Date: September 17th, 2012
Title: Astronomy At The Beach
Podcaster: Stephen Uitti
Organization: Warren Astronomical Society, Ford Amateur Astronomy Club
Links:
Dave Eicher’s 2011 review of AATB
http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/daves-universe/archive/2011/09/12/astronomy-at-the-beach-a-model-skygazing-outreach-event.aspx
GLAAC AATB flier.
http://www.glaac.org/kensington-astronomy-at-the-beach/
Description: Astronomy At The Beach (AATB) is held in the late Summer or early Fall. It’s in it’s 16th year. Last year, the editor of Astronomy Magazine called it “A model public outreach event”. This is a bit about how such an event is run.
Bio: Stephen Uitti is an amateur astronomer with a focus on outreach. He has participated in small and large outreach events for about ten years. He also is part of a small team from the Ford club that produces a monthly half hour astronomy program, which goes out on public access channels on cable TV in approximately 40 metro Detroit cities and towns. A few episodes of Astronomy For Everyone are available on youtube.
Today’s Sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by — NO ONE. This shows relies on the generous contributions of listeners like you. For just 30 dollars a day, you can help share astronomy to the world. Please consider donating at 365daysofastronomy.org
Transcript:
The 2012 Astronomy At The Beach program will be held from 6 pm to midnight on the two nights, September 21 and 22. This is a Friday and Saturday night. The event is held at Kensington Metropark. Kensington is near Detroit, in Michigan. Rain or shine. The event is free, though the Park charges $5 per car. Even that’s free if you have a Metropark annual pass.
OK, so most of the listeners to this show don’t live close enough for this event for it to be of the slightest interest. But I thought that i’d give an insider’s view of the event. Please don’t think of it as hype.
Here’s my motivation. Last year, that’s 2011, our guest keynote speaker was Dave Eicher. He’s a great speaker, but that’s not why I mention him. He’s also the editor of Astronomy Magazine. After the event, he wrote a review of the event. He called it “A model skygazing outreach event”. His article can be found with a web search using the words Astronomy At The Beach and Astronomy Magazine. Well, I was there last year, and I’d love to say that it was awesome. But it would have been more awesome without the thunderstorm. I brought my ten inch scope. As far as i know, i’m the only person who managed to show anyone any celestial objects other than the Earth on last year’s Friday night. Two or three people saw the Mizar/Alcor double star. Fewer than a dozen people got to see the Moon. I might mention that it’s frequently cloudy in Michigan, and I often use thick clouds as a Moon filter. Saturday’s weather was much better. Dave called it “only partly clear”. I’d have called it poor. Dave Eicher wasn’t the only one to give us rave reviews of our worst event ever. For example, a representative from Celestron said that they were impressed.
Thirty five hundred people showed up. Maybe half of a percent of these saw anything in the sky on Friday. So, what did these people do? Well, Dave gave his talk about the recent revolution in astronomy, three times. You know, in the last 15 years we learned about extra solar planets and dark energy, and a list of other stuff. There were numerous talks given by locals. But there are also sciency demonstrations with liquid nitrogen, making comets or ice cream, and so on. There are vendor displays, and the local astronomy clubs and Universities have tables. A blow up planetarium has shows every half hour aimed at kids. And despite the weather, people had a good time.
There are seven area astronomy clubs that host this event. These people bring between 70 and 100 telescopes. There are usually a half dozen solar scopes running before sunset. There are some unusual home built scopes. There are some unusually large scopes. One of the clubs brings a portable 22″ dob. A local telescope maker has brought a 28″ for public viewing. Last year one of his 40″ scopes was on static display. One local vendor brings a scope and a domed observatory.
The event is in it’s 16th year this year. It started in 1997, when one of the guys had the idea to show the public the comet Hale Bopp that year. I’ve talked to him about it, and he downplays his role. You know the drill, like he wasn’t the only one who worked on it, or had all the ideas, and it’s taken on a life of it’s own. But he pitched it to more than one of the larger clubs, and an organization was formed to run the show. That’s the GLAAC. Look it up at glaac.org. The Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs. GLAAC with two A’s.
One of the high point years was 2003. Mars was bigger than the Full Moon. Well, Mars is always bigger than the Moon at any phase. And one of the guys had a video camera on his scope, and Mars could be seen by dozens at a time as over a foot in diameter on his screen. The word had gotten out. The weather cooperated both days. And the park estimated that over 13,000 people showed up. Over one hundred scopes were in operation. I had one of the smallest, an eight inch SCT. I didn’t have a scope of my own, so i borrowed one of my club’s scopes. I had one of the shortest lines. It never went to zero. But, we were prepared. This event was awesome on steroids.
A relatively small group made up from members of the various clubs plan and execute the show. They book the Metropark. It’s at Maple Beach this year. There’s more than one beach. But every year, someone puts up signs directing you to the right beach. They make sure there’s food, and the bathrooms work. They book the keynote speaker. This year, it’s Dr. Andrew Feustel. He’s an astronaut who happens to also have grown up in Michigan. He’s a great speaker. He was the speaker just before he flew on the Space Shuttle for the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. He has since also flown to the International Space Station. There are other speakers to book, and tables to rent, and a zillion other details. Anyway, the GLAAC committee members get the details out to the club members, and they have sign up sheets, and it all comes together. All I know is that when I go, I know what I’m supposed to do, and everyone else seems to know what they’re supposed to do. I take it on faith that there’s a plan, and probably a plan B. And there is. And that’s how you run a model event. Hale Bopp is long gone, but eight or nine thousand people show up for it most years.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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