By Malisa Smith
"If you have never looked through a decent telescope before, you have no idea of the amount of detail that is in space," said Haverford’s Professor of Astronomy, Bruce Partridge. "The eye itself cannot see the colors of most stars, but if you magnify space with a telescope you can…see all sorts of colors, the storms of Jupiter, and the cracks, craters, and mountains of the moon which were described by Galileo 400 years ago.”
Until November 24, Haverford’s observatory will be hosting a public astronomy observation every Saturday at 6 p.m., weather permitting, as part of No Night Without a Telescope, a Philadelphia-wide event celebrating the International Year of Astronomy and organized by Partridge.
Partridge explained that he was “enthusiastic about exposing members of the public to the beauty of astronomy," through the No Night Without a Telescope events.
Participants can experience the sensation of observing space through three of the Strawbridge Observatory’s eight-inch telescopes allowing them to see Jupiter and three of its four moons—normally just a bright dot in the sky.
Before the observation, Assistant Professor of Astronomy Beth Willman gave a presentation about invisible galaxies that were recently discovered and are hard to detect. In particular, she talked about the important role that "dark matter" plays in holding together (and forming) galaxies.
Both Partridge and Willman stressed that "No Night Without a Telescope" month is for astronomy enthusiasts of all ages and levels of proficiency. Indeed there were even some "junior" astronomers who were present at Prof. Willman’s crowded lecture.
"I would consider it a success if people left ‘No Night Without a Telescope’ having experienced a ‘wow’ moment, or just a slightly different sense of the scale of our lives compared to the scale of the universe," said Willman. "Any sort of spark I consider a success."
For the lecture on Saturday, Oct. 31st, Partridge gave a Halloween themed talk about "Scary Astronomy." He discussed various astronomical dangers that could influence the earth, such as nearby exploding stars, as well as global warming. He also took time to disproved myths such as the existence of a new planet that is going to crash into the earth, which is "all because of some hoo hah brought on by the new movie coming out, ‘2012.’”
Gail Gustowski ‘10, who is Haverford’s Public Observing Coordinator, gave another reason to come to No Night Without a Telescope.
"We’re looking at Jupiter and we’re going to be tracking its moons. It’s all going to go on a wiki on the internet, so it’s interactive. People can come back and look at the moons if they want," Gustowski said. "There’s also going to be cider and candy," she added.
This article is © 2008 The Bi-College News. The material on this page is free for personal or educational use, but may not be reproduced, reprinted, republished, redistributed, or otherwise transmitted to a third party without the express written permission of The Bi-College News, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041.
Editor's note: Articles that appear in the Last Word section are works of satire.
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