moon.

They just don't seem able to 'get it' - until they've succeeded once!

Dean

[Adelain]

I have been showing school kids Saturn through our small school observatory for 12/13 years now and have seen and heard the WOW word so many times.
Never fails to give me a blast :)
Cheers Adrian

[andyc]

Some great stories here! It's pretty cool when you see the spark light up with someone looking at things for the first time. Showing random people on the street the transit of Venus was cool, and a few of them saw the significance of not ever being able to see it again. Though that day the sunspots were almost as popular! Lots of people react to Saturn saying they never thought it would be possible to see the rings, that's rather cool when they do.

[Sheppie]

I absolutely love Peter's story. It's so refreshing and kinda magical too. And Peter, well you're officially Star Man now or maybe even Star Lord ;)

[pmrid]

He he he!
It seems that Star Man is already present in these fora - half a dozen variants on that theme. Which means that I will have to put aside false modesty and accept the suggested elevation to Star Lord status. I may have to brush up on my Zoroastrianism to be reminded of the responsibilities of Lordship. It's dirty work but has to be done - right?

Peter (Star Lord pro tem).

[AussieTerra]

That's a great story, It's the greatest feeling in the world when you witness their first-time reaction!

My little sister would always question why i looked up at night so much "They're just little dots in the sky Matt!" Though just recently i showed her the omega Centauri cluster and she cannot get enough. she's now out nearly every night with me watching the moons of Saturn slowly progress and finding new clusters each night, she's even asked if she can have my old telescope for nights when she wants to go on her own accord!

Definitely a proud brother!