The 13th Annual Astronomy at the Beach (Kensington Metropark, September 25-26, 2009)

See What Galileo Missed

International Year of Astronomy, Imagining the Universe in the 21st Century

Schedule of Events

The following is the schedule of events for the Thirteenth Annual Astronomy at the Beach (held at Kensington Metropark, located near Brighton, Michigan).

Schedule for Friday September 25, 2009 (6:00 PM to Midnight)

Time	Presentation/Activity	Presenter	Location	Notes
Ongoing (repeats every 20-30 minutes)	Astronomy Movies	Kensington Metropark	Mobile Learning Trailer	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Astronomy Equipment, Books, etc., Available for Purchase	Rider’s Hobby Shops	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Distribute Skytour Scavenger Hunt Worksheets to Children	Rider’s Hobby Shops & All Clubs	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Real Time Radio Telescope Observing		Outside Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Miscellaneous Space Exploration Displays and Make & Take Activities	The Detroit Science Center Outreach Team	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
6:00 PM to sunset	Sunspot and Sun (Solar) Viewing	All Astronomy Clubs	Telescope Field	*
Ongoing—Every 1/2 Hour from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM	STARLAB Portable Planetarium Night Sky Tour	Detroit Science Center	Presentation Area	Cloudy or Clear
6:30 PM	All About Comets and Comet Making Demonstration	Bob Hotaling & Mike Broughton— Metropark Nature Center Interpreters	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
7:00 PM	Basic Equipment Talk	John Kirchhoff—Rider’s Hobby Shops & Dave D’Onofrio—Warren Astronomical Society	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
7:30 PM	Our Vanishing Night (Light Pollution Talk)	Norb Vance—The Astronomy Club at Eastern Michigan University	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
8:00 PM	How Cold is Outer Space?	Kevin Dehne—Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Delta College	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
8:30 PM	Astronomy 101	Gordon Hansen—Ford Amateur Astronomy Club	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
9:00 PM	Extrasolar Planets and the Amateur Astronomer	Bob Naeye—Editor in Chief, Sky & Telescope Magazine	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
9:00 PM & 10:00 PM	Tour of the Constellations	Bob Victor—Abrams Planetarium & Kevin Dehne—Delta College	At the Beach	*
Dusk to Close	Children’s Skytour Scavenger Hunt (for children 17 and under)	All Clubs/All Telescopes	Telescope Field	Cloudy or Clear
Dusk to Midnight	Real Time Digital Imaging	Rider’s Hobby Shop and The Detroit Science Center	Outside Pavilion	*
Dusk to Midnight	General Viewing	All Clubs/All Telescopes	Telescope Field	*

Events marked with an asterisk (*) only take place if the skies are clear. If cloudy, these events will be substituted with others at the Pavilion.

Schedule for Saturday September 26, 2009 (6:00 PM to Midnight)

Time	Presentation/Activity	Presenter	Location	Notes
Ongoing (repeats every 20-30 minutes)	Astronomy Movies	Kensington Metropark	Mobile Learning Trailer	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Astronomy Equipment, Books, etc., Available for Purchase	Rider’s Hobby Shops	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Distribute Skytour Scavenger Hunt Worksheets to Children	Rider’s Hobby Shops & All Clubs	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Real Time Radio Telescope Observing		Outside Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
Ongoing	Miscellaneous Space Exploration Displays and Make & Take Activities	The Detroit Science Center Outreach Team	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
6:00 PM to sunset	Sunspot and Sun (Solar) Viewing	All Astronomy Clubs	Telescope Field	*
Ongoing—Every 1/2 Hour from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM	STARLAB Portable Planetarium Night Sky Tour	Detroit Science Center	Pavilion	Cloudy or Clear
6:30 PM	All About Comets and Comet Making Demonstration	Bob Hotaling & Mike Broughton—Metropark Nature Center Interpreters	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
7:00 PM	Basic Equipment Talk	John Kirchhoff—Rider’s Hobby Shops & Dave D’Onofrio—Warren Astronomical Society	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
7:30 PM	Our Vanishing Night (Light Pollution Talk)	Norb Vance—The Astronomy Club at Eastern Michigan University	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
8:00 PM	How Cold is Outer Space?	Kevin Dehne—Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Delta College	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
8:30 PM	Astronomy 101	Gordon Hansen—Ford Amateur Astronomy Club	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
9:00 PM	Extrasolar Planets and the Amateur Astronomer	Bob Naeye—Editor in Chief, Sky & Telescope Magazine	Presentation Tent	Cloudy or Clear
10:00 PM	Tour of the Constellations	Kevin Dehne—Delta College & Bob Victor—Abrams Planetarium	At the Beach	*
Dusk to Close	Children’s Skytour Scavenger Hunt (for children 17 and under)	All Clubs/All Telescopes	Telescope Field	Cloudy or Clear
Dusk to Midnight	Real Time Digital Imaging	Rider’s Hobby Shop and The Detroit Science Center	Outside Pavilion	*
Dusk to Midnight	General Viewing	All Clubs/All Telescopes	Telescope Field	*

Events marked with an asterisk (*) only take place if the skies are clear. If cloudy, these events will be substituted with others at the Pavilion.

