HELP WANTED: Observing night in Mildura

[Jen]

Hi guys

As you all may know how passionate I am about astronomy I even annoy my work colleagues that much i never stop talking about it they all think I'm mad but I have got them curious at what keeps me awake at night
Any way i have also created a bit of interest amongst some staff. Including my big boss at our head office in mildura he has offered me use of company vehicle and put me up for a motel for the night if I put on a stargazing night for the staff and their families
And now of course I agreed with excitement but now I have got a big big interest of between 20 to 30 people coming I'm starting to freak out a little arrrhhh help I'm scared now what if I go all shy on them lol lol how can my johnny keep all these people entertained


At this stage so far I have printed out some star charts to pass around so we can do some star hopping and pick out the constellations etc with the laser pointer, and told them all to bring some binos a red torch and a blankly I'm hoping that will keep them busy while other people are looking through the scope ( do you think that's a good idea) I will have the 12" dob and the 6" newt set up also
Any other tips and ideas would be very helpful
If there is anyone in the mildura area that would love to come join me with their expertise and a couple more scopes that would be awsome

If interested let me know I will give you more details and you will be my best friend for ever

Oh and I forgot to mention it is this Friday

[louie_the_fly (Stew)]

I went to a public viewing when I was in Alice Springs some years ago. They picked out a few objects that people can see with the naked eye, then got them to look at same through the scope. Then they had one "ooh ahhh" object to wow the crowd.

I generally show people things like Jupiter & Saturn, the moon through a filter, M42 & the LMC or SMC. Everyone also seems to like looking at Crux & Orion, so pointing out some constellations is always a hit.

Good luck with it.

[omegacrux (David)]

Good luck with it
It's always good to introduce new people to astronomy .
I get a kick out of it. Those wow moments
Oh and some fold up camp chairs are handy

David

[Nico13 (Ken)]

Jeez Jen you've jumped in the deep end

No worries you'll do great, two scopes and a few pairs of binocs with your laser pointer, star charts for the night, blankies, yeh no probs.
Just do as suggested pick your best brightest targets for the night and go for it.
Tell them a bit about the seasonal changes and what you see at different times of year etc. Point out the Galaxy centre, Sagittarius is high in the sky.

It's amazing how many people don't realize that every star they look at is a sun like our own. Antares is a good one to point out and the fact that it's about 800 times of our sun.
Use the old KISS principal, keep it simple and let the DOB do the talking.

Yep you'll do fine. Too far for me I'll be at Snake Valley if the weather holds.

Good luck with it

[Jen]

Originally Posted by Nico13

Jeez Jen you've jumped in the deep end

Haha yeah I sure have, havnt I Nico hope you have a great night at SV tell them I said g'day

I can do this, I can do this Jen repeats this over and over in her head thanks guys yeah I will try to stick to the favourite dso's I dont want to go over their heads too much in one night hahaha this should be fun

[batema (Mark)]

No moon but i think Saturn may be up but possibly a little late. I am a school teacher and when we run nights i also talk about looking back in time and usually use alpha centauri being 4.3 ly away so when you are looking it is the past. I also tell them that it is the closest star to our sun but if we travelled at 50 000 km/h to get there it would take nearly 100 000 yrs. Sort of puts into perspective the size of things. If young kids are coming maybe a pirate patch from the chemist to help them with the one eye closed thing. Have fun. i wish i could come along.
Mark

[Forgey (Paula)]

You'll do great Jen, if you we're closer I would be there to help. Good luck

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

What time will you be out Jen? Some ideas.

Venus sets just after the Sun around 18:25. The Moon is quite thin and sets around 19:13. Two challenges for early starters.

M42 should be OK until around 22:00

Saturn rises around 19:05 and by 21:00 should be high enough to be fairly stable.

47 Tuc, Jewel Box, Omega Cen.

There are a couple of Iridium flares to watch out for but they aren't particularly bright (compared to #13 which should be around mag -8 over my place on the 11th):
#77 @19:11 not too far from Miaplacidus (mag -4)
#98 @19:15 in almost the same location (mag -2)

Clear skies.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hey Jen.
You will do great. A couple of ideas. Make a list of objects so you can move straight onto a new one without having to think about it. I don't know about you but if tried that without some basic notes I would trip over my own tongue!!
Try and get anyone that has access to a pair odf binos to bring them along.
Tell them to rug up, they will lose interest very quickly if they are cold.

You'll do fine, let us all know how it goes.

Malcolm

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Hi Jen,
What fun you will have.
I have done a few of these with school kids and random adults, and it is always a great buzz.
And don't worry about what to say, it comes naturally.
Get them to ask any questions.
Talk to them about looking through a time machine, and as Mark suggested re Alpha Cent.

