Stargazer's Night

Circa spring 2010, taken with iPhone 3GS

One of the best things I get paid to do is to look through telescopes.  I've worked with Stargazer's Nights since we started them up 4+ years ago.  During that time I've learned quite a bit.

I started out as someone who just enjoyed science fiction with a small helping of astronomy on the side.  Then I began working in the Stargazer's Planetarium where I watched the show Created Cosmos hundreds of time during the summer of 2007.

Have you ever looked up at a clear night sky, marveled at all the stars, and then wondered which ones you were seeing? Would you like to view the rings of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter? Are you intrigued by the idea of seeing a galaxy or nebula? If you answered yes to any—or all—of these questions, then Stargazer’s Nights are for you. 

--from Creation Museum website, Stargazer's Night section

Circa fall 2012, taken with iPhone 4S

Last year those of us on staff that worked Stargazer's Nights were faced with the challenge of continuing without our full-time astronomer.  We took up the challenge and ran with it until we had developed our own version of the program, especially the indoor program we utilize on cloudy evenings.  It has been quite a bit of fun working with that, and this year we have had over twenty stargazing evenings thus far.  Tonight will be number 22 I believe (it is a private session).  Then we have two more at the end of this week and one more next week that will likely be the last of the year.  I never realized how much fun astronomy could be--but I have no intentions of looking back.  I enjoy working with both the software and hardware inside our Planetarium as well as utilizing the telescopes outside.

The picture above is one I took with my iPhone through a telescope eyepiece a couple of years ago.  Earlier this year I took a few more.  I'm always surprised at how well some of them turn out.

~Matt