Details

Astronomy Movies—“Kaguya-Japan Lunar Mission, NASA Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter.” (This DVD may be replaced or supplemented with others on related subjects if availability permits.)
Astronomy Equipment, Books, etc—Rider’s Hobby Shop will have various astronomy products including telescopes, binoculars, eyepieces, books and computer software on display and for purchase. (See also Pictorial Essay—Sponsors).
Sky Tour Scavenger Hunt (Clear Skies Only)—Using a worksheet, children move around our telescopes and binoculars to view the moon, planet(s), nebulas, star clusters and galaxies. Upon completion, a certificate of achievement and a prize are awarded. Age 3 to 17 yrs.
Real Time Radio Telescope Astronomy—Watch and listen as amateur radio astronomers collects real time radio signals to “see” radio sources from outer space: Objects may include the Sun, the planet Jupiter, the core of the Milky Way and more!
Sunspot and Sun (Solar) Viewing—If it is clear, visitors will be able to look through solar filtered binoculars and telescopes at the sun. If we are lucky, we will be able to see some sunspots and solar prominences. Look for the scopes and binoculars with the yellow balloons. (NEVER look directly into the Sun either naked eye or through a telescope without using an approved solar filter). (See also Pictorial Essay—Solar Observing).
STARLAB Portable Planetarium/DSC STARLAB Night Sky Tour —Using a portable planetarium, presenters from the Detroit Science Center provide night sky simulation tours of the constellations and other current objects are given.
All About Comets and Comet Making Demonstration—Learn what these special celestial visitors are and what they consist of from the Kensington-Metropark Nature Center Interpreters as they make one up from dry ice and common household ingredients. (See also Pictorial Essay—Sponsors).
Basic Astronomy Equipment Talk—Thinking about buying a pair of binoculars or telescope? Learn about the different types of binoculars, telescopes and other astronomy equipment at this talk. A great opportunity to ask any equipment question you like.
Our Vanishing Night—Want to know why you can’t see very many stars from your neighborhood? Learn about how light pollution is making it harder to see stars and other astronomical objects, and what you can do to help reverse the trend.
How Cold Is Outer Space?—Delta College Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kevin Dehne will demonstrate how cold space can get through a series of graphic demonstrations using liquid nitrogen and everyday common objects. This is a fun and surprising talk that everyone will enjoy.
Astronomy 101—A fascinating introduction to the science and hobby of amateur astronomy. In the tradition of “Science for Poets,” Astronomy 101 is a painless astro-primer for anyone who has ever gazed at the night sky with wonder and awe. Beginning with the moon and the planets, and ending in the far reaches of intergalactic space; participants are taken on a glorious journey through the universe in which we live. Sure to inspire, guaranteed to fascinate, Astronomy 101 is an experience not to be missed!
Extrasolar Planets and the Amateur Astronomer—Our featured speaker Bob Naeye Editor-In-Chief of Sky & Telescope Magazine will detail how more that 330 planets have been found in orbit about stars other than our own Sun. He will explain how amateur astronomers have made amazing contributions in this revolutionary new field. Mr. Naeye will also discuss the potential of finding life-bearing exoplanets in the relatively near future.
Tour of the Constellations—Want to learn how to find your way around the night sky? If it is clear, you can locate the major summer and autumn constellations from this tour of the night sky.
Real Time Digital Imaging—Watch and observe as astronomers collect real time images of deep space objects and project them on a screen through the eye of a CCD camera.
General Viewing—If it is clear, there will be the opportunity to look through any of the binoculars and telescopes: We expect to be able to see the Moon, Jupiter and a great number of other fascinating objects such as galaxies, double stars, nebulae and star clusters. (See also Pictorial Essay—Visitors and Telescopes).

Food can be purchased at the Metropark Concession Stand (the concession stand will be open until 11:00PM). (See also Pictorial Essay—Sponsors).

Credits

Huron-Clinton Metroparks

All photographs on this page taken at Kensington Metropark during “Astronomy at the Beach.”

The following photographs were taken by:

C’mon Dad!—Greg Burnett

Web page constructed by Dave Snyder.

For questions about “Astronomy at the Beach,” contact Dave D’Onofrio at Dave1ACT@aol.com, Bob MacFarland at stargzr.bob@gmail.com or Kensington Metropark at 1-800 477-3178.

This page last modified July 3, 2009.