I always found the biggest WOW comes from Jupiter or (especially) Saturn.
And for some reason, when asked, they always seem to want to look at Uranus.

That reminds me, you may need a step ladder if you have height challenged customers to accommodate. Or height adjustable viewing chair.

Throw in your best Nebula (M42, M17 or Eta Car) [although some will complain they can't see anything for the clouds ! ]
Your best galaxy (Cent A or Sombrero)
Your best Cluster (47Tuc or Omega Cen)

Also, it seems to be popular to show the Jewel Box and ask how many different colour stars they can see. (Then explain what the different colours indicate about the "hotness" of each different star and liken it to how metal changes colour Red-hot > white-hot > blue-hot)

BTW:
Make sure they know NO MASCARA!

Have Fun.

[Baddad (Marty)]

Good onya Jen.

It should be a good night. I hope the weather gods are kind to you.

Cheers

[Jen]

Thanks for all the tips guys I have now got lots notes that I will write up and down on my arms haha
There has got to be someone here from mildura

[niko]

good luck Jen - you'll do a fantastic job I'm sure

don't forget some bioncs and easy targets like the jewel Box will keep a group happy till they get to the scope.

sorry I can't be there to help

niko

[Jen]

Thanks guys i can do this so far the weather is going to be fantastic woohooo
I have a plan/B if the clouds roll in....... To the pub

[dannat (Daniel)]

A laser pointer sky tour showing some constellations & names perhaps telling a story or two about the shapes or constellation names usually goes down well.
If you don't have a laser pointer a strong focus able beam torch works well also

[Jen]

cheers Dan yep I've loaded fresh batteries in the laser pointer now I'm starting on my list of things to see it starts at 6 so I better start off with the fine crescent moon and Jupiter first before they set then go from there
Wish me luck guys

[Jen]

Originally Posted by mithrandir

What time will you be out Jen? Some ideas.

Venus sets just after the Sun around 18:25. The Moon is quite thin and sets around 19:13. Two challenges for early starters.

M42 should be OK until around 22:00

Saturn rises around 19:05 and by 21:00 should be high enough to be fairly stable.

47 Tuc, Jewel Box, Omega Cen.

There are a couple of Iridium flares to watch out for but they aren't particularly bright (compared to #13 which should be around mag -8 over my place on the 11th):
#77 @19:11 not too far from Miaplacidus (mag -4)
#98 @19:15 in almost the same location (mag -2)

Clear skies.

Thanks your plan is looking good so far

[okiscopey (Mike)]

Jen, here's an idea.

I had 16 folks at my place a few weeks ago (not quite up to your crowd!) and I wondered how to cope with people twiddling their thumbs while others were looking through the two scopes I had set up.

The idea I came up with was to print out a 'blurb sheet' about the objects to be observed (on clipbaords), split everyone up into two groups and appoint one member of each group as their 'honorary astronomer'. Once equipped with their blurb sheet and a red torches dangling round their necks, and a quick demo of how to use each scope, we were all set.

The honoraries had great fun showing everyone in their group how to look through the scope, and which knob to twiddle to get focus, and ceremoniously read out the (very basic) details on the blurb sheets.

It worked out amazingly well. I joked that I'd leave them to it and go in a and watch TV ... it was almost that efficient!

Had the crescent Moon and Jupiter to look at ... that helped.

Look to see if any bright satellites scheduled for your location ... always a big hit.

I did a sky tour with a laser pointer of course which helps mix it up a bit.

I had an 'astro trivia quiz' ready to fill in any gaps, but it wasn't needed.

It was a lot of work ... I suspect you've already experienced this! But there's nothing like 'teaching' something to really sort out the things you should know but don't.

Generally, people don't know much about the sky, and just enyoy being in a 'different' situation far removed from workaday routines.

Have some tea/coffee making facilities set up if possible.

Keep it simple, be a bit of a showman, sorry, woman, and they'll think you're wonderful!

[Jen]

Mike I like your way of thinking thanks buddy now if only I had all you guys live near me I would be set lol lol
The sky is so clear tonight so I'm out amongst it trying to educate my cat lol lol

[Jen]

Well so far I have already hit my first glitch thanks to stoopid OH&S ( work safe) I have to finish up @ 10pm WTF

Grrrr how do you get into some people's head that its astronomy dam it and we do it in the dark
Not a happy Jen, but I have been know to break the rules a couple of times in my life lol lol I will keep you all posted
I still havnt found anyone on here from mildura so it just me hosting the show IM A BIG GIRL I can do this